Mainland License renewal for all activities in Dubai is mandatory for a business and has to be done every year. The Department of Economic Development (DED) issues, regulates and renews the trade license in Dubai.

All businesses that are setup in UAE gets a trade license. Everyone has to renew the trade license on time to avoid any penalties. Mainland License renewal for some activities in Dubai will require external approvals which require some time to process so its always good to start the license renewal process before the expiry date.

However, if the trade license expires, it can lead to financial problems. More importantly, the DED will blacklist the company. In other words, it means:

• The company will not be able to do any transactions in DED, MOHRE and Immigration.
• Work visa of the employees and owners will not be renewed once expired. It can also ban further travel to UAE.
• Sponsor will separate themselves from the company.

Mainland Trade License Renewal Process

The renewal process requires you to:

• Firstly visit the DED to submit all documents. An authorized PRO is enough to do this.
• Secondly submit the license renewal form (BR/1).
• Further you have to submit a valid lease agreement or tenancy contract by the Real Estate Regulatory “EJARI”. If the company is individual property, the owner has to present a certificate of the ownership. The tenancy contract should have validity of at least one month.
• Additionally, you have to get the approval of regulators of commercial activity. Each business type may need a license from a particular official.
• In addition you have to submit the passport copies of all partners.
• Lastly pay the license fees. Rates depends on the type of business activity.

Steps for Renewing a License

Obtain a Valid Ejari:

For the renewal of trade license, you have to get a valid Ejari. The landlord issue this upon renewing the tenancy contract.

Apply for the renewal of license:

Post getting a valid Ejari you have to take initial approval from the DED to begin the application for the renewing the trade license.

You have to pay AED 210 as the charges for the tasheel fees for application. In addition you must apply for change of location if you are going to change the location of the office along with the renewal.

Final Submission:

After obtaining the application for the renewal the final submission must be done to the DED for renewing the license.

The DED generates a payment voucher based on the government expenses. There is an extra market fees in the payment voucher as which is 2.5% of annual rent.

More Options for License Renewal:

There are three ways to renew the trade license:

Offline mode : You can renew your business license through various business service providers, authorized service agents etc.

Online Mode : You can visit DED website that has various e-services for the business customers for renewing the license online.

Auto- Renewal System : The DED has initiated an auto renewal process through which you can easily renew the trade license by sending an SMS to 6969.