Key Takeaways
- The Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) sets the licence fee by activity. Get the renewal fee sheet for yours well before the expiry date.
- Your business lease has to be registered in Ejari in the licensed company's name. At a trustee centre that costs AED 220 (Dubai Land Department, October 2026).
- For a free zone company, a branch run out of the zone costs AED 10,000 a year to issue or renew. The six-month mainland permit costs AED 5,000 (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025).
- DMCC wants audited accounts within six months of the year end. JAFZA won't renew a licence without an active lease.
- Report a change of name, address, capital or shareholders within 15 working days (Commercial Companies Law, Article 15).
On paper, a trade license renewal in Dubai is a fee you pay once a year. It only goes through, though, when the rest of your paperwork is in order. That means the lease, the staff visas, the tax registrations and, in some free zones, the audit. Below you'll find the steps, the things that tend to hold a renewal up, and the amounts the authorities publish, as of October 2026.
How to renew a trade licence in Dubai with DET
Mainland licences in Dubai are issued and renewed by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai's mainland licensing office. It used to be called the Department of Economic Development (DED). So what many people still call a DED licence renewal is a DET renewal today. Executive Council Resolution 5 of 2024 moved licence and permit applications onto the Invest in Dubai digital window, and you can check with DET whether your renewal goes through there. The same resolution tells DET to renew licences instantly once you meet the renewal conditions and pay the fees. It also says renewal shouldn't be tied to permit procedures.
The licence fee depends on your activity, and DET sets it. Ask DET for the renewal fee sheet for your activity and compare it with what you paid when the licence was first issued. Dubai Chamber membership is a separate fee, based on your legal form and activity. Gulf News reported in September 2026 that for licences tied to premises, the Invest in Dubai cost calculator adds about 5% of the annual rent to the licence fee.
A lease or visa that has run out can hold the whole renewal up. Go through these checks before you pay:
- Look at the expiry date on the licence, and write the lease expiry date next to it.
- Make sure the Ejari registration (Dubai's official register of tenancy contracts) is current and in the licensed company's name.
- Check the establishment card, the immigration record that lets your company sponsor visas, and every staff visa. Note any that run out before the licence does.
- Request the renewal fee sheet and the table of late-renewal penalties for your activity, in writing.
- Pay through the channel DET tells you to use, and submit any amendments in the same transaction.
The establishment card is renewed on its own. For a mainland company, GDRFA Dubai (the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs) lists AED 200 plus 5% VAT, AED 20 in levies and an AED 50 service fee (GDRFA service page, October 2026). A free zone company renews its card through the zone.
How free zone renewals differ
Each free zone has its own renewal terms, fees and conditions. At DMCC (the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre), you need audited accounts within six months of the end of the financial year, signed by an auditor DMCC has approved (DMCC guideline of 29 April 2025). What you pay at renewal depends on the package you bought. The Prime Plus package freezes the price on renewal. The Crypto, Gaming and AI centre packages show 50% off the second-year renewal (DMCC packages page, October 2026).
Licences at JAFZA (Jebel Ali Free Zone) last one year, and you can only renew with an active lease (JAFZA company formation page). JAFZA doesn't publish a fee table for an FZE or FZCO, the free zone company forms with one owner and with several owners. You get a quote from the JAFZA cost calculator instead. An offshore company in JAFZA pays the Registrar a renewal fee of AED 2,500 after 12 months from registration (Offshore Companies Regulations 2023, Schedule 2). That fee doesn't apply to an FZE or FZCO.
Meydan sells licences covering several years at once, with up to 15% off. On the pages where it prices its licences, it doesn't publish a renewal fee (October 2026). With any zone, get the year-two price at the same time as the year-one price. At DMCC, also check whether renewal has to wait until your audited accounts have been filed.
Some free zone companies also work on the Dubai mainland, and that permission needs renewing too. Under Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025 (Article 12), a branch operating out of the free zone, often called a dual licence, costs AED 10,000 a year to issue or renew. The six-month permit costs AED 5,000 to issue or renew. For a branch with its own mainland premises, the resolution sets no fee. That kind of branch is valid for one year and can be renewed. For the permit you'll also need a Dubai Unified Licence, the single business identifier Dubai issues with a QR code.
What can block a renewal: lease, tax, audit and visas
Start with the lease. Registering a tenancy in Ejari is mandatory under Dubai Law 26 of 2007, as amended by Law 33 of 2008 (Article 4). For business premises, the Ejari has to be in the licensed company's name, and the company needs a valid licence (Dubai Land Department, October 2026).
A trustee centre, one of the approved Ejari service offices, charges AED 220. You'll also see a rate of AED 177.75 through the Dubai REST app or the Dubai Land Department (DLD) website. That one is for leases where both tenant and landlord are individuals. A company lease normally pays AED 220. The DLD lists registration and renewal as one service, so check which fee applies in your case.
Next come the staff papers. In every emirate, employers must buy health insurance for their private-sector workers. Without it, the workers' residence permits can't be issued or renewed (u.ae and MOHRE, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, October 2026). Renewing an Emirates ID late costs AED 20 a day, up to AED 1,000 (u.ae, February 2026).
Tax and company records count as well. A new company has to register for Corporate Tax within 3 months of incorporation (Decision 3 of 2024 of the Federal Tax Authority, or FTA). Registering late means an AED 10,000 penalty. VAT registration becomes mandatory once your taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000. There are also the beneficial owner rules, which cover the real person who owns or controls the company behind any other shareholders. After a third breach, the registrar can suspend the commercial licence until the fine is paid and the breach is fixed (Cabinet Resolution 132 of 2023).
DET and each free zone decide for themselves which of these records they look at when you renew. Find out which ones apply to your type of licence well ahead of the expiry date. One missing document can push the renewal past it.
Late renewal penalties are set by the issuing authority
For a mainland licence, DET decides what happens if you renew late. Each free zone sets its own consequences in its fee schedule. The amounts and grace periods aren't the same from one authority to the next. Get the penalty table and the rule on whether you may keep trading during a grace period, and keep both with your licence.
Fines on the related registrations can add up too. Registering late for Corporate Tax costs AED 10,000. Filing a Corporate Tax return late costs AED 500 a month for the first 12 months (Cabinet Decision 75 of 2023 as amended, as of October 2026).
Amendments at renewal
Don't hold changes back until the renewal date. A change of name, address, capital, shareholders or legal form must be notified within 15 working days (Commercial Companies Law, Article 15). The register of partners goes to the authority every January (Article 74). Both article numbers come from the 2021 text of the law, so check the current wording.
Moving to a new address means a new lease and a new Ejari registration. Sort out the lease first and update the licence after that. Renewal is also a good moment to compare what the licence says with how things really are, looking at the activity wording, the address and the shareholders. Banks check customers and beneficial owners against company documents (Central Bank guidance, effective 7 November 2025).
A renewal calendar
Use this table to keep the main deadlines in one place. It's based on rules in force as of October 2026. Add your own licence, lease and visa expiry dates to the same sheet.
| Trigger | Duty | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Within 15 working days of a change | Report a change of name, address, capital, shareholders or legal form | Commercial Companies Law, Article 15 |
| Every January | Send the register of partners to the authority | Commercial Companies Law, Article 74 |
| Within 3 months of incorporation | Register for Corporate Tax | FTA Decision 3 of 2024 |
| Within 30 days of becoming liable | Apply for VAT registration | VAT Executive Regulation, Article 7 |
| Within 60 days of licensing | Submit the beneficial owner register | Cabinet Decision 109 of 2023 |
| Within 6 months of year end, DMCC | Submit audited accounts | DMCC guideline of 29 April 2025 |
| Within 9 months of year end | Submit the Corporate Tax return and pay | Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022 |
| At each expiry | Renew the licence, the Ejari and the establishment card | DET or zone; DLD; GDRFA |
When to hand renewals to a PRO
A PRO (public relations officer) is a person or firm that deals with government paperwork on a company's behalf. With one licence, one lease and a few staff, you can often renew on your own. What catches people out is keeping track of all the dates. A lease, a licence and several visas rarely expire in the same month, and a single blocked renewal holds up the whole licence.
PRO services can keep the renewal calendar and handle the submissions for you, while an accounting firm looks after the tax dates. To see who issues what, read the guide to DET and the old DED name. The annual cost guide shows where renewal fits among a year of running costs.
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