Key Takeaways
- Agent and PRO fees are set by contract, so no authority publishes a figure and a quote must show them as their own line.
- DIFC's fee schedule of 30 July 2026 charges a private company USD 8,000 to register and USD 12,000 for the licence.
- RAKEZ advertises an entry package at AED 6,000 without a visa and an all-inclusive package at AED 14,000 with one residence visa (October 2026).
- A Dubai dual licence costs AED 10,000 per year and the six-month mainland permit AED 5,000 (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025).
- Establishment card, health insurance, Corporate Tax registration and year-two renewal sit outside most packages and need their own lines in the estimate.
Company formation cost in Dubai has no single figure. Published entry points run from AED 4,020 for a DMCC freelance package without a visa (October 2026) to about USD 20,750 in DIFC registry fees in year one (derived from DIFC's July 2026 schedule). Some of the numbers in a UAE company quote come from an authority and some from a salesperson, and a quote does not always say which.
The sections below show what each authority and zone publishes, with the document and the date, and where you have to ask for the rest. Nothing here adds up to one price for your company.
Why one company formation cost in Dubai does not exist
A cost means nothing until it has four inputs: the activity, the jurisdiction, the number of visas and the date. Change one and the total moves. A consulting licence in a free zone with no visa and a trading licence on the Dubai mainland with three visas share the word company and little else.
The spread between official sources shows it. Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) advertises an entry package at AED 6,000 without a visa (RAKEZ package page, as of October 2026). The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) charges USD 8,000 to register a private company and USD 12,000 for the licence (DIFC Table of Fees, revision 16, 30 July 2026, fee schedule). Both figures are correct, and neither predicts what you will pay.
Government fees, zone fees and agent fees are different lines
Read every quote as three kinds of money. A government fee is set by an authority such as the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET, formerly DED), the Dubai Land Department or the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). A zone fee is set by the free zone and appears either in a tariff or in a bundled price. An agent fee is what a consultant or PRO (the person who handles government paperwork) charges for the work, and no authority publishes it.
Three labels are used below. A fee schedule is an authority's own tariff. A package is a free zone's marketing bundle, which may include visas and services. Vendor-quoted would mean a consultancy's published figure, and this page prints none, because agent fees are set by contract.
Ask the seller for six lines: government fee, zone fee, agent fee, optional items, renewal and exit. A quote that shows one total cannot be compared with anything.
Fee schedules published by the authorities
Each row comes from the authority's own document, with the date printed on it. The rows cover DIFC, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the Ras Al Khaimah International Corporate Centre (RAK ICC), the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) and Dubai government services. The English text of federal decisions is not an official translation, and the Arabic text prevails.
| Line | Amount | Label | Authority and document | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIFC private company, registration | USD 8,000 | fee schedule | DIFC Table of Fees, revision 16 | 30 July 2026 |
| DIFC commercial licence, on incorporation and at each renewal | USD 12,000, plus AED 20 knowledge and innovation fee | fee schedule | DIFC Table of Fees, revision 16 | 30 July 2026 |
| DIFC data protection notification, non-financial company | USD 750 | fee schedule | DIFC private company handbook, section 3 | 29 September 2026 |
| ADGM non-financial company, first year in total | USD 5,800 | fee schedule | ADGM Registration Authority, Overview of Fees 2025 | January 2025 version, still linked October 2026 |
| ADGM non-financial company, annual renewal | USD 5,300 | fee schedule | ADGM Registration Authority, Overview of Fees 2025 | January 2025 version, still linked October 2026 |
| RAK ICC international business company, first year and one-year renewal | AED 3,250 and AED 3,950 | fee schedule | RAK ICC Fee Schedule 2026 | effective 1 January 2026 |
| JAFZA offshore company, Registrar fees for incorporation and renewal | AED 10,000 and AED 2,500 | fee schedule | JAFZA Offshore Companies Regulations 2023, Schedule 2 | 2023 |
| Dubai branch operating out of the free zone (dual licence) | AED 10,000 per year | fee schedule | Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025, Article 12(1) | 3 March 2025 |
| Dubai six-month mainland permit | AED 5,000 | fee schedule | Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025, Article 12(2) | 3 March 2025 |
| Ejari tenancy registration | AED 177.75 by app or website; AED 220 at a trustee centre | fee schedule | Dubai Land Department, Register or Renew Tenancy Contract | October 2026 |
| Dubai establishment card | AED 200 plus 5% VAT and AED 20 in levies; renewal AED 100 per year | fee schedule | General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs Dubai, service page | October 2026 |
| DIFC establishment card and sponsorship deposit | USD 618 (USD 656 express) and USD 680 | fee schedule | DIFC private company handbook, section 3 | 29 September 2026 |
ADGM calls its schedule a non-binding indicative guide, and its Fees Rules prevail. Added up from DIFC's own rows, registry fees alone come to about USD 20,750 in year one for an ordinary non-financial company (USD 8,000, USD 12,000 and USD 750). Office, visas and Corporate Tax registration are not in that figure.
Mainland: what the authorities publish and what to ask for
Dubai's official guide lists three stages for a mainland licence: initial approval, trade name, then the licence (dubai.ae, October 2026). The amounts depend on the activity, so ask DET for the fee sheet for your exact activity before you accept any total.
Two more lines come into play. Premises-based licences add a rent-linked component of about 5% of annual rent, according to Gulf News on 6 September 2026 describing the Invest in Dubai cost calculator. Dubai Chamber membership is a separate fee that depends on legal form and activity. Ask DET, or the Invest in Dubai cost calculator, for the current charges for trade name booking and initial approval before you budget.
Abu Dhabi works the same way. The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) lists Abu Dhabi Trader, Dual, Freelancer, Mobdea, Small Producers, Standard and Virtual licences (October 2026), and the fee follows the activity on the TAMM portal. The guides on trade licences in Dubai and the UAE and on the mainland LLC route walk through the stages.
Free zones: published packages, dated
A package is priced by the zone itself, so read the right-hand column before the price. What one zone includes, another sells separately.
| Zone and package | Price | Label | What the zone lists | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAKEZ Biz Starter | AED 6,000 | package | No visa listed; up to 10 activities; coworking | October 2026 |
| RAKEZ instant licence, Lite | AED 12,000 | package | One residence visa; up to five shareholders and five activities | October 2026 |
| RAKEZ all-inclusive business set-up | AED 14,000 a year | package | One residence visa; up to three more at AED 4,000 each; renewal price stated as fixed | October 2026 |
| RAKEZ freelancer permit | from AED 6,100 | package | Sole practitioner; no corporate bank account; no extra visas | page stamp December 2025 |
| DMCC FreelanceUAE | AED 4,020 | package | One-year licence without visa; DMCC says visa packages are on hold | October 2026 |
| Ajman Media City, Business Club to Innovator | AED 4,999 to AED 22,999 a year | package | From no visa to three visas; renewal prices differ by package | October 2026 |
| Umm Al Quwain (UAQ) Free Trade Zone, START | AED 12,500 | package | One investor visa, Emirates ID, medical test, basic insurance, co-working | October 2026 |
Some zones print no price at all. IFZA does not publish a price list on its public pages and quotes through partners, DAFZ publishes no general tariff, Dubai South publishes no licence price, and Hamriyah publishes package structures but not prices. SHAMS and Ajman Free Zone give prices through a cost calculator, as the Ajman Free Zone guide explains. For these zones a number comes from a written quotation, and the quotation is what you hold the seller to.
The free zone choice guide compares the rules behind the prices, and the freelance permit guide covers the permit rows.
Lines that packages usually leave out
A package lists what the zone sells. It rarely lists what the state charges for living with the licence, and several of those lines repeat every year.
- Extra visas. DMCC's schedule of charges lists AED 500 per additional visa quota plus a non-refundable AED 250 application fee (fee schedule, October 2026).
- Establishment card. DMCC lists AED 1,825 per year (fee schedule, October 2026), against AED 200 plus VAT and levies on the Dubai immigration authority's service page, so the free zone price is not the mainland price.
- Health insurance. Employers must buy cover for private-sector workers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from 1 January 2025, and u.ae lists the basic package at AED 320 per year (September 2026).
- Medical test and Emirates ID. The medical fee depends on the centre and the speed, and the Emirates ID fee scales with the years of residence, so ask for the current list instead of a flat figure.
- Bank account. Each bank sets its own monthly fee and minimum balance, and approval is the bank's decision, not the zone's.
Renewal, audit, tax registration and exit costs
Year two starts with the renewal. DIFC charges USD 12,000 for the licence renewal (fee schedule, July 2026), and ADGM USD 5,300 for a non-financial company (fee schedule, 2025 version). RAK ICC charges AED 3,950 for one year and the JAFZA Registrar AED 2,500 for renewal after 12 months (fee schedules, 2026 and 2023). Among packages, Ajman Media City's Visionary package is AED 12,999 in year one and AED 8,999 at renewal, while the UAQ Free Trade Zone says START renews at the same package cost.
Audit is a separate firm and a separate invoice. A non-small DIFC private company files audited accounts within seven months of year end (DIFC handbook, September 2026). A small ADGM company (turnover up to USD 13.5 million, up to 35 employees) files a balance sheet only (ADGM, October 2026). Accounting firms in the UAE quote the first-year bookkeeping, audit and Corporate Tax registration as separate lines.
Corporate Tax registration is due within three months of incorporation (FTA Decision 3 of 2024), and a late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty (Cabinet Decision 75 of 2023 as amended), as of October 2026. If you later need a Tax Residency Certificate, the FTA charges an AED 50 submission fee plus AED 500 to AED 1,750 for the electronic certificate, depending on the applicant (FTA, October 2026). A company must have been established for at least 12 months, although it may apply three months into that period.
Exit has no single price. Cancelling the licence, closing the Corporate Tax registration, cancelling visas and closing the bank account are separate steps. A company without a planned closure often keeps accruing fines and stays on the register. Ask for the cancellation fee, any no-objection certificate (NOC) fee and any transfer fee in writing before you pay for the licence.
How to build a business setup cost estimate in six lines
Put the quote and the authority's document side by side and fill six lines. Leave a line blank rather than guess it.
- Fix the activity and the jurisdiction, using the activity name the authority uses.
- Take the licence line from the authority's fee schedule or the zone's package, and write which of the two it is.
- Add premises: the desk or lease, and Ejari where it applies.
- Multiply for visas: quota, entry permit, medical test, Emirates ID, establishment card and insurance for each person.
- Add the agent line from a written quote, and any optional lines you accept.
- Price year two: renewal, audit, Corporate Tax registration and the exit line.
The licence is one of those six lines. Activity approvals, premises and visas are separate lines that often decide the total. A consultant who works with your zone should itemise all six in a written scope, with the government fee shown on its own. The step-by-step guide to setting up a company in Dubai yourself shows where each line falls due.
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