Consultants often discover very late in the setup process that their activity has been classified differently from what they expected. In Dubai mainland, that classification – professional vs commercial – shapes not only how your business appears in the commercial register, but also which rules apply, which legal forms you can use and which regulators you must deal with. Getting this right at the outset is particularly important for advisory firms whose work is based on expertise rather than on trading in goods.
This article explains how UAE law and Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET, formerly DED) categorise consultancy activities, and why most advisory work is treated as professional, not commercial. You will see how federal classifications, Dubai’s economic activity list and sector‑specific rules (especially for real estate consultancy) interact, and how to use this framework to select the correct consultancy licence in the Dubai mainland.
Why Licence Classification Matters For Consultancy Firms
For a consultancy company in the Dubai mainland, the question “professional or commercial?” is not only semantic. Under UAE economic licensing rules, every establishment must have a licence type – such as commercial, industrial, professional or crafts – that matches the nature of its main activity. This classification affects your obligations under commercial law, your available legal forms and how your firm is presented in the official commercial register.
The Ministry of Economy (MoEC) makes clear in its guidance on establishing a business that the nature of the chosen economic activity determines which licence type applies. In the Dubai mainland, the DET’s Business Registration & Licensing sector maintains a detailed list of economic activities and issues licences based on that list. When you choose an activity in the Invest in Dubai/DET system, the corresponding licence type is already pre‑defined; you are not free to “pick” professional or commercial independently of the activity description.
For consultancy firms, this distinction has practical implications. Professional licences are linked to work where income derives mainly from personal qualifications, skills or intellectual effort—precisely how most consulting practices operate. Commercial licences, by contrast, relate primarily to buying, selling, importing, exporting or distributing goods. The classification also influences whether you can operate, for example, as a civil (professional) company or as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), because some legal forms are tied more closely to particular licence types.
The table below summarises the main differences between professional and commercial classifications as they apply to consultancy‑style operations in the Dubai mainland.
| Aspect | Professional Consultancy Licence (Dubai Mainland) | Commercial Licence With Advisory Component (Dubai Mainland) |
|---|---|---|
| Basis of income | Predominantly from personal skill, qualifications, intellectual or technical effort | Predominantly from trading in goods or commodities (buying, selling, importing, exporting, distributing) |
| Typical activities | Management consultancy, legal consultancy, accounting and tax advisory, engineering design and technical advice, market research, and other “professional, scientific and technical activities” | Trading in equipment, materials or products, where advisory or technical support is ancillary to the sale of goods |
| Common legal forms | Civil (professional) company, sole establishment for a professional, in some cases, LLC, where permitted | LLC (including one‑person LLC), general partnership, limited partnership, branches of local or foreign companies |
| Core regulator for licence | Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) —professional licence category | Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) —commercial licence category |
| Examples of sector regulators | Professional bodies where applicable; Dubai Land Department only where activity falls under “real estate activities” | Sector regulators related to traded products (where applicable), Dubai Land Department for real estate trading and brokerage |
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How UAE Law Defines Economic Licence Types
At the federal level, the UAE has a structured system of economic licence categories and a clear distinction between “commercial business” and activities based mainly on personal skill or effort. Dubai mainland applies this framework through the DET’s activity list and its recognition of multiple legal forms for licensed entities.
Federal Economic Licence Categories And Commercial Business
According to the Ministry of Economy’s guidance on establishing a business in the UAE, there are six main types of economic licences: industrial, commercial, crafts, tourism, agricultural and professional. The defining rule is that the nature of the economic activity determines which licence type is applicable. Investors cannot simply choose a preferred category; they must select activities that correspond to their actual operations, and those activities are mapped to one of these licence types.
Federal Decree‑Law No. 50 of 2022 on Commercial Transactions further clarifies the concept of “commercial business”. The law distinguishes between commercial activities and personal services. Commercial activities make the person a “trader” with corresponding obligations, while personal services rely mainly on an individual’s own physical or mental effort rather than on capital. The latter are associated with crafts and similar non‑commercial work and are treated differently from commercial businesses in several respects.
This distinction is conceptually vital for consultancy. In most advisory professions, the central element is intellectual or technical expertise rather than the deployment of financial capital to trade goods. That aligns consultancy with the professional category in the Ministry of Economy (MoEC) framework and explains why, at the UAE level, many consulting and advisory services are not treated as commercial trading activities.
Dubai Mainland Licensing And Recognised Legal Forms
In the Dubai mainland, economic activities are licensed by the Department of Economic Development in Dubai, now part of the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). The DET’s Business Registration & Licensing sector maintains the official list of economic activities and defines which licence type and which legal forms are available for each activity.
The Dubai DED/DET Business Registration & Licensing documentation recognises a wide range of legal forms for licensed entities. These include, among others, sole proprietorship, civil (professional work) company, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company (including one‑person LLC), public shareholding company, private shareholding company, holding company, government liaison office, representative office and branches of local, foreign or free‑zone companies. Which of these forms is open to you depends partly on the nature of your activity and its classification.
Cabinet Decision No. 107 of 2022 on the commercial register requires that the official record of each establishment must state, among other data, the type of licence and the legal form. The Decision explicitly lists commercial, industrial, professional and crafts licences as recognised categories. As a result, a consultancy firm in Dubai mainland will appear in the commercial register as having either a professional or a commercial licence type, depending on how its main activity is classified in DET’s list and in line with the broader federal framework.
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Professional Consultancy Licence In Dubai
For most consulting firms whose business model is based on providing advice, analysis or other intellectual outputs, the applicable licence in the Dubai mainland falls under the professional category. This reflects how consultancy is grouped in federal classifications and is implemented in the DET’s activity list.
Understanding these classifications helps you confirm that your planned activity aligns with a professional consultancy licence in Dubai and avoids accidental drift into commercial or other categories.
“Professional, Scientific And Technical Activities” Under Ministerial Resolution No. 455 Of 2023
Ministerial Resolution No. 455 of 2023 provides a detailed federal classification of economic activities. A central group for consultancy‑type work is “Professional, scientific and technical activities”. Under this heading, the Resolution includes several services that are clearly advisory or knowledge‑based, rather than trading‑based.
The activities listed in this group cover, for example, legal activities; accounting, bookkeeping, auditing and tax consultancy; management consultancy; architecture and engineering and related technical advisory services; technical testing and analysis; market research and surveys; and other professional, scientific and technical services. These all depend primarily on the personal qualifications and expertise of the professionals providing the service.
At the UAE level, these activities are categorised as professional instead of commercial trading activities. This means that, when they are implemented in the Dubai mainland, they are usually linked to the professional licence category rather than to a commercial trading licence. Consequently, if your business model is to charge clients for advice, analysis, design or similar intellectual work – without trading in physical goods – it will typically fall into this “professional, scientific and technical” space.
Typical Consultancy Activities Under A Professional Licence In the Dubai Mainland
When you apply for a consultancy licence in Dubai through the Invest in Dubai or DET systems, you start by selecting one or more economic activities from the DET’s predefined list. For most advisory and intellectual‑output activities, the system designates the licence type as “professional” by default. You do not separately ask the DET for a “professional licence”; rather, the professional nature of the activity is inherent in the classification.
Examples of activities that are usually licensed under the professional category include a management consultancy firm advising corporate clients on strategy or operations; an engineering design and advisory practice preparing technical designs and feasibility studies; a market research agency conducting surveys and analyses for clients; a legal consultancy operating within the formats permitted by applicable regulations; and an accounting or tax advisory firm providing compliance and planning advice. In each of these cases, the revenue is generated mainly from the expertise, analysis and judgement of qualified individuals, not from the sale of goods.
This pattern is consistent with the broader UAE approach described earlier. A professional consultancy licence in Dubai mainland, therefore suits firms whose core offering is advisory, analytical or design‑based, without the trading of physical products. When such a firm is incorporated, it is recorded in the commercial register as having a professional licence type, and it will often adopt a legal form commonly associated with professional work, such as a civil company. However, other forms, such as LLC, may be available where the DET rules allow.
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When Consultancy Falls Under A Commercial Licence
Not all businesses that provide advice can or should be licensed under the professional category. Where advisory services are embedded in the broader business whose main activity is the trading of goods, or where the sector has a distinct regulatory regime, the licence type may be commercial even though consultancy is part of what the firm does.
Understanding these scenarios is vital if your planned business model involves both consultancy and product‑based revenue, or if you are active in highly regulated sectors such as real estate.
Advisory Services Integrated With Trading In Goods
The Ministry of Economy guidance associates commercial licences with economic activities that involve trading in goods or commodities. Typical commercial activities include buying, selling, importing, exporting and distributing products. In these cases, the business relies primarily on monetary capital used to purchase and sell goods, rather than on the personal intellectual effort of individuals.
Many trading companies, however, also offer advisory or technical support to their customers. For example, a company that imports and sells industrial equipment might provide installation advice, training or technical recommendations on how to use the machinery. In practice, these advisory services are ancillary to, and inseparable from, the main commercial activity of trading in equipment.
In such situations, the company’s economic activity in the DET list is likely to be classified as a commercial trading activity, and the licence type will therefore be commercial. The advisory component is not treated as a separate professional consultancy licence; instead, it forms part of the services provided under the commercial licence, because the primary economic activity remains the trading of goods. For investors, this means that if most revenue is expected from buying and selling products, with advice as an additional service, the correct licence is generally a commercial licence, not a standalone professional consultancy licence.
Real Estate Consultancy As A Special Regulated Case
Real estate‑related advisory services are treated slightly differently because they are part of a sector with its own regulatory framework. Ministerial Resolution No. 455 of 2023 lists “Real estate activities and services related to real estate” as a separate group from the general “Professional, scientific and technical activities” category. Specific sectoral rules govern this, which signals that it is a real‑estate‑related consultancy.
In Dubai, specialised consultancy related to real estate – such as “real estate consultancy” and “mortgage consultancy” – is regulated by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). For these activities, the DLD issues a specific Real Estate Activity License in addition to the economic license granted by the DET. In practice, this means that an investor who wishes to provide real estate consultancy cannot rely solely on the DET‑issued professional or commercial licence; they must also comply with the DLD’s conditions, qualification requirements and processes for obtaining the Real Estate Activity License.
As a result, real estate consultancy and mortgage consultancy sit at the intersection of the DET’s economic licensing system and the DLD’s sector regulation. Investors would benefit from paying particular attention to both the DET activity classification (which will determine whether the underlying licence type is professional or commercial) and the DLD rules applicable to the specific real estate advisory activity they intend to undertake.
Choosing The Right Classification For Your Consultancy
Selecting the correct consultancy licence in the Dubai mainland requires more than simply searching for the word “consultancy” in the activity list. You need to look carefully at how your revenue will be generated, how the activity is defined in the DET’s systems and whether any sector regulator is involved.
A structured decision process can help you avoid misclassification and its associated risks.
Key Decision Questions And Risk Of Misclassification
Before deciding whether your planned consultancy should be licensed as professional or commercial, it is useful to consider a few guiding questions. First, is your primary income expected to come from advisory, analytical or other intellectual services, or from buying and selling goods? If your core business is selling physical products, and advice is mainly a support service to that trading, your activity will often fall under a commercial licence, even if you describe yourself as a “consultant”.
Second, when you search for your intended activity in the DET/Invest in Dubai list, does it appear as a professional or a commercial activity? The licence type displayed in the system is a strong indicator, because the DET has already aligned each activity with the appropriate category under the federal framework. Third, are there sector‑specific regulators – such as the Dubai Land Department for real estate consultancy – whose rules you must meet in addition to the DET’s requirements? If so, you may be dealing with a specially regulated subcategory of consultancy.
Misclassifying your activity can create problems later. If the licence type recorded for your company does not reflect your real business model, you may face challenges in renewal, in obtaining approvals from other authorities, or in demonstrating to clients and banks that your licence covers what you actually do. To reduce this risk, it is sensible to cross‑check your intended activity against the DET activity descriptions and the broader federal classifications in Ministerial Resolution No. 455 of 2023 before finalising your application.
How The Commercial Register Records Licence Type And Legal Form
Cabinet Decision No. 107 of 2022 on the commercial register requires that each establishment’s record include the licence type and the legal form, among other essential data. For consultancy firms in the Dubai mainland, this means that the register will state explicitly whether the entity holds a professional, commercial, industrial, crafts or other type of licence, and whether it is, for example, a civil company, LLC or branch.
For a firm whose business consists solely of advisory services aligned with the “professional, scientific and technical activities” group, the record would typically show a professional licence type combined with a suitable legal form such as a civil company or another permitted structure. Where consultancy or advisory work is embedded in a broader trading business, the record would show a commercial licence type, reflecting the underlying trading activity, even though the company may market some of its services as consultancy.
Accurate recording of licence type and legal form in the commercial register supports transparency and legal certainty for clients, regulators and counterparties. It also ensures that the rights and obligations attached to your status – for example, those associated with being a trader under Federal Decree‑Law No. 50 of 2022 – are correctly applied.
Practical Steps To Obtain A Consultancy Licence In the Dubai Mainland
Once you are clear about whether your planned activity is a professional consultancy or part of a commercial trading business, you can move on to the practical aspects of obtaining a licence. While detailed procedures and requirements may evolve, the core logic for consultancy activities in the Dubai mainland follows a consistent sequence.
The focus should always remain on matching your intended business model to the correct economic activity in the DET’s list and ensuring compliance with any relevant sectoral rules.
Selecting Activity And Legal Form In the DET/Invest In Dubai Systems
Your first operational step is to identify the consultancy activity that most accurately describes your intended services. Using the DET/Invest in Dubai platforms, you search the database of economic activities and review the descriptions to find the best match, such as “management consultancy”, “marketing research and consultancies”, “engineering consultancy” or others of a similar nature.
When you select a specific activity, the DET system displays the associated licence type – professional or commercial – which has been predefined in line with Ministry of Economy classifications. For most advisory and intellectual‑output activities, this will be the professional category. Based on the licence type and the DET’s rules, you then consider the legal forms available for that activity, such as establishing a civil company for professional work, forming an LLC where permitted, or registering a branch if you are expanding an existing company.
This approach aligns with the Ministry of Economy’s general guidance that the nature of the economic activity defines the licence type and the forms of establishment that can be used. By carefully matching your business model to the activity descriptions in the system, you help ensure that your consultancy licence in Dubai – whether professional or commercial – accurately reflects your operations from the outset.
Coordinating With Sector Regulators And Complying With Federal Classifications
For some consultancy areas, particularly in regulated sectors, it is not enough to obtain an economic licence from the DET alone. As noted earlier, real estate consultancy and mortgage consultancy in Dubai are subject to the Dubai Land Department’s Real Estate Activity License framework. In such cases, you should review the DLD’s requirements – which may include qualification criteria, examinations or other conditions – alongside the DET’s licensing conditions.
More generally, it is helpful to confirm that the activity you have selected in the DET list fits within the appropriate group in Ministerial Resolution No. 455 of 2023, for example, under “Professional, scientific and technical activities” or “Real estate activities and services related to real estate”. If there is any uncertainty about which category best matches your planned services, clarifying this with the DET, and where relevant with the sector regulator, before you submit your application, can save time later and reduce the likelihood of needing amendments after incorporation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is A Consultancy Licence In Dubai Professional Or Commercial?
For most firms that provide advisory services without trading in physical goods, a consultancy licence in the Dubai mainland is issued under the professional category. This reflects federal classifications in which activities such as management consultancy, accounting and tax consultancy, legal services, engineering and technical advisory, and market research are grouped under “Professional, scientific and technical activities” rather than commercial trading. However, where advisory work is integrated into a business whose main licensed activity is trading in goods, the overall licence type will generally be commercial.
What Licence Does A Consulting Firm Need In the Dubai Mainland?
A consulting firm whose business model is based on providing advice, analysis or technical expertise – without buying and selling products – will typically need a professional consultancy licence in the Dubai mainland. This is obtained by selecting the relevant consultancy activity (for example, management consultancy or engineering consultancy) in the DET/Invest in Dubai activity list, where the licence type is predefined as professional. The firm will then choose an appropriate legal form, such as a civil company or, where permitted, an LLC, consistent with that professional classification.
What Is The Difference Between A Professional And Commercial Licence In Dubai For Consultancy?
The key difference between a professional and commercial licence in Dubai, when applied to consultancy‑style operations, lies in the source of income and the nature of activities. A professional licence is for activities where revenue comes mainly from personal skills, qualifications or intellectual effort – for example, consulting, legal practice, auditing or engineering design. A commercial licence, by contrast, is associated with trading in goods or commodities, such as importing, exporting or distributing products, even if the company offers related advice. The licence type recorded in the commercial register (professional vs commercial) also influences applicable legal obligations and feasible legal forms.
How To Choose a Licence Type For A Consultancy Company In Dubai?
You do not choose the licence type directly; instead, you select an economic activity in the DET system, and the associated licence type follows automatically. To ensure the correct outcome for a consultancy company, you should first determine whether your primary income will be from advisory services or from trading in goods. Then, search for activities in the DET/Invest in Dubai list that match your services and review how they are classified. If your chosen activity appears as a professional activity and your business is advice‑based, that indicates a professional consultancy licence; if it appears as a commercial activity linked to trading, your licence will be commercial.
How To Get A Management Consultancy Licence In Dubai Mainland?
To obtain a management consultancy licence in Dubai mainland, you begin by identifying the management consultancy activity in the DET/Invest in Dubai list, typically under categories aligned with “Professional, scientific and technical activities”. Once selected, the system will show the licence type (usually professional) and indicate which legal forms are available, such as a civil company or LLC, where permitted. You then follow the DET’s standard business registration steps – such as reserving a trade name, preparing constitutive documents and submitting your application – ensuring that your planned services remain consistent with the management consultancy activity description.
How Does “Professional, Scientific And Technical Activities” Classification Affect My Consultancy Licence?
Ministerial Resolution No. 455 of 2023 classifies many consultancy services under “Professional, scientific and technical activities”, which signals that they are treated as professional rather than commercial trading activities at the federal level. When these activities are implemented in the Dubai mainland, the DET’s activity list reflects this classification by linking them to professional licence types. If your consultancy services fall squarely within this group – for example, management consulting, engineering advisory or market research – you can expect to operate under a professional consultancy licence rather than a commercial trading licence, provided you are not also engaged in trading goods.
What Is The Relationship Between the Consultancy Licence And the Trading Licence In Dubai?
A consultancy licence and a trading licence in Dubai represent different economic activities and licence types, even if they are held by the same entity. A consultancy licence, typically professional, covers advisory and intellectual services, whereas a trading licence, which is commercial, covers the buying, selling, importing, exporting or distributing of goods. Some companies may hold both types of activities if authorised by DET, but in many cases the main activity – consultancy or trading – determines the primary licence type. Advisory services that are merely an ancillary part of a trading business are usually covered under the trading (commercial) licence rather than under a separate professional consultancy licence.
How Is Real Estate Consultancy Licensed In Dubai?
Real estate consultancy in Dubai is a specially regulated activity. At the federal classification level, “Real estate activities and services related to real estate” are grouped separately from general “Professional, scientific and technical activities”. In Dubai, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) regulates real‑estate‑related consultancy and issues a dedicated Real Estate Activity License for activities such as “real estate consultancy” and “mortgage consultancy”. Investors must obtain the appropriate economic licence from the DET, reflecting the activity’s classification, and the Real Estate Activity License from the DLD, complying with any qualification or procedural requirements that DLD sets.
What Are The Mortgage Consultancy Licence Requirements In Dubai?
Mortgage consultancy is one of the real‑estate‑related advisory activities regulated by the Dubai Land Department. While detailed and current requirements should always be confirmed directly with the DLD, the general position is that obtaining authorisation for mortgage consultancy involves securing an economic licence from the DET for the relevant activity and then applying to the DLD for the specific Real Estate Activity License covering mortgage consultancy. Applicants should expect the DLD to set sector‑specific conditions, such as professional competency or conduct standards, in addition to the baseline company registration requirements managed by the DET.
Explained by
Shaimaa Sayed Qasem
Department of Dubai Economic Services at EGSH
Shaimaa Sayed Qasem is a dedicated service provider at the Department of Dubai Economic Services at EGSH, with seven years of experience delivering business services, supporting clients and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
