DMCC Company Setup Cost: the Published Charges in Full

Most UAE setup pages quote zone prices that nobody can check. DMCC differs, because DMCC publishes a Schedule of Charges on its own website and updates it as the authority that issues the licence. We verified the figures on this page against that published schedule at the time of writing, which makes DMCC the only zone whose authority-published charges we present as exact amounts.

That verification is the trust point of this page. Every amount in the table below comes from DMCC itself rather than from agent marketing, comparison sites or package advertising. Where the schedule stays silent, this page says so instead of filling the gap with an estimate.

DMCC also states that its charges may change without notice. Check the live schedule before you commit funds, and treat any quote that contradicts the published charges as a prompt to ask the agent what else the quote includes.

The standard DMCC setup combines three one-off charges with two annual charges. You pay an application fee of AED 1,035 once, a registration fee of AED 9,020 once, and AED 2,020 once for the Articles of Association, which does not apply to a branch. The licence costs AED 20,285 per year and the establishment card costs AED 1,825 per year.

Add the five standard components together and year one totals AED 34,185 before workspace and visas. The annual pair then recurs every year, so your renewal baseline sits well below the first-year figure even before you add rent and people costs.

The table lists each charge exactly as DMCC publishes it. Keep this table beside any agent quote and reconcile the two documents line by line before you sign anything.

The published AED 34,185 total covers authority charges only, and three variables move a real quote away from that figure. Workspace comes first. DMCC requires a physical presence inside the free zone, and your options run from a flexi-desk in a DMCC business centre to a leased office in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. Rent therefore varies widely with the space you take.

Office size also drives your visa allocation, because DMCC links the number of visas to the workspace you hold. Visas themselves form the second unpriced variable. Each residence visa adds government charges, medical testing and identity card costs per person, and the schedule does not set your headcount.

Share capital forms the third variable. Your activity and licence type influence the capital you must show or deposit, and that commitment sits outside the published charges entirely. Budget workspace, visas and capital separately, and treat AED 34,185 as the fixed authority floor rather than your final bill.

DMCC also sells packages that bundle the standard components with workspace and selected services. A package simplifies buying, but it hides the value of each element. An itemised quote exposes every line, so you can see exactly what the bundle charges for space, visas and support.

Compare a package quote and an itemised quote line by line before you choose. Match the licence, registration and establishment card against the published schedule first. Then compare the workspace element, because packages assume a specific desk or office size that may not fit your visa needs or your working pattern.

Watch the renewal year especially closely. Packages often price year one attractively while the licence, establishment card and workspace all recur at full rates afterwards. Ask for the second-year cost of both options in writing, because the honest comparison covers two years rather than one.

The licence triggers your federal tax obligations immediately. Corporate tax registration on EmaraTax is free, and every DMCC company must register with the Federal Tax Authority regardless of its expected profit. Free zone companies that seek qualifying free zone person status must also meet the qualifying conditions, maintain adequate substance and prepare audited financial statements.

Those conditions make record keeping a real running cost rather than an optional extra. Bookkeeping from AED 499/month, equal to AED 5,988/year, keeps your accounts audit-ready, and the figure is a VAT-exclusive starting price with government fees never included. Audited statements add a separate annual professional cost that depends on your transaction volume and structure.

Renewal then repeats the annual pair from the schedule. The licence at AED 20,285 per year and the establishment card at AED 1,825 per year return on every anniversary, alongside your workspace rent and any visa renewals that fall due.

Build your DMCC budget in three layers. Start with the published authority charges, because DMCC fixes those amounts and every founder pays them. Add your workspace next, since your desk or office choice sets both your rent and your visa allocation. Finish with people and capital, which scale with your hiring plan and licence type.

Then add the compliance layer that most quotes omit. Registration itself is free, but bookkeeping, audited statements and corporate tax filing recur every year, and qualifying free zone person status depends on maintaining them properly. A budget that ignores this layer understates year one and misprices every renewal.

Finally, recheck the live Schedule of Charges on the day you apply. DMCC may change its charges without notice, and a short verification protects you from budgeting on stale figures. Keep the published table, your workspace quote and your visa plan in one file, and your total will hold up.

Next step: DMCC Company Setup Cost: the Published Charges in Full. Send your trade licence and your last return, and we will confirm the fixed fee on the call. Book a free 15-minute fit check