DMCC Approved Auditors: The List, the Rules and the Deadline

Every DMCC company must have its yearly accounts audited by a firm that DMCC has approved and placed on its public list. This page explains where that list is, what the rules say, when the audited accounts are due and how the UAE corporate tax rules add a second reason to audit. Everything here comes from DMCC’s own regulations, rules and guides and from the Ministry of Finance, read on 4 October 2026.

Where the DMCC approved auditors list is

The list is linked as “Approved Auditors List” from the compliance and regulations section of DMCC’s member knowledge bank. It is a table with each firm’s DMCC account number, name, UAE address, email and phone number, in alphabetical order. DMCC does not rate or rank the firms, and the page carries no date, so check it on the day you sign an engagement letter: a firm’s approval lasts twelve months and has to be renewed.

The list is kept by DMCC’s Approved Auditor Advisory Panel. Under the Approved Auditor Rules (version 3.0, June 2025), an audit firm becomes an approved auditor simply by being published on the list.

The rule: only an approved auditor

• Company Regulations, Article 78.3: a company “must not appoint an auditor” unless the auditor has been registered by DMCCA as an approved auditor. Companies limited by guarantee have the same rule.
• Approved Auditor Rules, Rule 3.4: a member company should not engage or renew an audit firm unless the firm is on the list at the time of engagement or renewal.
• Rule 3.5: DMCCA may reject audited accounts at any time and impose sanctions if they were not audited by an approved auditor.

Deadline and how to file

Under Article 73.6 of the DMCCA Company Regulations, within six months of the financial year end the accounts must be prepared, examined and reported on by a DMCC-approved auditor, and approved. Article 73.7 then gives five business days after the general meeting to file them with the Registrar. DMCC’s submission guide (updated 29 April 2025) puts it simply: upload within six months after the end of each financial year.

The upload goes through the DMCC Member Portal under Compliance Services. You file the audited financial statements together with a summary sheet that your auditor completes, prints on its letterhead, signs and stamps. DMCC’s schedule of charges lists both “Submit Audited Financial Reports” and “Appoint or Change an Auditor” as free of charge.

Branches and dormant companies

• Dormant all year: exempt from the audit for that year (Article 78.11).
• Branch audited in the parent’s group accounts: outside the approved auditor rules, but it still files a copy of its parent’s accounts and auditor’s report with the Registrar.
• Branch with its own audit: the auditor must be an approved auditor.
• Pausing a licence: a voluntary suspension needs a letter from the company’s approved auditor confirming its solvency at the last year end.

Corporate tax: a second reason to audit

A free zone company that wants the 0% corporate tax rate as a Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare and keep audited financial statements whatever its revenue. For tax periods starting on or after 1 January 2025 this comes from Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025; it replaced Decision No. 82 of 2023, which still covers earlier periods. The Federal Tax Authority’s free zone guide explains that a company which fails to meet the criteria stops being a Qualifying Free Zone Person from the start of that tax period and for the four following ones. See qualifying free zone person for the other conditions.

Choosing a firm from the list

The list tells you who is allowed to sign, not who is good or what they charge: DMCC publishes no audit fees. Ask two or three listed firms for a fixed fee based on your revenue, number of transactions and whether you need group or standalone accounts, and confirm the firm is still on the list on the day you engage it. Our guide to audit firms in Dubai explains what drives the price.

What DMCC does not publish

• A date on the approved auditors list.
• A specific fine for filing audited accounts late; the regulations give DMCCA only a general power to fine.
• Any rating of the listed firms, or the fees they charge.

For the cost of the licence itself, see the DMCC free zone guide.