The main Dubai licence types — and which one matches your activity.
Dubai offers several types of business licences: a Professional Licence (for service-based businesses like consulting, IT, and marketing), a Commercial Licence (for trading and retail), an Industrial Licence (for manufacturing), a Tourism Licence (for travel and hospitality), and an E-Commerce Licence (for online businesses).
Each licence type has specific requirements and permitted activities. Emirates Business Lounge helps you select the correct licence type based on your business activity and assists with the full application process.
Before you can start a business in Dubai, you need the right kind of licence — and there are a few different types, each built for a different kind of activity.
If you provide a service — consulting, IT, marketing, that sort of thing — you'll usually want a professional licence. If you trade or sell products, that's a commercial licence. If you manufacture or produce goods, you're looking at an industrial licence. For travel and hospitality, there's a tourism licence. And for online businesses, there's a dedicated e-commerce licence.
Each of these comes with its own requirements and its own list of permitted activities, so choosing the correct one from the start matters. Picking the wrong licence can cost you time and money in amendments later.
We help you match your exact business activity to the correct licence type, and then we handle the full application for you.
If you're not sure which licence your business needs, tell us what you do and we'll point you to the right one.