Register your company in Dubai. Every filing handled.

Yes — that is the normal starting point, and it is the decision the call is most useful for. Start with what the business will actually do and where your customers will be, and the structure and jurisdiction follow from that. Deciding to register an LLC first and then working backwards to see whether your activity, premises and budget fit it is how people end up paying for a structure they did not need. We are a partnered CSP across almost every UAE free zone as well as handling mainland registration, so the recommendation is based on your business rather than on which license we would rather sell. If a free zone is the better answer for you, we will say so.

In practice, yes. Company registration, company formation, business registration, business name registration and incorporating a company all describe the same thing here: creating a legal entity and obtaining the trade license that lets it operate. In practice there is no separate registration step you complete on its own — the trade license is the registration, and once it is issued your company legally exists. So whether you came here to register a business, register a company, register a new company, register an LLC or register LLC structures specifically, or to handle a new company registration or company registration Dubai-side, it is the same process and the same sequence of filings. The reason the wording matters is that people arrive using different terms for the same job, and then worry they have missed a stage. You have not.

For a typical mainland registration: settle your business activities and legal structure, reserve the trade name, obtain initial approval, prepare and notarise the memorandum of association along with shareholder documents, secure premises and register the tenancy through Ejari, then have the trade license issued. The activity generally comes before the name because a Dubai trade name usually carries a descriptor of the activity within it. Your own sequence can differ, and we confirm it against your activity at the proposal stage. After the license comes the establishment card, the labour and immigration files, residence visas, a corporate bank account and tax registration. We file each stage in order on your behalf and tell you at the proposal stage which of the optional approvals apply to your activity.

Typically 2–5 working days for the license itself once documentation is complete and no external approval is outstanding. What usually extends it is everything around it — securing premises and registering Ejari, attestation of any foreign corporate documents, and any Municipality, Civil Defence or Police approvals your activity requires, where the regulator sets the timeline rather than DED. Residence visas add roughly 1–2 weeks after the license is issued.

Trade name reservation — trade name registration is the same thing — books your company name with the authority so it cannot be taken while your registration is in progress. A Dubai trade name is typically made up of three parts — a distinctive name, a descriptor of your activity and your legal form — which is why the activity is usually decided before the name is reserved. Names are commonly refused for reasons including religious or political references, being too close to a name already on the register or to an existing trademark, and using initials in place of an owner’s full legal name. Country and emirate names generally need separate approval rather than being refused outright. A reservation ordinarily holds the name for a period of months and can usually be renewed. These are the authority’s rules and they change from time to time, so treat this as a guide and let us check your name before it is submitted. We check the name against the rules and against what is already registered before submitting, since a refusal costs you the queue position rather than just the fee.

For most activities, yes. UAE law now permits 100% foreign ownership across the large majority of commercial and industrial activities on mainland, and the old requirement to give an Emirati partner 51% no longer applies to them. A small number of activities with strategic impact still require an Emirati partner, and some branch structures require a UAE National Service Agent, which is a different arrangement with no equity attached. We confirm which applies to your specific activity on the first call rather than leaving you to assume.

Yes. It is usually called a single owner company, and its formal name is a One Person Company. It is held entirely by one individual and carries the same limited liability protection and the same commercial activity scope as a multi-shareholder LLC, which is what separates it from a sole proprietorship, where there is no legal line between you and the business. It is the usual answer for someone who wants to register a limited company without taking on a partner, and it converts to a standard LLC later if you bring one in. Premises and Ejari requirements are the same either way.

Usually, for individual shareholders: passport copies, a passport-sized photograph, and a visa or entry stamp page if you are already in the UAE. For corporate shareholders: the parent company’s certificate of incorporation, memorandum, board resolution and a certificate of good standing, typically attested for use in the UAE. Beyond that, the tenancy contract for your premises and the notarised MOA. The exact list depends on your activity, structure and where documents were issued, and attestation is where most timelines slip — so we confirm what needs attesting, and in what order, before you start collecting.

For mainland, generally yes — the license is issued against a registered address and the tenancy is normally registered through Ejari, so premises are rarely something you can skip. How much space you need depends on your activity and on how many residence visas you intend to hold. Free zones are different: most will register a company against a flexi-desk, which is one of the main reasons a free zone registration is cheaper and faster. If premises are the sticking point, say so on the call and we will tell you honestly whether a free zone fits your customers.

For mainland we do not publish a figure, and you should be wary of anyone who does. 3 things decide it: the activities you register and which approvals they trigger, the premises and Ejari behind your registered address, and your structure and visa count. A published number has to assume all three, and the assumption is where the gap between the quoted price and the real one appears. Free zone registration is the part we can put a number on — licenses start from AED 12,500 in Dubai and AED 9,999 in the other emirates. On the first call we map your actual requirements and put a fully itemised figure in writing. Payment plans are available, so the cost can be spread rather than paid up front.