Dubai · Mainland
DET
Dubai mainland — Department of Economy & Tourism
The honest read
What it is actually good at.
The whole UAE market, government tenders included, and no distributor taking a margin between you and your customer. Since the 2021 amendment to the Commercial Companies Law most activities allow full foreign ownership, which removed the one reason most founders avoided it.
Who is actually based here
Retail, F&B, contracting, professional services, healthcare, real estate brokerage — every business selling directly to UAE customers.
What it costs
Cannot be assessed on licence fee alone. Mainland costs are dominated by tenancy and Ejari, which is why first-year totals commonly exceed AED 30,000–50,000.
How banks receive it
Excellent. A mainland Dubai licence with real premises is among the strongest files a bank sees.
Commonly licensed here
- Emirate
- Dubai
- Type
- Mainland
- Location
- Emirate-wide
- Established
- 1992
- Licence issuance
- 1–2 weeks after tenancy
- Residence visas
- Unlimited in principle, calculated on leased area
- Ownership
- 100% foreign on most activities since 2021
- Premises
- Physical premises with a registered Ejari tenancy required
Timelines, quotas and package contents are indicative and change without notice. We confirm every one against the current schedule before you commit to anything.
Premises
Where the office actually goes.
A DET licence is issued across the whole of Dubai rather than inside one estate, so the address is your decision rather than the authority's. The requirement is only that the premises suit the activity: Physical premises with a registered Ejari tenancy required. Rent, footfall and the kind of neighbour you end up with vary far more between districts than the licence fee varies between authorities.
Commercial districts across the UAEQuestions
The licence itself is modest; the total is driven by tenancy and Ejari, which commonly puts first-year costs at AED 30,000–50,000 or more.
For most activities, yes, since the 2021 Commercial Companies Law amendment. A short strategic-impact list still requires an Emirati partner or local service agent.
Yes. Physical premises with a registered Ejari are a precondition of issuing and renewing the licence.