Company Incorporation in United Arab Emirates
Licensing in the structure that fits your activity. There is no national registry: a mainland company is licensed by the emirate's own Department of Economy / Economic Development, each of the 40+ free zones is a separate registrar with its own company forms and fee schedule, and offshore vehicles (RAK ICC, JAFZA Offshore) are filed through a licensed registered agent. 100% foreign ownership is permitted in all legal forms of the Commercial Companies Law — including the mainland LLC — since Federal Decree-Law 26 of 2020 removed the 51% Emirati-partner requirement (consolidated in Federal Decree-Law 32 of 2021); strategic-impact sectors such as defence, security, banking and telecom remain restricted or need approval. Corporate Tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above; a free-zone entity that meets the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions — including maintaining adequate substance — is taxed at 0% on Qualifying Income and 9% on the rest. Because fees are set per registry and sold as bundled packages, no formation fee is quoted here as a government figure.
5–20 business days
AED
Compare the structures
Every column is a vehicle you can actually incorporate here, and each is bought on its own terms. Every fact carries where it was read: on the authority’s own page, or — marked Indicative — on a filing platform or publication we name and link. Anything we could not read anywhere is marked Pending verification and confirmed with the authority before you pay.
| Mainland Limited Liability Company (LLC)A company that needs to trade freely inside the UAE local market, bid for government contracts or operate anywhere in the country without free-zone territorial limits. Licensed by the emirate's DED/DET; liability is limited to each partner's share in the capital. 100% foreign ownership is permitted. Shareholder/director minimums are reported at 1 shareholder (a single-owner LLC is permitted) up to 50 and 1 director, but each emirate administers its own licensing — there is no national figure, so minimums and any share capital are confirmed at quote against the emirate DED | Free Zone Company (FZ-LLC / FZE / FZCO)An export, services or holding business that wants 100% foreign ownership, streamlined setup and potentially 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income, and does not need to sell directly into the UAE mainland. A single-shareholder entity is often an FZE and a multi-shareholder one an FZCO/FZ-LLC, but naming, share capital, director, office (flexi-desk vs physical) and fee rules are set per zone, not federally — DMCC, IFZA and JAFZA in Dubai and Jebel Ali, DIFC and ADGM on English common law with their own courts and companies regulations. The 0% rate is NOT automatic: it depends on meeting the qualifying conditions and maintaining adequate substance | Offshore Company (RAK ICC International Business Company / JAFZA Offshore)Holding assets or shares and international structuring where the company will NOT trade inside the UAE and needs no physical office or residence visas. Within scope of UAE Corporate Tax as a UAE-incorporated entity (0%/9%), but generally NOT a Free Zone Person for the 0% qualifying-income regime and unable to hold a licence to sell in the UAE. Must be filed through a licensed registered agent; statutory minimums are set by each registrar's regulations and confirmed at quote | Branch of a Foreign CompanyA foreign parent that wants a UAE presence carrying on the parent's own activity rather than a separate legal entity — used by foreign companies executing UAE projects and contracts under the parent's name. No separate legal personality: the foreign parent is liable, and the branch is a UAE permanent establishment taxed on its UAE-attributable income (0%/9%). Can be established on the mainland via the emirate DED or inside a free zone; the service-agent requirement and permitted activities depend on the emirate or zone and are confirmed at quote | Sole Establishment / Sole ProprietorshipA single individual — freelancer, consultant or small trader — operating under a personal trade licence, accepting unlimited personal liability. Business income of a natural person falls within Corporate Tax scope above the turnover threshold set for individuals (reported at AED 1 million under Cabinet Decision 49 of 2023, to be confirmed with the FTA), after which the 0%/9% rates apply. Whether a foreign national may hold one depends on whether the activity is professional or commercial and on the emirate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum owners | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Maximum owners | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Minimum directors | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Liability | limitedLimited to each partner's share in the capital | limitedLimited liability; a single-shareholder entity is often called an FZE and a multi-shareholder one an FZCO/FZ-LLC (naming… | limitedLimited liability | unlimitedNo separate legal personality; the foreign parent is liable | unlimitedUnlimited - the owner is personally liable |
| Foreign ownership | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pending verification |
| Tax treatment | UAE Corporate Tax: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above (Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022). Not eligible for… | A Qualifying Free Zone Person is taxed at 0% on Qualifying Income and 9% on non-qualifying taxable income (Federal Decre… | Within scope of UAE Corporate Tax as a UAE-incorporated entity (0%/9%); an offshore company is generally NOT a Free Zone… | The branch is a UAE permanent establishment of the foreign company and is within scope of UAE Corporate Tax on its UAE-a… | Business income of a natural person is within UAE Corporate Tax scope where turnover exceeds the threshold set for indiv… |
| Audit required | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Audit threshold | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification | Pending verification |
| Annual compliance | Medium | Medium | Low | Medium | Low |
| Typical use | The default vehicle for a foreign business that wants to sell to the UAE domestic market (retail, trading, services, con… | The standard vehicle for foreign-owned trading, e-commerce, consultancy, media, tech and holding companies. Each free zo… | Holding company, SPV, asset-protection and international-trading vehicle. RAK ICC (RAK International Corporate Centre) a… | Foreign companies executing UAE projects/contracts who want to operate under the parent's name. Can be established on th… | Freelancers, individual consultants and small traders. Professional sole establishments have historically been available… |
What we will need from you
Upload these once. They are stored encrypted and reused across every service you buy from us.
Passport copy for every shareholder and every manager / director
Part of the typical set for both a mainland LLC and a free-zone company; the exact line-item list is set by the emirate DED or the chosen zone and is confirmed at quote.
Emirates ID or UAE entry stamp for any UAE-resident party
Only where the shareholder or manager is already resident or present in the UAE.
Passport-style photograph
Requested by most free zones as part of the application pack.
Proof of address (recent utility bill or bank statement) per individual
Part of the typical free-zone application set; confirmed per zone.
Memorandum of Association, notarised before a UAE notary or executed on the DET portal
Mainland LLC route. Free zones use their own constitutional documents and application forms.
Tenancy contract for the registered office (Ejari in Dubai), or the zone's flexi-desk / office agreement
Licence issue and renewal are tied to the tenancy; offshore companies take no physical office.
Manager's appointment and specimen signature
Trade-name reservation and initial approval certificates
Issued by the emirate DED before the licence; the equivalent step inside a free zone is the zone's name approval.
For a foreign corporate shareholder: attested certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles, board resolution to incorporate and power of attorney to the local signatory
The UAE does not accept a standalone Hague apostille for these purposes: documents are notarised in the country of origin, legalised by that country's foreign ministry, attested by the UAE embassy there, then by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFAIC), then certified-translated into Arabic (mofa.gov.ae attestation guidance). The UAE acceded to the Apostille Convention in 2023 and whether current MOFAIC practice shortens this chain for member-state documents is confirmed at quote.
Registered agent's KYC / due-diligence forms
Offshore (RAK ICC / JAFZA Offshore) incorporations must be filed through a licensed registered agent. ADGM and DIFC additionally run their own KYC and, for regulated activities, financial-services approval.
Cost breakdown
Our fee and the government’s are always separate lines. Government fees are passed through at exactly what the authority charges — we add nothing to them.
| Mainland: trade-name reservation, initial approval and commercial licence issuanceNot a national figure and inherently per-emirate and per-activity. Each emirate's DED sets its own trade-name, initial-approval, licence, market/knowledge/innovation, chamber-of-commerce and tenancy-attestation fees, and Dubai DET and Abu Dhabi ADDED each publish a cost calculator rather than one licence price. Read the DET and ADDED schedules for the emirate you are licensing in. | Confirmed before payment |
| Free zone: company registration and licence (per zone, usually a bundled package)Not a statutory line item. Free zones sell formation as a package — registration, licence, flexi-desk or office and a set number of visa allocations — priced by zone, licence type (trading / service / industrial), number of activities and visa quota. Confirm against the chosen zone's own published schedule or calculator: DMCC, IFZA, JAFZA, ADGM Registration Authority or DIFC. | Confirmed before payment |
| Offshore: RAK ICC / JAFZA Offshore incorporation and annual registered-agent renewalonly if it appliesSet by the registrar's regulations and the licensed registered agent's package; RAK ICC publishes no public fee schedule and is agent-only by design. | Confirmed before payment |
| Establishment card and residence visas, per personCharged by the licensing authority on top of the licence package and not published as a federal fee; offshore companies get neither an establishment card nor residence visas. | Confirmed before payment |
| Comriq professional fee | Fixed fee within 1 business day |
How it runs
You will see these exact stages update in your client portal as we progress.
Document Verification
Passports, proof of address, activity and shareholding confirmed, and any foreign corporate documents put into the legalisation and Arabic-translation chain.
Registry & Activity Selected
The emirate DED, free zone or offshore registrar is chosen for your activity and market, and the trade name is reserved.
Initial Approval
The licensing authority issues initial approval.
Licence Issued
Trade licence issued against the notarised constitutional documents and the tenancy or flexi-desk agreement.
Establishment Card & Visas
Establishment card and any residence visa allocations processed, where the structure carries them.
Bank Account Opened
Corporate account introduction completed.
Indicative guidance — confirmed before payment
Requirements and statutory fees are set by The relevant emirate's Department of Economy / Economic Development (Dubai DET, Abu Dhabi ADDED) or the chosen free-zone authority (DMCC, IFZA, JAFZA, ADGM, DIFC) — there is NO federal companies registry and change without notice. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your engagement letter and quote are the binding documents.