How to Get a Trade License in Dubai

A trade licence is the official permit that authorises a business to operate legally in Dubai. It defines what the business is allowed to do: the licence lists the approved business activities, and operating outside them is a violation. No licence, no legal business: you cannot sign a commercial lease, sponsor visas, open a business bank account, or invoice clients from Dubai without one.

For mainland Dubai, the issuing authority is the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), previously known as the Department of Economic Development (DED). You will still see "DED" used everywhere, including in some official service names; it is the same authority. A DET licence allows the company to trade anywhere in the UAE, including directly with the local mainland market. That last point is what distinguishes a mainland trade licence from its main alternative.

The mainland versus free zone decision precedes the licence application, and it shapes everything downstream. A mainland DET licence gives the broadest operating scope: you can serve the local UAE market directly, take government contracts, open branches across the emirates, and combine a wide range of activities. Since the UAE foreign ownership reforms, most mainland activities are open to 100% foreign ownership, removing what used to be the main drawback for non-resident founders.

A free zone licence is issued by the individual free zone authority, not the DET. Free zones offer 100% foreign ownership by design, streamlined incorporation, and generally lower entry costs, but a free zone company faces restrictions on trading directly with the UAE mainland market without additional arrangements. For a business whose clients are abroad, that restriction often costs nothing in practice, which is why free zones are the default route for many international entrepreneurs.

The honest summary for a non-resident founder: if your revenue comes from outside the UAE or from other free zone companies, a free zone licence is usually cheaper and simpler; if you need to sell to the mainland UAE market, the DET licence is built for it. Either way, the provider who handles the paperwork matters: compare UAE company formation providers before you choose.

If you have shopped around, you have seen wildly different numbers. That is not obfuscation; it is structure. The cost of a Dubai licence is a stack of variables: the activity (each carries its own fee profile, and regulated activities add approval costs); the jurisdiction (mainland DET fees differ from free zone package pricing); the premises (mainland licences require an Ejari-registered office, so rent enters year one); visas (each residence visa adds government and processing fees); and third-party costs (notarisation, translation, any agent service fees).

Two verified anchors help calibrate the range. At the bottom of the market sits the DET e-Trader licence for home-based online businesses run by Dubai residents: around AED 1,070 for the licence plus AED 300 for Dubai Chamber membership where trading requires it, roughly AED 1,370 all-in per year. It is genuinely cheap because it is genuinely limited: it covers an individual, not a company, cannot sponsor employee visas, requires the holder to already live in Dubai with a valid residence visa and Emirates ID, and expatriate residents are generally restricted to professional and digital service activities. A full mainland commercial licence, with an office, an LLC structure and visa capacity, is a different product at a substantially higher cost, typically five figures in dirhams for the first year once premises and visas are counted. For the free zone side of the pricing, see our cheapest UAE free zones comparison.

A Dubai trade licence is valid for one year from issuance and must be renewed annually with the DET. Renewal requires a valid Ejari tenancy contract covering the renewal period and payment of the renewal fees, and letting the licence lapse exposes the business to fines and, eventually, blocks on visas and banking. The renewal process, its documents, costs and late penalties have their own dedicated guide: see our Dubai trade licence renewal guide.

This guide is based on official Dubai government guidance, verified in August 2026: Invest in Dubai (investindubai.gov.ae, the official business setup portal) and the Department of Economy and Tourism (the mainland licensing authority). Fee figures are reported ranges as at August 2026 and depend on the specific activity and package; licence fees and procedures change.

Always verify current requirements and fees for your exact activity on the Invest in Dubai portal or with the DET before applying. For the full cost of a UAE company beyond the licence, see our UAE company formation cost breakdown.