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Business setup in the UAE: DMCC free zone (Dubai)

Recognised as the world's number one free zone. Address in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, with a metro station on site. Its profile is commodities, metals and digital assets.

Price from
$9,400
Timeline
1–2 weeks
Tax
0% income tax
corporate 0% up to AED 375,000 of profit, 9% above
Format
Remote and in person
Calculate the tax ↓Compare free zones ↓
About the zone

What sets the DMCC free zone apart

DMCC (the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) was created in 2002 as a commodities exchange and a free zone at once. It originally specialised in trade in precious stones, energy, steel, metals and agricultural goods — and it has remained the main place of registration for such companies.

It is the most expensive zone listed here, and people choose it for reputation: DMCC is recognised as the world's number one free zone, with more than 24,000 companies registered on its territory.

  • Address in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, with a metro station on site
  • 87 residential and commercial buildings on site — a wider choice of premises than other zones
  • Up to 3 visas per company on a Flexidesk; beyond that the quota depends on the size of the premises and the licence type
  • Share capital must be paid into the company account within three weeks of the licence being issued — unlike most other zones; it may be withdrawn immediately afterwards
  • Premises are mandatory and only inside the zone (Jumeirah Lakes Towers): a licence cannot be taken without them
Explainer

What a free zone is, and why it costs less

A free zone is a separate territory with its own company registrar and its own rules. The UAE has several dozen of them, and each issues licences on its own terms: the document set, the list of permitted activities, the office requirement and the number of visas all differ from zone to zone.

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A free zone company is wholly foreign-owned, is registered remotely and needs no real office — a desk in the zone's own co-working space (Flexidesk) is enough. That is where the price gap with Mainland comes from, since Mainland requires a lease.

The free zone has one limitation, and it matters: inside the UAE market it can only work remotely — marketing, IT, consulting, wholesale. Opening a shop, a café or a salon, anything with a physical presence serving a local customer, is not something a free zone licence allows.

Zones specialise, and this is not marketing: DMCC grew out of a commodities exchange and is built around precious metals, raw materials and digital assets; RAKEZ is industrial, with workshops and warehouses; SHAMS was created as Sharjah Media City; AFZA sits on a sea port and lives on trade and manufacturing. Meydan and IFZA are general-purpose. Picking the zone that fits your profile saves both money and time in approvals.

Comparison

Free zone or Mainland: which to choose

The choice is driven not by price but by where your customer is. If they are outside the UAE — or inside it, but the work is done remotely — a free zone fits. If you need the local market with a physical presence, there is only one option: Mainland.

The tax regime is the same for both: VAT and corporate tax apply on general terms. The difference is in the rights and in the office requirement.

Free zone

This option
  • Activity inside the free zone, or anywhere outside the UAE
  • Inside the UAE market — only what can be delivered remotely: marketing, IT, consulting, wholesale
  • Registration on a Flexidesk — a desk in the zone's co-working space; no real office needed
  • Premises can only be leased inside the free zone; outside it, a separate permit is required
  • The number of visas is capped by the rules of the specific zone
  • One company may only hold related activities from a single group
  • 100% foreign ownership
  • Cheaper than Mainland

Mainland

  • Activity across the whole of the UAE and beyond it
  • Only Mainland can operate with a physical presence: shop, restaurant, salon, repairs, cleaning
  • A registered address is mandatory — an office lease agreement
  • An office can be leased or bought anywhere in Dubai, without restrictions
  • The number of visas is not capped
  • One company may combine any activities
  • 100% foreign ownership, except in a few strategic industries
  • More expensive than most free zones

What the service includes

Scope: a tick means included in the price, a cross means billed separately
Registration with DMCC
Trading or professional licence
Registered address (Flexi-Desk)
Eligibility for a 2-year Emirates ID
Support with the bank account
Audit— billed separately
Physical office— billed separately
Government visa fee— billed separately

How the process runs

1–2 weeks
  1. Before day 1Preparing and collecting documents, checking the company name against UAE requirements.
  2. Day 1Initial approval (pre-approval) and reservation of the company name.
  3. Days 2–7Signing the incorporation documents and the memorandum of association (MoA).
  4. Day 8The free zone reviews the application and issues the licence.
  5. Day 13Licence in hand — the company is registered.
  6. Day 14The company is registered with the immigration authority — from this point residence visas can be applied for.

What we need from you

  • 1Passport
  • 2A 3–5 day trip for biometrics (Emirates ID)
  • 3Proof of source of funds

Tax calculator for the UAE

The regime being compared is «UAE corporate tax (0% / 9%)». Enter your own net profit and the rate you pay today — whichever it is. Profit after expenses, not turnover: that is what corporate tax is charged on.

Today (15% rate)
$375
per month
UAE corporate tax (0%)
$0
per month
Today
UAE
You save per month
$375
$4,500
over 1 year
$13,500
over 3 years
$22,500
over 5 years

An indicative calculation from the figures you entered — it does not account for deductions, double taxation treaties or the specifics of your current jurisdiction. The exact calculation comes on the free consultation.

Frequently asked questions

What are you paying for at DMCC when zones cost a third as much?
Reputation and address. DMCC is recognised as the world's number one free zone; more than 24,000 companies, 87 buildings and a metro station sit on its territory. For commodity and precious-metal trading, and for dealing with large counterparties, the zone's name has practical value.
Is it true that share capital has to be paid in here?
Yes, and that is the main difference from the other zones listed. The condition is milder than it sounds, though: under DMCC rules the capital is paid into the company account within three weeks of the licence being issued, and may be withdrawn immediately afterwards. The money must exist, but it does not have to sit frozen.
How long does registration take?
Longer than in other zones: the licence is issued around working day 13, immigration registration on day 14. DMCC itself quotes around 10 working days with a complete document set. At SHAMS and Ajman the same stages take 3–4 days.
Is an office mandatory at DMCC?
Yes, and more strictly than elsewhere: a licence cannot be taken with no premises at all, and the premises must sit inside the zone itself — in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. The choice is wide, though: from a 20–30 m² Flexidesk and a serviced office up to whole tower floors. The area is matched to headcount and activity — a consultancy of five, for instance, would need at least 50 m².
How many shareholders and directors can there be?
From 1 to 50 shareholders and from 1 to 6 directors (branches have their own rules). One person may hold every position at once — manager, director, legal representative and secretary. Only the manager's name appears on the licence itself.
Which activities are not allowed at DMCC?
The zone names three groups: gambling, production of explicit content, and activity harmful to the environment or to public health. Some sectors additionally require separate approvals from other UAE regulators — that comes out while the activities are being selected.
Is corporate tax really 0% in a free zone?
Not automatically, and not on all income. By default a free zone company pays like everyone else: 0% on profit up to AED 375,000 a year and 9% above that — that is the regime shown in the tax card at the top of this page. The 0% rate on all income belongs only to a company with Qualifying Free Zone Person status, and only on its “qualifying income”; the rest is taxed at 9%. Such a company also loses the relief on the first AED 375,000 — non-qualifying income is taxed at 9% from the first dirham. The conditions for the status are: adequate substance in the zone, arm's length dealings with related parties, transfer pricing documentation, audited financial statements, and a cap on non-qualifying revenue — no more than AED 5 million or 5% of total revenue, whichever is lower. One detail matters for service businesses: transactions with natural persons are classed as excluded activities, so they do not fall under 0%. Breaching the conditions costs the status for the current tax period and the four that follow. The full text is in the UAE Federal Tax Authority bulletin linked under Sources.
Can a free zone company be set up remotely, without flying in?
The company and the licence — yes, all of it is handled remotely from document copies, and no personal presence is required for registration. Incorporation documents at DMCC, for example, can be signed in three ways: at the zone's office, at a notary where you live with subsequent legalisation at the UAE embassy, or in front of a service provider accredited by the zone in your own country. You will only need to fly in for the residence visa (Emirates ID): the medical test and fingerprinting cannot be done remotely — DMCC confirms this itself. Three to five days are set aside for the trip. If you do not need a visa and the company is opened only for a bank account and contracts, no trip is needed at all.
Can a free zone company sell inside the UAE?
Not directly. RAKEZ puts it this way: a free zone entity may trade its products outside the zone and within the UAE only through an agent, a representative, a distributor or its parent company holding a relevant UAE licence. Services delivered remotely — marketing, IT, consulting — are not affected by this: you can invoice clients anywhere in the country, and SHAMS answers that question with a plain “yes”. If you need a physical presence and a local customer — a shop, a café, a salon — Mainland is the only option.
Does the share capital have to be paid into the company account?
In most zones — no: the amount is stated in the articles, but it does not have to be paid in cash. The minimums differ: RAKEZ requires AED 10,000 for an FZ-LLC (shares of AED 1,000 each), while Meydan sets no minimum at all and merely suggests using AED 100,000 as a reference. The exception among the zones listed here is DMCC: there the capital genuinely is deposited into the company account within three weeks of the licence being issued — though it may be withdrawn immediately afterwards. Capital size also affects visas: at Meydan, an investor visa becomes available from AED 50,000 of invested capital.
How many residence visas does the licence carry?
It depends on the zone and on whether you have an office: DMCC states plainly that the visa quota is determined by the size of the premises and the type of licence. On a Flexidesk (a desk in the co-working space) SHAMS places no cap on visas, Meydan allows up to 6, Ajman up to 4, IFZA and DMCC up to 3. More visas can be obtained almost everywhere by leasing a real office in the zone. A licence can also be taken with no visas at all — Meydan confirms that option separately.
Can several activities be combined in one company?
In a free zone — only related ones, from a single group: for example trading activities, or professional (service) ones. A fixed number of groups is included in the base price: Meydan gives three at no extra cost. General-purpose zones such as Meydan and IFZA allow combining within a group. Only a Mainland company can combine anything with anything.
Are there rules about the company name?
Yes. IFZA puts it as follows: the name must not contain indecent language or refer to any political or religious groups. In most zones the name cannot be checked in advance — DMCC states plainly that availability is only checked after the online application is submitted, so prepare several options up front. The name on the licence and the trading name a company operates under may differ.
What documents are needed to start?
For company registration, passports of all shareholders valid for at least six months are enough. Some zones additionally ask for proof of address, a bank reference or a business plan — that is how RAKEZ describes it. If a shareholder is a legal entity, its constitutional documents, certificate of incorporation and a board resolution on opening a company in the zone will be required.
Can the activity be changed after the licence is issued?
Yes, every zone allows it. At RAKEZ, adding an activity of the same type (another trading activity to an existing commercial licence, say) is done through a Change of Activity application; SHAMS permits changing activities after the company is incorporated; at Ajman it is a Change Activity request through the customer portal. A change may require moving to a different licence type — in which case its cost changes too.
Is bookkeeping and reporting mandatory?
Yes, and the UAE is tightening this. A company registers for corporate tax and files a return within nine months of the end of the tax period; records are kept for seven years. A company with Qualifying Free Zone Person status must maintain audited financial statements regardless of its revenue. The zones require reporting of their own too: since 30 September 2025 IFZA collects financial statements at every annual licence renewal. VAT registration becomes necessary once turnover reaches the statutory threshold — check current figures with an expert or with the UAE Federal Tax Authority.
What happens if the licence is not renewed?
The licence is issued for a year (in some zones for up to ten) and is renewed. A short delay can be closed: Ajman, for instance, gives a one-month grace period after expiry. Beyond that the zone charges penalties, and the residence visas of staff and family tied to the licence are cancelled along with it.

Sources

UAE free zones and Mainland compared

The difference is not the price — it is who each option suits. The “Best for” column is the business profile the option is built around.

OptionBest forTimelinePrice from
AFZA free zone (Ajman)Trade, warehousing and the port, automotive, food, jewellery~1 week$1,550
SHAMS free zone (Sharjah)Media, content and creative, digital, unlimited visas~1 week$1,575
RAKEZ free zone (Ras Al Khaimah)Manufacturing, warehousing and logistics, e-commerce, startups~1 week$1,650
Meydan free zone (Dubai)Consulting, IT and digital, trading, media, any activity~1 week$3,500
IFZA free zone (Dubai)IT and digital, consulting, services, a first company in the UAE~1 week$3,500
Freelancer licenceIT and development, design, media and content, marketing, consulting1–2 weeks$4,500
Mainland (Dubai)B2C in the UAE, government contracts, retail and food service, import/export1–2 weeks$5,890
DMCC free zone (Dubai)you are herePrecious metals and stones, commodities and energy, digital assets, trading1–2 weeks$9,400
Terms

The terms the expert works on

Guarantees the outcome by contract

Writes the outcome and the timeline for every service — including opening a bank account — into the contract, and answers for them.

Bills in stages

You do not pay the whole sum up front: invoices come in instalments as each stage closes.

Fixes the price in the contract

The cost is locked in and does not grow as the work goes on. Prices on the site are indicative — the final figure comes after your case is reviewed.

Charges no hidden fees

No penalties or surcharges beyond the contract. No Pactors markup either: you pay the expert their own price.

Works with lawyers of 8+ years in UAE law

The licence for your activity is matched, and the requirements worked through, by qualified lawyers.

Thinks a step ahead

Picks the zone and the licence so that a year from now you do not hit a limit and have to redo the whole thing.

Deals with authorities directly

Handles government bodies, free zones and UAE banks personally — no chain of subcontractors.

Ready to start?

Send an enquiry — we will check your case and help you arrange “Business setup in the UAE: DMCC free zone (Dubai)” in UAE. No markup on top.