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Short answer: setting up an LLC in Dubai Mainland realistically requires a first-year budget of roughly AED 20,000 – 50,000. The final figure depends on your licence type, the number of visas you need, the size of your office and the level of advisory support you buy. Annual renewal typically lands between AED 12,000 and AED 25,000.
| Cost item | Estimated amount (AED) | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Initial approval and trade name reservation | 2,000 – 3,500 | One-off |
| Commercial licence fee | 8,000 – 15,000 | Annual |
| Office rent / Ejari (small unit) | 8,000 – 20,000 | Annual |
| Investor visa + Emirates ID + medical | 4,000 – 7,000 | Every 2 years |
| Government fees and notary | 1,500 – 3,000 | One-off |
| Advisory and PRO services | 3,000 – 8,000 | One-off |
Treat these bands as planning figures rather than quotations. Government fees are periodically revised, and every activity code carries its own approval requirements, so always confirm the current schedule with the Department of Economy and Tourism before you commit.
A Dubai Mainland company is licensed by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET, formerly DED) and can trade anywhere in the United Arab Emirates without a local distributor. That single difference is why so many founders accept the higher entry cost: you can invoice UAE customers directly, bid for government contracts and open branches across the Emirates. Following the reforms introduced from 2021 onwards, full foreign ownership is available for the large majority of commercial and professional activity codes, so the old assumption that mainland means “you need an Emirati partner” no longer holds for most business models.
The reason quotes vary so widely is that the licence fee is only about a third of your real budget. Office rent, visa count, the number of activity codes and the service package you choose account for the rest. Two companies in the same sector can end up AED 15,000 apart in annual cost purely because of how they solved the office question.
Everything starts with matching your business to a DET activity code. There are more than a thousand of them, and your choice determines the licence category as well as whether external approvals are needed. Picking the wrong code means paying an amendment fee later. Our guide to DED licence types and activity codes explains the logic in detail. Initial approval and trade name reservation are one-off government charges in the AED 2,000 – 3,500 range.
No mainland licence is issued without a registered address. The cheapest compliant route is a shared desk agreement registered in the Ejari system. Renting an independent unit pushes the budget up sharply, and Ejari registration also triggers a municipality fee calculated on the rent. Because your visa quota is tied to floor area, the office decision is not just a rent line: it sets the ceiling on your hiring plan.
Once initial approval and the tenancy document are in place, the memorandum of association is notarised and the trade licence is issued. Notary and legal translation costs grow with the number of shareholders. Budget AED 1,500 – 3,000 for this stage.
The licence is not the finish line. Corporate tax registration, VAT registration where applicable, the establishment card and the labour file all follow. Individually they look small; together they add several thousand dirhams that most online cost tables quietly omit.
Trading, import and export activities sit here. A general trading licence, which lets you deal in a wide range of product groups under one code, costs noticeably more than a narrow commercial licence. Warehousing or a customs code adds further line items.
Consulting, software development, design, training and accounting run on a professional licence. This is usually the cheapest option, and a one-person consultancy will typically sit near the bottom of the overall range.
Manufacturing, assembly and packaging require municipality, civil defence and environmental approvals. Both the timeline and the cost sit well above the other two categories, and warehouse rent moves the budget into an entirely different bracket.
Mainland visa quotas are linked to office space; a common rule of thumb is one visa per nine square metres, although the final allocation rests with the authorities. The important distinction is between an investor (partner) visa and an employee visa: employee visas bring an employment contract, wage protection system registration and mandatory health insurance with them.
The all-in cost of one visa combines the entry permit, status change, medical screening, Emirates ID and insurance. For 2026 planning, AED 4,000 – 7,000 per person is realistic, and most visas renew every two years. If you plan to sponsor family members, factor in the minimum salary and tenancy requirements as well. Our Mainland residency visa guide walks through the process.
Opening a corporate account is usually free, but minimum balance requirements are not. Fall below the threshold and the bank charges a monthly shortfall fee. Local banks commonly set the bar between AED 25,000 and AED 100,000; digital banking providers are lower. Account opening is often the longest part of the whole project, so allow four to eight weeks from the licence date.
UAE companies must maintain proper books and retain records for at least seven years. Outsourced bookkeeping for a small entity can be budgeted at AED 4,000 – 12,000 per year. Certain thresholds and structures also trigger an audit requirement.
UAE corporate tax applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 June 2023 under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. Taxable income up to AED 375,000 is taxed at 0% and the excess at 9%. A Small Business Relief mechanism is available to taxpayers whose revenue does not exceed AED 3,000,000 in the relevant and previous tax periods, for the periods specified by ministerial decision. VAT is charged at 5%, with mandatory registration once taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000 and voluntary registration above AED 187,500. Always confirm current rates and thresholds with the Federal Tax Authority before acting, and read our overview of the Dubai tax system for the wider picture.
Free zone packages look cheaper in year one because the licence, a flexi desk and one visa are bundled into a single price. The catch appears when a free zone company wants to sell directly into the UAE market and has to add a distributor or a mainland branch. Mainland starts more expensive but scales more predictably. Our Mainland versus free zone comparison puts the two side by side.
Professional licence, shared desk, one investor visa: expect AED 22,000 – 30,000 in year one, dropping to roughly AED 13,000 – 18,000 at renewal once the one-off charges disappear.
Commercial licence, a small office and three visas put you in the AED 40,000 – 55,000 band for year one. Visas and rent alone account for more than half of that.
A physical shop, civil defence approval and larger floor area can take the first year above AED 70,000. Confirm that your activity code can be approved at the specific address before you sign the lease.
With complete documentation, initial approval takes one to three working days and licence issuance a further two to five. The establishment card and visa process runs two to four weeks. A realistic end-to-end timeline is three to six weeks, with bank account opening sitting outside that window and depending on the bank’s compliance review.
Founders who settle these six points up front usually keep their first-year budget variance under 10%. For an itemised quotation built around your own business model, talk to our Dubai company formation team.
Yes, for the majority of commercial and professional activities. A limited list of strategic activities still requires Emirati participation, so the answer depends on your specific activity code.
Yes. A registered address with an Ejari contract is mandatory, but a shared desk in an approved business centre satisfies the requirement for most professional activities.
In year one, usually yes. Over three years the gap narrows considerably, especially if your customers are UAE-based and a free zone structure would force you to add a distributor.
A 15% contingency on top of your quoted package is a sensible reserve for translations, additional approvals, insurance and bank minimum balances.
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