RAK trade licence, RAK DED and the RAKEZ dual licence

Selling to customers inside Ras Al Khaimah means choosing between a mainland licence and a free zone route, and RAKEZ's description of its dual licence does not name the authority behind the mainland part. The sections below show who issues which licence, what the press and RAKEZ describe, and what to confirm in writing. People search for the RAK trade license or the Ras Al Khaimah trade license; the mainland document is the RAK DED licence.

RAK DED and RAKEZ, who licenses what

The RAK Department of Economic Development (RAK DED) is the mainland licensing authority in the emirate. RAKEZ, the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, is a free zone operator with business and industrial areas such as Al Hamra Business and Al Ghail Industrial. The emirate also hosts RAK ICC, which registers offshore companies, and Innovation City, which serves technology firms. A Ras Al Khaimah address therefore does not tell you who licensed a company.

RAKEZ's own pages say a free zone entity reaches the local market through a local agent. They list commercial, general trading, industrial, service, professional, media and e-commerce licences plus a freelancer permit (as of October 2026). The shareholder and capital rules of a mainland LLC are in the mainland LLC route.

The RAK mainland licence and the FDI route

A Khaleej Times report of 4 August 2020 describes a route in which RAK DED checks an activity against a positive list and reserves the trade name, with 100% foreign ownership. That report predates Federal Decree-Law 26 of 2020, which opened most mainland activities to full foreign ownership from 1 June 2021, and the current Commercial Companies Law, Federal Decree-Law 32 of 2021, so ask RAK DED which list or rule applies today. Ask also for the fee sheet and the premises rule for your activity.

The RAKEZ and RAK DED branch licence

A RAKEZ news item of January 2022 reports that clients can work in the Ras Al Khaimah mainland from their free zone office through a RAK DED branch licence. The item mentions 100% foreign ownership and eligibility to bid for government contracts. Treat both as claims to confirm, because a news release is not a licensing rule.

On its Getting Started page RAKEZ uses other words. It describes a RAKEZ Dual License as a free zone licence plus a free zone company branch licence that lets you operate on the mainland as well as in free zones, without naming the authority that issues the branch licence.

That wording should not be read as an Abu Dhabi style mainland dual licence. In Abu Dhabi the mainland department, ADDED, issues the Dual Licence, and Ras Al Khaimah should not be assumed to work the same way. If the licence covers only free zone work, a contract with a RAK customer or a government tender signed on that assumption sits outside it. Ask RAKEZ for written confirmation of the issuing authority, the territory and the activities before you sign.

RAK ICC companies working through a RAK DED subsidiary

RAK ICC, the offshore registry, announced on 23 August 2021 that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with RAK DED. Under it, international business companies registered with RAK ICC can carry on activities in Ras Al Khaimah through subsidiaries licensed by RAK DED (RAK ICC press release). That matters because regulation 40(8) of the RAK ICC Business Companies Regulations 2018 bars activity in the UAE outside the zone until a company holds all appropriate licences.

Costs to ask for and prices RAKEZ publishes

RAKEZ publishes package prices for its own free zone licences, and none of them is a RAK DED licence fee. As of October 2026 RAKEZ advertises the Biz Starter package at AED 6,000, with no visa listed. Its all-inclusive business set-up is AED 14,000 a year with one residence visa, and up to three more cost AED 4,000 each. RAKEZ's own pages show different all-inclusive prices, so ask for the current one in writing.

For a RAK DED licence or a branch licence, ask for the licence fee, the registration charges and the renewal fee as separate lines. Cost lines across all UAE routes are compared in how much it costs to set up a company in the UAE; the RAKEZ packages themselves are covered in RAKEZ company setup.

Questions to confirm with the authority

Put these to RAK DED or RAKEZ and keep the answers in writing.

1. Ask which authority issues the branch licence and for which territory.
2. Check whether your activity is on the RAK DED positive list, and ask the fee.
3. Confirm that the licence lets you contract with RAK customers and bid for government work.
4. Find out whether a lease or physical office is required, and where.
5. Ask what renewal costs after the first year.

An adviser who deals with RAKEZ and RAK DED can obtain that confirmation before a mainland contract is signed. An introduction can be requested through the Ras Al Khaimah hub, and the rules that apply across all emirates are in Company Setup UAE.

AdvisoryHub may receive a fee when you request an introduction; it does not affect the information on this page.

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