Practical guides to getting a business license in Dubai and the UAE - trade, commercial, professional, e-commerce, crypto, real estate and regulated licenses, with cost, documents and process.
Business License in Dubai
A real estate license in Dubai is the permission that lets you legally broker property - sell, lease and market real estate - and it combines a trade license issued by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) with registration and certification under the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and its regulatory arm,
Business License in Dubai
A fund management license in DIFC is a DFSA Category 3C authorisation that lets a firm manage collective investment funds and discretionary portfolios from the Dubai International Financial Centre - and you obtain it by applying to the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the independent regulator for the centre. The DFSA
Business License in Dubai
An investment advisory license in the UAE is the regulatory permission you need to advise clients on financial products, and the first decision is always which regulator and which category - a DIFC Category 4 license from the DFSA, the ADGM Category 4 equivalent from the FSRA, or an onshore SCA
Business License in Dubai
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
Business License in Dubai
An ADGM license is a financial services or commercial permission issued in Abu Dhabi Global Market, where regulated financial firms are authorised by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) under a category-based system - much like the DFSA model in DIFC, but with ADGM's own license categories, capital
Business License in Dubai
A DIFC financial services license is a regulatory permission issued by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) that lets a firm conduct regulated financial activities - such as advising, arranging, dealing, managing funds or holding client assets - from the Dubai International Financial Centre. The DFSA sorts firms into prudential categories from
Business License in Dubai
To operate a digital wallet or e-wallet in the UAE, you almost always need a Stored Value Facility (SVF) licence from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) - because an e-wallet that holds customer funds for later spending is a stored value facility, not a free app feature.
Business License in Dubai
A stored value facility (SVF) is a regulated product that lets customers pre-load money - cash, bank funds or electronic value - and later spend it on goods, services or transfers, and in the UAE you need a stored value facility license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) to
Business License in Dubai
A payment services license in the UAE is the regulatory permission you need to handle, move or store other people's money electronically - and for most onshore activities it is issued by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) under its Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes framework. If
Business License in Dubai
A crypto custody license in Dubai authorises a regulated provider to safeguard digital assets on behalf of clients - holding the private keys and wallets so that institutions and exchanges do not have to secure those assets themselves - and you obtain it from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), the dedicated
Business License in Dubai
A crypto exchange license in Dubai authorises a company to operate a virtual asset exchange - matching buyers and sellers and operating a trading platform for digital assets - and in Dubai you obtain it from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), while in Abu Dhabi the equivalent permission comes from the
Business License in Dubai
A VASP license is the regulatory permission a business needs to act as a Virtual Asset Service Provider - meaning it offers services such as crypto exchange, transfer, custody, broker-dealer or advisory activities - and in Dubai that permission is issued by VARA, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. "VASP"