Mainland or free zone? DMCC or RAKEZ? See first-year setup cost, annual renewal, and a same-activity comparison across 9 UAE jurisdictions — based on 2025 published rate cards.
Pick a jurisdiction and we'll itemise the first-year cost plus annual renewal.
Common questions about UAE trade licence costs.
Each fee is sourced from the licensing authority's 2025 published rate card. Activity-specific surcharges (DHA for healthcare, KHDA for education, RERA for real estate, etc.) are surfaced as a category-level adjustment but the exact amount may vary by sub-activity. Real quotes from the authority's service centre or a licensed business-setup consultant are typically within ±10% of these figures for standard packages.
For some activities the licence fee itself is similar — the mainland upcharge mostly comes from Ejari tenancy (typically AED 6,000–25,000+ depending on emirate and office size). Free zones bundle the office into the package, which is why their licence fee looks higher in isolation. The total first-year cost is usually closer than people assume.
No. VAT (5%) applies to most service fees but not to the government licence itself. Add ~5% to the registration, immigration, and "other" line items if you want a fully VAT-inclusive figure. Free zone authorities differ — DMCC, JAFZA, and IFZA include VAT in many of their published packages.
Renewal is typically 60–80% of first-year setup. The big one-offs (registration, name reservation, MOA notary) drop out. We show an estimated annual renewal alongside the setup figure — use it for cash-flow planning. ADDED Tajer and DMCC packages have specific renewal schedules; check the source URL for exact terms.
Not yet — they're specialised financial free zones with their own legal regimes and fee structures (DFSA / FSRA registration fees can run into the tens of thousands for regulated activities). They'll be added in a future update along with a financial-services-specific calculator. For now, contact ADGM (adgm.com) or DIFC (difc.com) directly.
Yes, but it's effectively a re-registration: cancel the old licence, transfer or re-issue visas (which means new entry permits), notify your bank, and update tenancy. Total cost of jurisdiction change is usually similar to the original setup. It's much cheaper to choose right the first time — which is why this calculator exists.
Proziyo tracks every licence, visa, Emirates ID, and labour card across every UAE jurisdiction — with alerts before anything expires.
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