Checklist for Company Registration in Dubai

Hend Galal
4 min readMay 17, 2021

Over the years, company registration in Dubai has proven to be a hotspot for startup ventures, existing businesses, and even commodity-based MSMEs and industrial hubs. Dubai has an extensive window of opportunities for company owners who wants to start from scratch or develop an existing brand alongside other companies under a friendly and forward-thinking corporate environment. Additionally, observing the recent changes made by the regularities, many foreign and local business registration concerns have now been addressed effectually for collective growth.

Company Registration in Dubai

New ventures with limited knowledge and expertise which doesn’t get the complexities of Emirati rules and regulations across various business sectors can heed support from local legal advisors. The process to initiate a new business is encompassed in a few but important steps. Once you choose your partner, a legal contract between the associated parties must be formed and submitted to DED.

This agreement is called Memorandum of Association (MOA) that clearly states the terms and conditions, including the percent of shares owned by each party. In another scenario, where an investor chooses to function in the Free Zone, the above-stated requirements get eliminated, and business owners will get 100% ownership of their venture. Lets’ look into those in the checklist below in order to complete the business registration process in Dubai.

Register a company in uae

Finalize Your Company’s Legal Structure

The process of company registration in Dubai comes with a prerequisite of finalizing your company’s legal structure. This entails two basic alternatives: (1) Form a limited liability company (LLC) on the mainland and leverage the prospects of a local business hub. (2) Establish your business in a Free Zone, which is autonomously supervised by the respective jurisdiction.

Find a Trustable Business Sponsor

Your next concern to register a company in Dubai is finding an Emirati sponsor or local partner. Since the UAE laws state the compulsion to partner with the local investor, owning more than half of your business shares, it is imperative that you carefully choose your partner. Look for a partner you can trust and rely on during the time of legal matters and project bidding etc. It would be best if you prefer someone who has the necessary intel and support with regard to your business aspirations. The more peaceful relationship you can develop with your partner, the better it will be for your company to avoid any unnecessary issues.

Company Name Reservation

After choosing a suitable partner, you must register your company name with the Department of Economic Development in the UAE. This is a straightforward step and requires only filling and submitting a form. While selecting the name of your Business Setup in Dubai, you choose how your company will be perceived, so choose it wisely.

Your company name should be one of a kind, including distinctive keywords (like LLC or PLC). Avoid using hostile, offensive, or contentious words. If it is a person’s name, avoid using nicknames and only use the entire term. However, whether the proposed name is accepted or not is subject to availability. Once all your legal documents and requirements are met, the process of company registration in Dubai is completed within a period of 7 days.

Prepare a Tenancy Agreement

When you register a company in Dubai, you must have a tenancy contract which warrants your business having a physical location in Dubai. Your office location can make or break your business, so make this decision wisely. Business experts like Corporate Business Services (CBS) are proficient in helping companies determine the best location to support their business in many of ways. These business consultants take care of complete end-to-end professional support to help the companies establish in Dubai; Mainland and Free Zone without any hassle.

Business License for Business Autonomy

The final step of company registration in Dubai requires getting a legal license to operate permissible business activities in Dubai. This document states all the terms and conditions regarding business laws in Dubai. Companies must comply with agreed-upon practices, and in case some functions don’t come under the radar of the already issued license, separate permits shall be obliged for those practices. Companies can issue between three standard licenses:

(1) Commercial license: for trading activities.

(2) Industrial license: for performing manufacturing and industrial functions.

(3) Professional license: for professionals, artisans, and other service providers, etc.

Corporate Professionals in Dubai, such as Corporate Business Services (CBS), with an extensive group of subsidiaries, proficiently eases company registration in Dubai. Organizations like these have conveniently made the market entry and business extension for new entrants very welcoming. At the final stage of the registration process, all legal documents shall be submitted to the DED. When all the relevant dues have been cleared, the business investor is done with the company registration process within a week of receiving its business license. Congratulations! This maneuver to register a company in Dubai is complete.

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Hend Galal
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Hi I am Hend Galal and a professional blogger in UAE based business consultancy firm ‘The Corporate Group’.