SCA License in the UAE: Securities and Commodities Authority Requirements and Process

An SCA license in the UAE is the authorisation issued by the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the federal onshore regulator for the UAE securities and commodities markets, allowing a company to carry out regulated financial activities such as brokerage, investment management, financial consultancy, custody and securities promotion outside the financial free zones. If your firm operates in mainland UAE - rather than inside DIFC or ADGM - SCA is the authority you answer to. The first decision is not cost but jurisdiction: SCA onshore, DIFC under the DFSA, or ADGM under the FSRA. This guide explains what the Securities and Commodities Authority regulates, the regulated activities and license categories, indicative capital requirements, the application process, and how the SCA onshore license compares with the two free-zone regimes.

Getting the regulator decision right at the start saves the most time and money, because each regime has its own rulebook, capital base and approvals. We help map that choice as part of company formation in the UAE, alongside the broader DIFC and ADGM options covered in our DIFC financial services license guide.

What Is an SCA License

An SCA license in the UAE is the regulatory approval that lets a firm conduct securities and commodities activities in the onshore (mainland) market. The securities and commodities authority license is the gateway to operating as a broker, an investment manager, a financial consultant, a custodian or a promoter of securities anywhere in the UAE that is not inside a financial free zone.

SCA was established as the UAE federal regulator for capital markets. It supervises the licensed exchanges - including the Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange - and the licensed intermediaries and service providers that operate on and around them. An SCA onshore license in the UAE is therefore the natural route for a financial firm whose clients and counterparties sit in the mainland economy rather than within a free-zone jurisdiction.

What Does the Securities and Commodities Authority Regulate

The Securities and Commodities Authority regulates the onshore securities and commodities sector at the federal level. Its remit is broad, and understanding it answers the common question of what the securities and commodities authority actually oversees:

• Securities markets and exchanges - the licensed markets where shares, bonds, sukuk and other instruments are listed and traded.
• Commodities and derivatives trading conducted through licensed onshore platforms.
• Public offerings and listings of securities by companies raising capital onshore.
• Licensed intermediaries such as brokers, dealers, portfolio managers and investment managers.
• Investor protection, disclosure and market-conduct rules that keep the onshore market orderly and transparent.
• Funds and their promotion distributed to investors in the onshore UAE.

In short, if a securities or commodities activity happens in the mainland UAE rather than inside DIFC or ADGM, it falls under SCA supervision.

Regulated Activities Under SCA

The SCA regulated activities framework defines the specific functions that require approval. A firm applies for the activity or combination of activities that matches its business model, and each carries its own conditions. The main categories of regulated activity include:

• Dealing and brokerage in securities - executing trades on behalf of clients on the licensed markets.
• Investment and portfolio management - managing client money and discretionary portfolios.
• Financial consultancy and financial analysis - advising clients on securities, instruments and investment decisions.
• Custody services - safekeeping and administering clients' securities and assets.
• Promotion and introduction - marketing securities, funds and financial products to onshore investors.
• Arranging and management of fund and securities offerings - supporting issuers and structuring market transactions.

The answer to which activities need SCA approval is straightforward: any securities, commodities or fund-related service offered to clients in the onshore UAE generally needs an SCA license for the relevant activity, unless it is conducted entirely within DIFC or ADGM under their own regulators.

SCA Versus DIFC Versus ADGM

The SCA vs DIFC vs ADGM decision is the single most important choice for any UAE financial firm, because it determines your regulator, rulebook, capital base and the market you can serve. All three are credible, but they serve different models.

As a rule of thumb: choose SCA when your clients and trading activity are firmly in the onshore UAE market; choose DIFC or ADGM when you want a common-law framework and an international client base. Many groups eventually hold more than one authorisation. For the free-zone side of this decision, see our companion guides on the DIFC financial services license and the regimes compared throughout this article.

License Categories and Capital Requirements

SCA structures its authorisations around the regulated activity a firm intends to carry out, and SCA capital requirements scale with the risk and nature of that activity. A simple advisory or promotion firm sits at the lower end of the capital scale, while a broker holding client positions or a custodian safeguarding assets sits considerably higher.

The principle is the same one used by every serious regulator: the more client money and market risk a firm touches, the larger the minimum capital base it must maintain. Indicative, approximate bands - to confirm against current official sources before you budget - look broadly like this:

• Advisory, financial consultancy and promotion activities - the lowest minimum capital, reflecting that the firm does not hold client assets.
• Investment and portfolio management - a higher minimum capital, reflecting discretionary control over client money.
• Brokerage and dealing - higher still, especially where the firm deals as principal or carries positions.
• Custody and asset-safekeeping - among the highest, given the responsibility for holding clients' securities.

Alongside paid-up capital, SCA expects firms to hold adequate net liquid assets and, in many cases, professional indemnity insurance and bank guarantees. Treat any figure you read as approximate and confirm the exact SCA license requirements and capital thresholds against current official sources, because they are periodically revised.

Cost and Fees

The total SCA license cost is built from several layers, not a single fee, and it varies with the activities you apply for and the scale of the firm. The main components are:

• Application and initial assessment fees paid to SCA when you submit.
• Annual license and supervision fees charged per regulated activity.
• The required capital base, which is not a fee but locked-up funds you must hold and demonstrate.
• Mainland trade license and establishment costs, since an onshore SCA-regulated firm also needs a commercial license from the relevant emirate's economic department.
• Compliance infrastructure - a qualified compliance officer, anti-money-laundering systems, audited accounts and ongoing reporting.
• Professional indemnity insurance and bank guarantees where the activity requires them.

Because the regulatory cost sits on top of the corporate setup, an SCA-regulated firm is meaningfully more expensive to establish and run than a standard mainland company. All figures are approximate and should be confirmed against current official sources and a written quote before you commit.

Documents and Application Process

An SCA application is a substantive regulatory filing, not a routine trade-license registration. You are asking the regulator to be satisfied that the firm, its owners and its key staff are fit and proper. The typical document set includes:

• A detailed business plan covering the regulated activities, target clients, financial projections and risk profile.
• Shareholder and ownership documents, including corporate structure and source-of-funds evidence.
• Fit-and-proper information for shareholders, directors and senior managers, with CVs and clean compliance records.
• Proposed key personnel - including a qualified compliance officer and money-laundering reporting officer.
• Compliance, AML and internal-control policies.
• Evidence of capital and, where required, insurance and guarantees.

Knowing how to get an SCA license is mostly about sequencing the steps correctly:

1. Confirm SCA is the right regulator for your model rather than DIFC or ADGM.
2. Define the exact regulated activities you need authorised.
3. Establish the onshore company and secure the underlying commercial license.
4. Prepare the business plan, policies and fit-and-proper file.
5. Demonstrate the required capital and appoint key control staff.
6. Submit the application and respond to the regulator's queries.
7. Receive in-principle approval, then final authorisation, and begin regulated operations.

Compliance Obligations

An SCA license is the start of an ongoing relationship, not a one-time approval. Authorised firms carry continuing obligations that the regulator monitors throughout the life of the license:

• Maintaining minimum capital and liquidity at all times, not just at application.
• Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing controls, including client due diligence and suspicious-transaction reporting.
• Periodic financial and regulatory reporting to SCA.
• Keeping key personnel and the compliance function in place and notifying the regulator of changes.
• Client-money and conduct rules protecting investors and ensuring fair dealing.

Firms that treat compliance as a continuous function, rather than a launch hurdle, are the ones that avoid penalties and license restrictions. If your client base or activity profile is international rather than onshore, the ADGM route may suit you better - see our guide to the ADGM financial services license.

Common Mistakes and Rejection Reasons

1. Choosing the wrong regulator - applying onshore to SCA when an international client base would fit DIFC or ADGM better, or vice versa.
2. Underestimating capital - budgeting for fees but not for the locked-up minimum capital and liquidity buffers.
3. Weak fit-and-proper files - incomplete source-of-funds evidence or thin CVs for key staff.
4. No real compliance function - naming a compliance officer on paper without genuine systems behind them.
5. A vague business plan - failing to define the exact regulated activities and how the firm will manage their risks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an SCA license in the UAE?

It is the authorisation issued by the Securities and Commodities Authority, the UAE federal onshore regulator, that lets a firm carry out securities and commodities activities - such as brokerage, investment management, financial consultancy, custody or promotion - in the mainland UAE, outside the DIFC and ADGM financial free zones.

How to get an SCA license?

Confirm SCA is the right regulator for your model, define the exact regulated activities, establish the onshore company and commercial license, prepare a business plan with compliance and fit-and-proper documentation, demonstrate the required capital and appoint key control staff, then submit the application and work through the regulator's queries to in-principle and final approval. Many firms use an advisor to structure the filing.

What does the securities and commodities authority regulate?

The Securities and Commodities Authority regulates the onshore UAE securities and commodities sector at the federal level - including the licensed exchanges, public offerings and listings, commodities and derivatives trading, licensed intermediaries such as brokers and investment managers, funds and their promotion, and the investor-protection and disclosure rules that keep the market orderly.

Which activities need SCA approval?

Any securities, commodities or fund-related service offered to clients in the onshore UAE generally needs SCA approval - including dealing and brokerage, investment and portfolio management, financial consultancy and analysis, custody, and the promotion of securities and funds. Activities conducted entirely within DIFC or ADGM fall under those free zones' own regulators instead.

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This article is general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. All figures are approximate ranges as of 2026 and vary by activity, free zone, and individual circumstances; government and authority fees change without notice. Always confirm current requirements and costs against the relevant authority or a licensed advisor before making decisions.