Free Zone Audit Submission Deadlines 2026 by Authority

Each entry states only what the authority's own documents say. Where we could not read an official deadline, we say so.

• DMCC: within six months after year end, uploaded on the Member Portal with the auditor's signed summary sheet (DMCC guideline, 29 April 2025; Article 73.6). 30 June for a December year end.
• ADGM: private companies and LLPs file annual accounts within nine months of the accounting reference date; public companies within six months (ADGM Registration Authority).
• JAFZA: not published in an official source we could read; check with JAFZA.
• DAFZA: not published; check with the authority.
• IFZA: deadline not published; IFZA's FAQ says any registered UAE auditor may be used. Check with IFZA.
• RAKEZ: audited statements within six months of financial year end (RAKEZ Companies Regulations 2023, Regulation 76(4), and the RAKEZ FAQ), by a RAKEZ-approved auditor. See our RAKEZ page.
• SAIF Zone: not published; check with SAIF Zone.
• Meydan Free Zone: not published; check with Meydan.
• SHAMS: not published; check with SHAMS.

Adviser websites quote figures for several of these zones, but they conflict. We have not repeated them.

DMCC. Article 73.6 of the DMCCA Company Regulations requires accounts to be approved by the directors, audited by a DMCC-approved auditor and laid before a general meeting within six months of year end, or such other period as DMCCA prescribes. Article 73.7 requires filing with the Registrar within five business days of that meeting. The auditor must be on DMCC's Approved Auditors List (Article 78.3(a)). Late filing is a contravention that DMCCA may sanction, including by restricting services.

ADGM. The Registration Authority states a nine-month filing period for private companies and LLPs and six months for public companies. For a first financial year longer than 12 months, the period runs from the first anniversary of incorporation. Small companies (turnover not above USD 13.5 million and not more than 35 employees) may file a simplified, unaudited balance sheet, but public interest entities and financial services firms may not. ADGM's extension guidance says the Registrar may extend by up to three months on an application made before the deadline, and that an extension does not move future deadlines.

A qualifying free zone person in ADGM still needs audited statements for corporate tax, whatever its small company status.

For JAFZA, DAFZA, IFZA, SAIF Zone, Meydan and SHAMS, we could not find a deadline in an official authority document. That does not mean there is no requirement. Many zones ask for financial statements at licence renewal or through a portal service, and the date can be tied to your renewal date rather than your year end.

Do this in writing, and keep the reply:

1. Ask the authority whether audited (or simplified) financial statements are required for your licence type, and by when for your year end.
2. Ask whether the auditor must be on the authority's approved list. See approved auditors by free zone.
3. Ask whether submission is a condition of licence renewal.
4. Ask how to request an extension and whether it must be filed before the deadline.

Until you have an answer, plan to the earliest date that could apply: six months from year end is a sensible working assumption, and the corporate tax date below is fixed by law. For wider context, including adviser-reported rules tagged by verification status, see free zone audit requirements by authority.

Extensions are handled zone by zone. The two we could verify:

• ADGM: the Registrar may approve an extension of up to three months for a special reason, on an application made before the filing deadline. ADGM's guidance says there is no fee for the application.
• DMCC: Article 73.6 allows 'such other period prescribed by DMCCA'. Advisers reported that DMCC extended the FY2024 deadline to 30 September 2025, but an extension is announced for a given year. Check the portal and DMCC's notices rather than assuming it will repeat.

For the other zones we found no official extension procedure online. Ask before the deadline, not after.

Licence renewal is where an unfiled audit usually surfaces. DMCC's regulations allow it to restrict services for a contravention, and several zones are reported to request financial statements at renewal. A simple rule protects you in every zone: have the signed audit ready at least one month before your licence renewal date or six months after year end, whichever is earlier. That also leaves time for the corporate tax return and any agreed-upon procedures work.

Whatever your free zone requires, three federal dates sit on top:

• Corporate tax return: due nine months after the end of the tax period. For a December 2025 year end, 30 September 2026; for December 2026, 30 September 2027.
• Audited statements for a qualifying free zone person: required at any level of revenue under Article 2(1)(b) of Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025. The audit must be ready before the return is filed.
• Agreed-upon procedures report: for qualifying free zone persons distributing goods in or from a Designated Zone, due no later than 30 days after the corporate tax return deadline under FTA Decision No. 6 of 2026, for tax periods from 1 January 2026. See FTA Decision No. 6 of 2026.

A practical 2027 calendar for a December 2026 year end in DMCC: audit signed and uploaded by 30 June 2027, corporate tax return by 30 September 2027, AUP report by 30 October 2027 where it applies. In zones without a published date, the 30 September tax deadline is the latest the audit can be ready if you are a qualifying free zone person.