100%
Foreign ownership on most DET activities
Definitive mainland guide, 2026
How to Start a Business in Dubai
The decisions that move the number: your legal base, your DET activity, the real AED cost, and a timeline.
- Reviewed by senior DET mainland advisors.DMCS Mainland Desk, Dubai.
Start here
The two decisions that shape everything else
Two choices set your cost, tax position and reach: your legal base, and your activity.
At a glance
AED 18k+
Realistic solo licence, all in, year one
7-21 days
Standard activity, idea to licensed
9%
Corporate tax above AED 375,000 profit
Why this matters
Why founders choose Dubai mainland
Not the cheapest base on day one, but the one that does not box you in.
#1
Onshore base for selling inside the UAE
Ready to claim these advantages for your own company?
Talk to a specialist100% foreign ownership
Since the 2021 Commercial Companies Law reform, most mainland activities need no Emirati shareholder. A short strategic-activity list still requires local participation, and we check that against your exact activity before a single fee is paid.
Trade anywhere in the UAE
A DET licence lets you invoice clients onshore, open a shop, and supply across all seven emirates with no local distributor. A free zone licence restricts direct mainland trade without a service agent or a separate branch.
Government and large-corporate work
Federal and Dubai government tenders, and many large UAE corporates, contract only with mainland-licensed companies. If public-sector or enterprise revenue is on your roadmap, the mainland is the base that qualifies you for it.
A clear, low tax position
Corporate tax is 0% on profit up to AED 375,000 and 9% above. Small Business Relief can hold taxable income at nil for revenue under AED 3M. There is no personal income tax, and VAT at 5% only applies once you pass the AED 375,000 threshold.
Visa quota that scales
Mainland visa allocation is tied to your Ejari-registered office, so you grow headcount by upsizing premises rather than re-licensing. You sponsor your own investor visa plus staff and dependants.
No activity ceiling
The DET catalogue of 2,100-plus approved activities spans trading, professional, industrial and tourism work, and you can group several related activities under one licence instead of being capped by a fixed free zone package.
The process
From idea to licensed, banked and visa-ready
A realistic mainland timeline for a standard activity with documents in order. Regulated activities needing external approvals run longer.
8 stages7 to 21 days1 dedicated manager
- 1
Confirm activity and structure
Day 1Map every revenue line to an approved DET activity and choose your legal form: sole establishment, single-shareholder LLC or multi-partner LLC. This one step fixes your licence type and your full cost.
Activity listStructure confirmed - 2
Reserve the trade name
Day 1 to 2Submit up to three name options that follow UAE rules: no abbreviations, no offensive or religious terms, and a legal-form suffix where required. Reserving early locks the brand so filing never stalls on it.
Name approvalReservation slip - 3
Get DET initial approval
Day 2 to 4The DET issues initial approval confirming your activity and structure are acceptable in principle, which lets the rest of the file proceed. Regulated activities pick up their external-approval requirement at this point.
Initial approval - 4
Secure premises and Ejari
Day 4 to 6Take a flexi-desk, office or shop and register the tenancy through Ejari. This address sets your visa quota, so size it to your hiring plan rather than just day one.
Tenancy signedEjari registered - 5
Draft and notarise the MOA
Day 6 to 8Prepare the Memorandum of Association and supporting documents, then notarise. Foreign corporate documents may need attestation, which we kick off early so it never becomes the bottleneck.
MOA notarised - 6
Receive the trade licence
Day 8 to 11The DET issues the trade licence once the file and any external approvals clear. You are now legally trading, and the immigration establishment card follows on from here.
Trade licenceEstablishment card - 7
Open the corporate bank account
Day 11 to 18With the licence live, you apply for a corporate account. Expect a compliance review, so we build a bank-ready profile in parallel to keep you out of the weeks-long limbo most founders hit here.
Account openedIBAN active - 8
Process your visas
Day 14 to 21Run the investor and staff visas through entry permit, medical, Emirates ID and stamping. Quota depends on the premises you took at stage 4, so the two are linked.
Residence visaEmirates ID - 7 to 21 days for standard activities
Licensed and operating
Trade licence issued, corporate account live, your first visa stamped and your business trading onshore.
What to prepare
The paperwork, grouped so it is not overwhelming
Most delays trace back to a missing attestation or a passport copy that does not match the visa application. Prepare these three groups up front and the filing runs clean.
Identity
Shareholder and manager documents
Passport copies
Clear colour copies for every shareholder and manager, valid six months.
Visit or residence visa page
Current UAE entry stamp or residence visa for anyone already in country.
Passport-size photographs
Recent white-background photos to UAE specification for visa processing.
Activity
Business and approval documents
Trade name reservation
DET-approved name certificate, in hand before the licence can be issued.
DET initial approval
Confirms your activity and structure are acceptable in principle.
External approval (if regulated)
Dubai Municipality, DHA, RTA or other body sign-off for activities that need it.
Premises and legal
Office and constitution
Ejari tenancy contract
Registered lease for your flexi-desk, office or shop that sets your visa quota.
Memorandum of Association
Notarised MOA for LLCs setting shareholding, management and capital.
Attested corporate documents
For corporate shareholders or branches: attested incorporation papers and board resolution.
On attestation, start it on day one
Any document issued outside the UAE, a foreign company certificate, a power of attorney, or a degree for a regulated profession, usually needs attestation by the issuing country, then the UAE embassy there, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs inside the UAE. It runs in parallel with the rest of your file, but only if you begin at the start. It is the single most common reason a setup quietly slips by two weeks.
Name your documents consistently Spell each name identically across passport, visa and MOA. A mismatched middle name can stall both the licence and the bank.
Check passport validity Less than six months left triggers refusals at the visa stage. Renew before you file, not after.
Keep a digital set Hold clean PDFs of everything; the bank and the DET will ask for the same documents more than once.
The real number
What it actually costs, no headline games
Competitors advertise a licence fee and stay quiet on the rest. Here is a realistic all-in build for a solo professional mainland setup with one investor visa. Your figure moves with activity, visa count and office, but every line is on the table.
All-in · year one
AED 32,000
All-in, year one · Solo professional licence, one investor visa, flexi-desk premises
Annual renewal
AED 13,000
Liability
Limited
Tell us your exact activity, visa count and whether you want a physical office, and we send a single itemised quote with the year-two renewal sitting beside it. No headline price, no padded extras, no pass-throughs hidden until invoice day.
Itemized breakdownAmount
DET trade licence
Initial approval and the professional licence issued by the Department of Economy and Tourism.
Trade name reservation
DET name approval and reservation certificate.
Ejari and flexi-desk premises
Registered tenancy for a flexi-desk that satisfies the DET and sets your visa quota.
MOA and notarisation
Drafting and notarising your constitution, plus typing-centre fees.
Establishment card and e-channel
Immigration establishment card and labour file setup, required before any visa can move.
Investor visa (one)
Entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID and stamping for one investor visa.
DMCS professional fee
End-to-end handling, document prep, follow-up and one dedicated manager.
Estimated totalAED 32,000
Government fee · at costDMCS service · fixed
Itemised, not bundled
Every government pass-through and our fee shown as its own separate line.
No surprise add-ons
If your activity needs an external approval, we price it before you commit, not after.
Renewal clarity
We show the year-two renewal number up front so the budget holds beyond month one.
Avoid these
Five errors that cost first-time founders
These are the avoidable mistakes we see most when people set up alone or trust a price-hiding agent chasing a free zone commission.
Base
Choosing a free zone to sell onshore
A free zone licence does not let you invoice UAE mainland clients directly, so founders who sell locally end up paying for a service agent or a second licence.
Do this instead: if your customers are inside the UAE, start on the mainland with a DET licence.
Activities
Guessing the activity codes
The wrong activity group blocks the work you actually do or forces a costly amendment once you are already trading.
Do this instead: map every revenue line to an approved DET activity before you file.
Budget
Costing only the licence fee
Ejari, the MOA, the establishment card, deposits and per-visa medicals rarely show on the headline quote and add thousands of dirhams.
Do this instead: work from a fully itemised quote that lists every government pass-through.
Premises
Taking the smallest flexi-desk
Mainland visa quota is tied to your Ejari office, so the cheapest desk caps your headcount the moment you try to hire.
Do this instead: size the premises to your 12-month hiring plan, not just day one.
Tax
Ignoring corporate tax registration
Even with Small Business Relief reducing tax to nil under AED 3M revenue, registration is still mandatory, and missing the deadline triggers FTA penalties.
Do this instead: register for corporate tax on time and keep clean books from day one.
Why DMCS
Mainland specialists, not a generalist agent
We do one thing: Dubai mainland company formation. Real AED numbers, and an honest read on what your activity needs.
Transparent AED pricing
Every quote is itemised: DET fees, Ejari, visas and our fee shown separately, with the year-two renewal beside it so nothing surprises you later.
Mainland-only focus
We know the DET catalogue, which activities need external approvals, and where the strategic-activity ownership rules still bite. That is all we do.
One dedicated manager
A single named person runs your file end to end, from name reservation to a stamped visa, so you never re-explain your case to a call centre.
Honest before reassuring
If a free zone or a different structure genuinely suits you better, we say so. If your activity is regulated and slow, we tell you before you pay, not after.
10K+
Companies formed
15 yrs
Since 2009
4.8
163 Google reviews
Mainland-only advice with no free zone commission to chase.Itemised AED quotes with the renewal number shown up front.One manager from first call to stamped visa and live bank account.
Real results from our clients
What our clients say about working with us
Real Google reviews from founders we have set up and kept compliant on the Dubai mainland.
A
Abdul Sami3 months ago
Thank you to the team for supporting us with our company setup. Our case was not straightforward, especially the bank account opening, but they stayed committed and got it done.
P
Paolo Chua8 months ago
I had a great experience opening a corporate bank account. The process was smooth and efficient. The staff were friendly, professional, and explained everything clearly.
A
Amy Elliott Dunne4 months ago
The accounting and bookkeeping service has been exceptional. Attention to detail is impressive, and communication is always clear. Tasks are handled promptly.
R
Rashed Al Falasi5 months ago
They confirmed our activity grouping before filing and flagged an issue the bank would have raised. Licensed in under two weeks with no surprises on the invoice.
M
Marwa Khalil2 months ago
We came for a mainland LLC and stayed for renewals and PRO work. The same team answers the phone after the license is issued, which is rare here.
FAQ
The questions every founder asks
Ready to set up your Dubai mainland company?
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