Dubai DET / Invest in Dubai — 2026 Guide
Dubai DET Instant Licence Calculator
Estimate your first-year government outlay using the exact fee components shown by the official Dubai licensing process.
This tool does not invent a universal DET fee. Enter the amounts from your current Invest in Dubai payment voucher to calculate the exact total shown for your application.
What changed from the old calculator
Dubai’s official business system determines licensing requirements and charges from the selected activity, legal form and application details.
The revised calculator therefore works from the actual fee components returned by the official system and adds them transparently.
Current fee-voucher calculator
General Trading
Commercial activity. The current Invest in Dubai record should be checked to confirm Instant Licence availability and whether any additional approvals apply.
General Trading is activity-specific and may have special processing or electronic-service conditions. Do not assume that every trading activity has identical fees or approvals.
Enter only figures that come from your current official DET / Invest in Dubai payment voucher or official fee quotation. The inputs are not universal tariff assumptions.
Total entered government / licensing charges
AED 0.00
This is the sum of the fee components you entered. It is not an independently calculated DET tariff.
⭐ Business Privacy 256-Bit Encrypted
Business Setup & Device Security
Protect business-registration documents and online banking sessions across your business devices.
Expat Special:Up to 71% Off + 3 Mos Free
Starting At:$3.19 / month
🛡️ Risk-free • 30-day money-back guarantee
Instant Licence: key rules
| Processing speed | Approximately 5 minutes for eligible applications |
| First-year premises | Traditional location requirement deferred for the Instant Licence pathway, subject to the applicable rules |
| Visa quota | Not a fixed universal quota |
| Foreign ownership | Most activities permit 100%; strategic exceptions apply |
Interlinked UAE business resources
What the Instant Licence changes
- Fast-track licensing for eligible activities through Dubai’s digital business-registration system.
- First-year relief from the normal company-location requirement is a feature of the Instant Licence pathway.
- The exact legal form and activity still determine the documents and approvals required.
- Additional government approvals remain necessary for activities that are regulated by another competent authority.
- The service speed does not remove regulatory, tax, labour, immigration or sector-specific compliance obligations.
What it does not automatically give you
- It does not create a universal three-person visa quota.
- It does not guarantee banking approval.
- It does not waive activity-specific approvals.
- It does not guarantee 100% foreign ownership for restricted strategic activities.
- It does not permanently remove the need for appropriate business premises and supporting documents when the operating structure requires them.
Application workflow
| Step | What to confirm |
|---|---|
| 1. Choose the activity | Search the exact activity code in Invest in Dubai and check whether Instant Licence is listed as an available licence type. |
| 2. Check the legal form | Confirm whether LLC, one-person LLC, sole establishment or another form is available for the chosen activity. |
| 3. Check additional approvals | Activities regulated by other authorities may require additional approvals before operation. |
| 4. Review the payment voucher | Use the live official fee breakdown rather than a website estimate or agent quotation presented as a government fee. |
| 5. Complete issuance | Processing time depends on a complete, compliant application and successful payment. Historical DET material describes the Instant Licence as a five-minute service for eligible cases. |
| 6. Prepare for ongoing compliance | Residence visas, labour files, bank accounts, premises, tax registration and regulated-activity permissions are separate matters and must be handled where applicable. |
Related UAE Tools & Guides
2026 VerifiedFrequently Asked Questions
The Dubai Instant Licence is a fast-track mainland business-licensing pathway administered through Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Historical DET material describes issuance in about five minutes for eligible activities, with the usual premises/location requirement deferred during the first year. Current processing still depends on the selected activity, legal form, documents, approvals and payment, so five minutes should be treated as an indicative service speed rather than a guaranteed outcome for every applicant.
There is no reliable single 2026 government price that applies to every Instant Licence. The total payment depends on the selected activity, legal form and applicable government charges, which may include the licence, trade-name, Chamber or establishment-related items and other activity-specific charges. The safest figure is the current payment voucher generated through the official Invest in Dubai/DET service. This page therefore does not present an illustrative market estimate as an official fee.
The Instant Licence initiative was designed to allow eligible businesses to obtain the licence without the usual company lease/location requirement for the first year. A commercial premises and the documents required for the ordinary operating structure are then dealt with at renewal or when otherwise required. The exact premises and document requirements depend on the licence type and legal form, so applicants should follow the current DET service instructions for their application rather than assuming every company has identical Year-2 requirements.
No. The original claim of an automatic three-visa quota is not an appropriate universal rule. Immigration and labour quotas depend on the company’s establishment details, activity, legal form, premises and the relevant immigration and labour approvals. An Instant Licence is a business licence; residence visas are separate government processes and should be treated separately.
Most Dubai business activities permit 100% foreign ownership, but Dubai’s current government guidance expressly states that strategic activities remain subject to ownership restrictions. Therefore, 100% ownership should be described as activity-dependent rather than automatic for every Instant Licence company. The selected activity and legal form must be checked in the current Invest in Dubai system.
The current Invest in Dubai system shows Instant Licence as an available licence type for eligible activities. The exact activity list is dynamic, and activities or business forms requiring additional approvals may need those approvals before the business can operate. The correct test is therefore the current Invest in Dubai activity record and its “Competent Entities”, “Applicable Licence Types” and additional-approval requirements, not a fixed claim such as “2,000 activities are eligible”.
Live Expat FX Tool Zero Hidden Markup• 50+ Global Currencies
International Money Transfer & FX Rates — Transparent Cross-Border Wire Rates
Bypass retail bank markups when transferring USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD, or INR. Check today's real mid-market exchange rate instantly before initiating a transfer.
Compare Live Rates Free live calculator • 0% spread
Related Dubai business setup resources
Official sources checked for 2026
These are government and official legislation references. This page is not certified, verified or endorsed by DET, Invest in Dubai, the Dubai Government or the UAE Government.
Dubai Government – Starting a Business
Current Dubai government guidance covering mainland licences, legal forms, foreign-ownership eligibility and additional approvals.
Invest in Dubai – Search License / Activity Information
Official Invest in Dubai system used to search current activities, licence types, legal forms and licensing information.
Invest in Dubai – Example Current Activity Record
Current activity record demonstrating that Instant Licence appears as an available licence type for eligible activities.
Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. 5 of 2024
Current Dubai investor-journey principles requiring transparent fee breakdowns and simplified licensing procedures.
Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies
Federal commercial-companies framework. Foreign ownership should still be checked against the activity and current strategic-sector restrictions.
Invest in Dubai
Official digital platform for starting and managing Dubai mainland business registrations and licences.
Important: This page provides general business-setup information and a fee-component calculator. It is not a government application, legal opinion, licensing approval or immigration approval. Activity eligibility, legal forms, foreign-ownership restrictions, additional approvals, government fees and immigration requirements can change. Use the current Invest in Dubai / DET service and payment voucher for the actual application.