Is a DMCC Licence Worth It? Fees, Tax and When It Pays Off

Key takeaways

• A one-year DMCC trading or service licence costs AED 20,265 on DMCC's schedule of charges, and the listed licence, application, registration, articles of association and establishment card fees add up to AED 34,165 before any desk, visa or share capital (as of 3 October 2026).
• DMCC's own packages start at AED 35,484 for Basic Biz (individual shareholders only) and AED 43,780 for Jump Start with a flexi desk and one residency visa for one year (as of 3 October 2026).
• A DMCC company pays 0% corporate tax only on qualifying income and only while it remains a Qualifying Free Zone Person; other taxable income is taxed at 9%, and a services business billing mainland clients will usually fall outside the 0% treatment.
• A DMCC licence is worth the higher cost when the business trades in activities on the qualifying list, such as qualifying commodities or logistics services, or when a DMCC address matters to counterparties; it is hard to justify on tax grounds for a business that sells mainly to UAE mainland customers.
• Since Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, Dubai free zone companies can apply to the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) for a licence to operate on the mainland, but they must keep separate financial records for that activity.

How much does a DMCC licence cost?

A one-year DMCC trading or service licence costs AED 20,265, and the first-year bill is higher once one-off registration, the establishment card, visas and a desk are added. The table lists the fixed items from DMCC's schedule of charges; DMCC states that charges can change without notice and the schedule shows no effective date, so confirm the current figure before you pay.

Accurate as of 3 October 2026, from the DMCC schedule of charges.

DMCC also sells bundled packages, which are usually the quicker way to a first-year quote:

Accurate as of 3 October 2026, from DMCC's business setup packages page. DMCC's guidance says minimum share capital is typically AED 50,000, which sits on top of these prices; confirm the figure for your activity with DMCC.

What do you get for the money at DMCC?

You get a licence from a free zone with over 1,000 approved activities across 20 sectors, a fully digital setup that DMCC puts at 2 to 3 weeks, and a visa quota tied to your office type. DMCC says a flexi desk carries 1 to 3 visas and a physical office one visa for every 9 square metres.

DMCC's website lists more than 26,000 registered companies from over 180 countries. A DMCC address may be familiar to overseas buyers or suppliers, but that's a commercial benefit you'd have to weigh yourself; no rule gives a DMCC company preferential treatment.

Regulated activities, such as financial services, crypto, healthcare and energy, need extra approval from DMCC.

Does a DMCC company pay 0% corporate tax?

A DMCC company pays 0% corporate tax only on qualifying income, and only if it meets every condition of a Qualifying Free Zone Person; income that isn't qualifying income is taxed at 9%. Unlike a standard company, a Qualifying Free Zone Person gets no 0% band on the first AED 375,000 of taxable income, according to the FTA's Free Zone Persons guide.

The conditions, set out in Article 18 of Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 and the decisions under it:

• Adequate substance in the free zone: core activities, assets, full-time employees and operating expenditure.
• Qualifying income: income from transactions with other free zone persons, from qualifying activities, or from qualifying intellectual property.
• No election to be taxed under the standard regime.
• Arm's length pricing on related party transactions, with transfer pricing documentation.
• Audited financial statements.
• Non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit: the lower of 5% of total revenue or AED 5,000,000.

The qualifying activities are listed in Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, issued on 28 August 2025 with effect from 1 June 2023, which replaced Ministerial Decision No. 265 of 2023. They include manufacturing, processing, trading of qualifying commodities, holding shares for investment, headquarter and treasury services to related parties, fund and wealth management, and logistics. Transactions with natural persons are an excluded activity, with a few exceptions.

If you'd rather not track these dates by hand, the free UAE compliance calendar lists them for your company.

Can a DMCC company trade with mainland customers?

Yes: since Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, a Dubai free zone company can obtain a DET licence to operate on the mainland, so a DMCC licence no longer rules out onshore work. Dubai's Media Office reports that the resolution was issued on 17 March 2025, that licences last one year and can be renewed, and that the mainland activity needs separate financial records.

Companies already operating onshore have one year from the resolution's effective date to comply, and the DET Director General can extend that by a year. Earlier, a December 2022 DMCC and Department of Economic Development dual licensing scheme let DMCC members obtain a DED licence for mainland Dubai.

The tax treatment is a separate question from the licence. Mainland sales for activities that aren't qualifying activities count as non-qualifying revenue, which feeds the de minimis test above.

When is a DMCC licence worth it?

A DMCC licence is worth the higher cost when your income can qualify for the 0% rate or when the address and activity list matter commercially, and it isn't worth it when you'd pay 9% anyway and want the cheapest compliant licence. The table matches common situations to the rules.

Say a DMCC services company bills most of its work to Dubai mainland clients: the premium buys a free zone address and visa route, not a lower tax bill. For the lowest compliant cost, compare other free zones' schedules on the same basis; this post verified only DMCC's fees.

AED 20,265: annual DMCC fee for a one-year trading or service licence, before registration, visa and desk costs. Source: DMCC schedule of charges, checked 3 October 2026.

What most guides don't tell you

One breach can cost five tax periods. Under the FTA's Free Zone Persons guide, a company that fails a Qualifying Free Zone Person condition loses the status from the start of that tax period and for the four tax periods after it. That makes the de minimis limit something to monitor monthly, not at year end.

DMCC's own pages don't agree with each other. The schedule of charges lists the one-year licence at AED 20,265, while a DMCC blog on setup costs describes licences as AED 10,000 to 50,000 a year and a typical first year at AED 35,000 to 50,000. Use the schedule of charges and ask for a written quote that names every line, including share capital, desk and visas.

Audited accounts are a DMCC rule and a tax rule. DMCC's Approved Auditor Rules require a member company to submit audited financial statements under Section 11 of the Company Regulations, using an auditor on DMCC's Approved Auditor List; the rules are version 2.0, effective 1 February 2019. A Qualifying Free Zone Person also needs audited statements for corporate tax, so budget for an audit every year. DMCC's filing deadline isn't stated in those rules, so confirm it with DMCC.

A flexi desk alone may not show substance. The substance condition expects employees, assets and operating expenditure in the free zone, so a business whose activity needs staff shouldn't assume a flexi desk meets it. Whether it does depends on the activity and facts, so ask an adviser before you commit.

Which deadlines apply to your company?

A DMCC company carries licence renewal, audited statements and corporate tax dates on top of any VAT filings. Qawi offers a free calendar of your company's UAE tax and compliance deadlines, personalised from a few questions, as a PDF and calendar file. Get yours here: UAE compliance calendar.

Frequently asked questions

How long does company formation take in Dubai? DMCC says its own setup takes 2 to 3 weeks and is fully digital, with no need to be in Dubai (DMCC website, checked 3 October 2026). Timelines at other free zones and on the mainland differ, so ask each authority for its current processing time.

Can a free zone company do business with mainland clients? Yes, but the route and the tax treatment depend on the structure. Since Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025, Dubai free zone companies can obtain a DET licence to operate on the mainland with separate financial records, and income from non-qualifying activities with mainland customers counts as non-qualifying revenue for the 0% corporate tax treatment.

Mainland vs free zone company in Dubai, which one is better for my business? Neither is better in general: the answer turns on where your customers are, which activities you run and how many visas you need. A mainland licence is usually the simpler fit when most customers are onshore, while a free zone such as DMCC makes most sense when your income can qualify for the 0% rate.

SHAMS vs IFZA vs Meydan free zone, which should I choose? Compare each zone's current schedule of charges, visa quota rules, office requirements and audit obligations on the same basis, meaning total first-year cost for the same number of visas. This post verified only DMCC's figures, so check the other zones' official fee pages before you compare.

About Qawi · Qawi is a corporate services firm licensed in the Sharjah Media City (SHAMS) free zone, handling company formation, visas and PRO, bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax for UAE businesses. Guides are researched from FTA, Ministry of Finance and free zone sources. Qawi on LinkedIn

Sources

• DMCC schedule of charges
• DMCC business setup packages
• DMCC: How much does it cost to set up a company in Dubai?
• DMCC business activities and licences guide
• DMCC Approved Auditor Rules
• DMCC website
• DMCC dual licensing scheme announcement, 15 December 2022
• Dubai Media Office: Executive Council Resolution No. 11 of 2025
• FTA Free Zone Persons Corporate Tax Guide
• Ministry of Finance: Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025

Last checked: 03 October 2026

This is general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation.