HomeCompany formationDubai mainland
Dubai Mainland Company Formation
A Dubai mainland company is licensed to conduct its approved activities in the emirate, including trade with customers in the UAE. It is one option. It is not automatically the right option.
When mainland is worth considering
- The business needs to sell goods or services to customers in the UAE, not only inside a free zone or abroad.
- The activity is one the Department of Economy and Tourism will license, with any extra approval that activity requires.
- The founders can meet the premises evidence that Dubai asks for.
A free-zone company is not barred from every contact with the mainland. Official guidance says mainland access is regulated. To sell locally, the company may work through a licensed mainland distributor, set up a mainland branch or company, or obtain the mainland licences and approvals required. Direct sales are generally not permitted without that step. The right structure depends on the goods or services and the authority.
Activities, premises and extra approvals
Dubai mainland, at the level the public rules support.
Activity
You choose the activity before the licence. Commercial, professional and industrial activities are licensed differently. The activity name has to match what the company will actually do.
Premises
The UAE government says a business needs a physical address that meets the emirate’s rules. Dubai’s published licence checklist includes a lease attested by RERA. The type of unit depends on the activity.
External approval
Some activities need another government body before the licence is issued. Food, health, education and similar regulated work are examples. Initial approval alone does not allow the company to start operating.
Ownership
Federal changes allow 100 per cent foreign ownership of many mainland companies. Activities of strategic impact, and specific activities such as certain security, telecoms, banking and commercial-agency work, are excluded or restricted. Confirm the activity. Do not assume every professional activity is treated the same way.
One official mainland steps page still says that a company owned entirely by non-GCC nationals needs an attested local service agent agreement. The foreign-ownership page describes the removal of that requirement for most commercial activities. Both pages are current government text. AskVi does not treat the local service agent as a universal rule, and does not ignore it. The licensing authority confirms which rule applies to the legal form and the activity.
Licence process, without the folklore
- Identify the activity and the legal form.
- Apply for the trade name and the initial approval.
- Prepare the memorandum of association where the legal form requires it, and have it attested.
- Secure premises and any external approval.
- Submit the file and pay the authority fees. The licence is what allows the activity to be practised.
Other emirates run their own mainland licensing. This page is about Dubai. For the wider choice, start with UAE company formation or the free-zone directory.