Licences & changes
The professional licence
For services delivered by expertise rather than by selling goods. On the mainland it can require a local service agent — who holds no shares and no profit share, which is the part people misunderstand.
What it covers
What this licence actually permits.
A professional licence covers services rendered through skill or intellectual input: consultancy, engineering, design, IT services, marketing, accounting, legal services, education and medical practice. It is distinguished from a commercial licence by what generates the revenue — expertise rather than the resale of goods. Many professional activities require the manager or the practitioners to hold specific attested qualifications, and several are regulated by a second authority beyond the licensing department.
On the mainland, a professional licence historically took the form of a civil company or sole establishment with a local service agent — a UAE national or wholly UAE-owned company appointed under a notarised agreement for an annual fee. The agent holds no shares, has no entitlement to profits and no role in management; the arrangement is administrative. This is routinely confused with the old 51% local ownership requirement that applied to commercial companies before the 2021 reforms, and the confusion pushes founders into free zones they did not need. The two are entirely different arrangements.
At a glance
- Covers
- Consultancy, engineering, design, IT, marketing, education, healthcare
- Basis
- Revenue from expertise rather than resale of goods
- Qualifications
- Often required and must be attested
- Local service agent
- May apply on the mainland — no shares, no profit share
- Second regulator
- Common — health, engineering, education authorities
- Free zone
- No LSA required; qualification requirements still apply
What it costs
The procedure
What the amendment involves.
- Confirm the activity is professional rather than commercialSelling anything physical alongside the service usually means a commercial licence or a second activity.
- Get qualifications attested earlyDegrees and professional certificates attested in the issuing country. This is the longest step for most professional licences.
- Identify the second regulatorHealth, engineering, education and legal activities all involve an authority beyond the licensing department.
- Understand the LSA if one appliesA notarised agreement, an annual fee, no equity and no profit share.
- Compare mainland and free zone deliberatelyThe LSA is not an ownership issue, and it should not by itself drive you into a free zone.
Related
Questions
A licence for services delivered through expertise — consultancy, engineering, IT, design, education and similar — as distinct from trading in goods.
A local service agent may be required on the mainland. They hold no shares and no entitlement to profits — it is not a 51% ownership arrangement.
For many professional activities, yes, and it must be attested in the country that issued it. Start early.
Generally not without adding a commercial activity. Mixing service and product revenue under a professional licence is a common banking problem.
One question
What are you actually trying to change?
Name, activity, manager or address — each is a formal amendment with its own fee, and most require a fresh MOA addendum before the licence is reprinted. Bundling several amendments into one submission usually costs less and takes no longer than doing them one at a time.
How amendments runOr just ask usShare transfers are notarised, not administrative. Every shareholder signs or is represented under an attested power of attorney, the bank has to be told, and the UBO register updates within days rather than at the next renewal.
Transferring sharesOr just ask usThen do it properly rather than letting the licence lapse. An abandoned company accrues renewal penalties, immigration liabilities and a corporate tax deregistration fine, and it blocks the shareholders from clean incorporations later.
Closing down cleanlyOr just ask us