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Dubai Mainland Company Setup
Lexoford Services L.L.C-FZ assists with Dubai mainland company setup. Applications and approvals are issued by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. Lexoford Services is not an authorized or official partner of the Department, and is not an authorized or official partner of Invest in Dubai.
Lexoford Services' own trade licence is issued by Meydan Free Zone, number 2651822.01. That licence is not a Dubai mainland licence, and it is not a partner appointment. The Authorized Professional Partner credential applies to IFZA only. Lexoford Services is also a SHAMS Authorized Partner and an Expo City Dubai Free Zone Channel Partner.
What the service covers
Match the planned activity to a licence type the Department publishes: commercial, professional, industrial, e-trader or dual. Confirm the activity, and whether foreign ownership is restricted for it, before filing.
Reserve a trade name that matches the activity, using the name-reservation step the Department publishes.
Prepare the application for issue of the trade licence and follow the Department's process through to the issued licence.
The Department states that a company must make an ultimate beneficial owner declaration once the licence is issued. Lexoford Services coordinates that information.
Prepare the corporate account file and coordinate with the bank. The bank decides. Account opening is not guaranteed.
Coordinate the visa steps that sit inside the service tier you select. Immigration decides. Visa approval is not guaranteed. This page does not state a mainland visa quota.
Lexoford service fee from AED 3,999; government and free-zone fees are extra, paid at cost. Estimate your itemised total.
Other jurisdictions
If a mainland licence is not the right route, Lexoford Services assists with company setup in Meydan Free Zone and DMCC, and is a SHAMS Authorized Partner and an Expo City Dubai Free Zone Channel Partner. Lexoford Services can assist with setup in RAKEZ or SPC Free Zone. IFZA company setup is the only page on which Lexoford Services is an IFZA Authorized Professional Partner. The Department publishes its own comparison of mainland and free zone companies. This page does not replace that guide.
Compare activity, customers, premises and visas before choosing. Mainland or free zone is a decision framework, not a ranking. Company formation covers mainland, free zone and offshore work beyond this page.
What Dubai DET publishes about mainland licensing
The points below are limited to the Department of Economy and Tourism's mainland business licensing page. The Department's footer on that page records a site update of 09/05/2026. This page does not add legal forms, premises rules or fee amounts that page does not state.
Mainland business licensing is described as applications and approvals from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. The page title is mainland business licensing.
Industrial: manufacturing or industrial production, such as factories and assembly plants. Commercial: trading, including general trading, import and export, wholesale and retail. Professional: service-based businesses, including consultancies, legal firms and artisans. E-trader: individuals or home businesses selling online in the UAE. Dual: operate in both mainland and free zones with the required approvals.
The Department states that foreigners can start a business in Dubai and own 100% of it, that free zone companies can be 100% foreign owned, and that mainland companies in most sectors can also be wholly foreign owned. Some activities are restricted. The page points to those activities. This page does not copy the list.
Make an ultimate beneficial owner declaration. Register for corporate tax within three months of obtaining the trade licence, which is the Department's instruction on the page. The Dubai Unified Licence is described as a single company identity for government services and for information given to customers and partners.
The services list includes amending the name or activities, renewing the licence, and cancelling a trade licence or a branch registration. A commercial permit is a separate approval for promotions, sales, events or advertising.
The Department states that Emirati and GCC entrepreneurs residing in Dubai may qualify for a home-based business with Dubai SME support, and that start-up support described on the page is for Emirati and GCC nationals. Those notes are the Department's eligibility statements, not a Lexoford service tier.
DET's published licensing steps
The Department describes cost estimates and suggestions on licence types before the application.
Secure a unique name that matches the business activity. The services list calls this booking a trade name.
Choose commercial, professional, industrial, e-trader or dual, then apply for the trade licence.
The Department describes this as completing the process to operate legally in Dubai. Banking, visas and corporate-tax registration are later steps.
The Department's site lists Invest in Dubai among related sites. This page does not describe the Invest in Dubai application screens. Those screens were not available when this page was checked, so no click-path is invented here.
A licence-exemption request is published as an application for reduced fees on issue and renewal. This page does not state who qualifies, and it does not state the reduced amount.
Source: Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism — mainland business licensing. Department site update shown on the page: 09/05/2026.
Ownership and the steps after licensing
- Foreign ownership of a mainland company is available in most sectors. It is not available for every activity. Use the Department's restricted-activity information before you choose the activity.
- An ultimate beneficial owner declaration is required once the licence exists.
- The Department tells a new licensee to register for corporate tax within three months. That sentence is not a tax rate and it is not tax advice.
- This page does not state a visa quota, a premises rule, or a legal form. Those points are not in the Department page this text relies on.
The visa counts named in the service tiers below are Lexoford Services' service-fee scope, not a Department visa allocation. Visa approval is not guaranteed.
See UAE corporate tax and VAT for the tax overview, and mainland or free zone for the structure choice.
Service fees
The three service tiers and the visa-count sentence below are the same wording as the pricing section on the Lexoford Services homepage. They are Lexoford service fees, not Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism fees.
0–1 visa: Starter AED 3,999. 2–3 visas: Business AED 4,999. 5 visas: Premium AED 7,999. Each additional visa adds AED 1,000 service fee beyond the visas your tier includes. Customer pays = government/free-zone fees at cost + Lexoford service fee.
Government and free-zone fees are extra, paid at cost. Estimate your itemised total. This page does not publish a Department of Economy and Tourism fee schedule.
How Lexoford Services handles a mainland file
Activity, customers, whether the activity is one the Department restricts for foreign ownership, and whether anyone needs a residence visa.
Service fee and authority fees listed separately, using the service tiers above. No all-in sticker on this page.
Trade-name reservation and the licence application, with the documents the Department asks for on that file.
Ultimate beneficial owner declaration, and the corporate-tax registration the Department tells new licensees to make within three months. Banking and visas are separate applications.
The Department page cited here does not state a processing time in days. It depends on the jurisdiction, business activities and authority review; Lexoford gives an estimate after checking your documents. That is not a Department service level. Remote company setup separates licence steps from medical, Emirates ID and bank visits.
Frequently asked questions
No. Lexoford Services L.L.C-FZ assists with Dubai mainland company setup. Lexoford Services is not an authorized or official partner of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, and is not an authorized or official partner of Invest in Dubai. The Authorized Professional Partner credential applies to IFZA only (Partner ID 11215-7490, certificate dated 2026-09-25). Lexoford Services is also a SHAMS Authorized Partner and an Expo City Dubai Free Zone Channel Partner. Lexoford Services' own trade licence is issued by Meydan Free Zone, number 2651822.01. That licence is not a Dubai mainland licence and it is not a partner appointment.
No. AED 3,999 / 4,999 / 7,999 are Lexoford service fees (Starter / Business / Premium). Free-zone and government fees are billed at cost, with no markup. This page does not publish a Department of Economy and Tourism fee schedule.
The Department of Economy and Tourism's mainland business licensing page lists five licence types. An industrial licence is for manufacturing or industrial production, such as factories and assembly plants. A commercial licence covers trading activities such as general trading, import and export, wholesale and retail. A professional licence is for service-based businesses, including consultancies, legal firms and artisans. An e-trader licence is for individuals or home businesses selling products or services online in the UAE. A dual licence is described as enabling a business to operate in both mainland and free zones with the required approvals.
The same page lists these steps: explore setup options, including cost estimates and suggestions on licence types; reserve a trade name that matches the business activity; choose the licence type; and receive the business licence in order to operate legally in Dubai. The services list on that page includes booking a trade name, issuing a trade licence, requesting a licence-fee exemption, amending the name or activities, renewing, cancelling a trade licence or a branch registration, and issuing a commercial permit for promotions, sales, events or advertising. Do not send passports or identity documents through the form on this page.
The Department states that foreigners can start a business in Dubai and own 100% of it. It states that all free zone companies can be 100% foreign owned, and that mainland companies in most sectors can also be wholly foreign owned, with some activities restricted. The Department points readers to the activities that do not allow 100% foreign ownership. This page does not reproduce that restricted list. Confirm the activity before you apply.
The Department states that a company must make an ultimate beneficial owner declaration once it has its licence, as part of the UAE's anti-money-laundering rules. It also tells a new licensee to register for corporate tax within the next three months. It describes the Dubai Unified Licence as a single identity for companies to use when accessing government services and when providing information to customers and partners. This page does not state a corporate-tax rate. Lexoford Services is not a law firm, and this answer is not tax advice.
The Department states that government services can be accessed through service centres across Dubai. This page does not list those centres. Lexoford Services' public office is Office 607, 6th Floor, RAG Tower Business Center, Al Barsha 1, Dubai. In-person meetings are by appointment. Email info@lexofordservices.ae or call +971 58 500 2191.
What this page does not state
- No Department fee in dirhams, and no reduced-fee amount for a licence exemption.
- No legal form, such as a limited liability company, sole establishment or civil company. No premises rule, and no visa quota. The Department page this text uses does not state them.
- No copy of the restricted-activity list, and no Invest in Dubai screen-by-screen process.
- No corporate-tax rate. The three-month registration sentence is the Department's instruction, not a rate. See UAE corporate tax and VAT.
- No guarantee of licence, visa or bank-account approval, and no claim that Lexoford Services is an authorized or official partner of the Department or of Invest in Dubai.
Lexoford Services is not a law firm. What Lexoford Services does not guarantee.
Discuss a Dubai mainland company setup
For a useful first reply, describe your activity, customer locations, number of shareholders, residence needs and target start date. A summary is enough; do not send passports or financial records through this form.
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Office 607, 6th Floor, RAG Tower Business Center, Al Barsha 1, Dubai, UAE. Meetings by appointment. Licence No. 2651822.01.