Trade License Renewal in Dubai and Abu Dhabi: Requirements & Steps

Mainland trade licences in the UAE are issued by each emirate's economic department, and every licence carries an expiry date. Renewal is mostly online now; the delays come from the records it checks before it lets you pay.

What has to be valid first

Four things, in roughly the order they catch people out:

A registered tenancy contract
For the premises the licence operates from: registered with Ejari in Dubai, with Tawtheeq in Abu Dhabi. In Dubai the renewal asks for the registered contract, and an unregistered one stops it.
The approvals your activity needs
Some activities need a sign-off from another government authority, and an approval that has lapsed can hold up the licence behind it.
Nothing outstanding against the licence
Check the licence's record on the authority's portal for violations or unpaid amounts before you apply, and settle them. Renewal day is the wrong moment to discover one.
Owners' documents in order
Partner and owner passport and Emirates ID copies, where the authority asks for them — and still valid.

Where to renew

Dubai

Mainland licences are issued by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET, formerly the Department of Economic Development). Renewal is done online through Invest in Dubai, which asks for the Ejari-registered tenancy contract as part of the application.

Abu Dhabi

Mainland licences are issued by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and renewed on TAMM, the emirate's government services platform. Commercial and industrial licences are renewed through separate services there, and the application shows the renewal periods open to your licence.

The other emirates run their own economic departments, each with its own portal.

Free zone companies

A free zone licence is renewed with the free zone authority that issued it, not with the emirate's economic department. Each free zone sets its own requirements, documents and timing, so check that authority's renewal page rather than the mainland steps above.

When it lapses

Fines for renewing late, and for trading on an expired licence, are set by each authority and revised from time to time. We deliberately do not print figures here: check the current amount with the authority that issued your licence.

The useful question is not what the fine is. It is why nobody saw the date coming.

The dates around a trade licence

The licence rarely travels alone. The tenancy contract, the establishment card, company insurance and the approvals behind your activity each expire on their own schedule — and they lean on each other.

The federal identity and residency authority (ICP) lists a valid trade licence as a condition for renewing the establishment card, so a licence that lapses holds up the card as well — and in Dubai, a tenancy contract that is no longer registered holds up the licence. Watching one date at a time is how a company finds this out in the wrong order.

Questions

How early can I renew a trade license?

Start well before the expiry date — early enough that a tenancy, approval or violation problem can be fixed before the licence lapses. Check with the authority that issued it how early it accepts a renewal.

Is there a grace period after a trade license expires?

Do not plan around one. Whether any period applies after expiry, and what renewing late costs, is set by the authority that issued the licence and changes. Check its current rules; we do not quote figures here.

Can I renew a trade license online?

Yes, in both emirates: through Invest in Dubai for Dubai mainland licences, and through TAMM for Abu Dhabi.

Is the establishment card renewed with the licence?

No. It is a separate card with its own expiry date, issued by ICP for the company's dealings with immigration, and ICP renews it only while the trade licence is valid. Track the two together so one does not hold up the other.

Can I renew if my tenancy contract has expired?

In Dubai, not without a registered tenancy contract: the renewal asks for its Ejari registration, so renew or re-register the contract first, then the licence. Elsewhere, check the issuing authority's requirements before you apply.

Checked against

Written to help you plan, not to replace the authority that issued your licence. Requirements, fees and renewal periods are set per emirate and per free zone, and change. Confirm the current position with that authority before you rely on it.