Question 1

Select business activities

Accepted Answer

Select the primary and secondary activities that your business will be conducting. Please note that secondary activities are optional.

Question 2

Initial partner details

Accepted Answer

Select the number and nationalities of your partners, if you have any. If not, skip this step.

Question 3

Legal types

Accepted Answer

Compare and select the legal structure that is most suitable for you. If you notice a legal structure is not available, it means that you are not applicable to select it (based on your previous selections).

Question 4

Licence type

Accepted Answer

Compare and select the licence type that is most suitable for you. If you notice a licence type is not available to you, it means that you are not applicable to select it (based on your previous selections).

Question 5

Licence details

Accepted Answer

Enter the details of your company to apply for a trade licence.

Question 6

Partner details

Accepted Answer

Enter the details of each of your partners, local service agents or managers. Be ready to input their address details, contact details, personal identification numbers (Emirates ID, passport number, unified number/UID), their roles in their company and their percentage ownership share.

Question 7

Initial approval

Accepted Answer

For some licences – including many industrial licences – initial approval is mandatory. This is done at the same time as booking your trade name. This provisional approval allows you to proceed with further steps such as name reservation and location registration. It is also a prerequisite for registering your facility address through Ejari.

Question 8

Get business name

Accepted Answer

Now select a business name you have previously reserved or begin with a new business name.

Question 9

Location

Accepted Answer

For some licences you will need to input location details. These can be locations of existing businesses, in which you need the licence number, or new locations, which you need to register with your initial approval certificate.

Question 10

Legal documents

Accepted Answer

Send your legal documents (memorandums of understanding/MOAs, service contracts, civil contracts, etc.) for signing by respective stakeholders. Please make sure the stakeholders register on Invest in Dubai so they can sign virtually.

Question 11

Final licence

Accepted Answer

Receive your final licence and documents to operate your business. All documents you receive will then be stored in your Document Locker on your Invest in Dubai Dashboard.

Question 12

Additional approvals

Accepted Answer

For some licences, external entities require additional approvals to operate. Submit the required documents and wait to get feedback from an agent when approved.

Business set-up steps