How to Open a Law Firm or Legal Consultancy in Dubai

A law firm in Dubai needs two permissions: a professional licence from the Government of Dubai Legal Affairs Department (DLAD) and a commercial licence from a licensing authority. This guide sets out who may hold each type of firm, the fees DLAD publishes, the rules for foreign firm branches, the DIFC and ADGM routes and the anti-money laundering duties that come with the licence, as read on official pages on 5 October 2026.

Two Licences: DLAD and the Commercial Licence

Dubai’s rules come from Administrative Resolution No. (52) of 2022, issued by DLAD on 21 December 2022. It contains two bylaws, one for advocacy firms and one for legal consultancy firms, and replaced the 2015 resolutions. A legal consultancy firm is defined there as a firm “licensed by the LAD and a Licensing Authority in the Emirate”, so you deal with two bodies, in this order:

1. DLAD reviews your application and, once you pay, issues a No Objection Certificate (NOC). DLAD’s description of the foreign branch service says the NOC approves “the concerned licensing authority to issue the commercial licence”.
2. The licensing authority (for a mainland firm, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism) issues the commercial licence. Its fee is not shown on DLAD’s pages; ask the authority for a written quote.
3. You return to DLAD with the commercial licence, the professional indemnity policy, the office lease or title deed and the Ministry of Justice AML certificate, and DLAD issues the professional licence.

The professional licence limits the business: under Article 15 of the legal consultancy bylaw, a firm may not carry on any activity other than legal services, and its licence holders may not own another advocacy or legal consultancy firm licensed by the same licensing authority. If you plan a broader consultancy, read our guide to the Dubai professional licence first.

Which Firm You Can Open

The table below combines DLAD’s service pages (read 5 October 2026, no date on the pages) with Articles 8 and 9 of the 2022 bylaws.

Newly registered UAE national legal consultants get 50% off the licensing fee for their first three years, according to the same pages. A non-UAE national can still hold a legal consultancy licence: DLAD may grant one where the applicant offers unique legal services needed in Dubai or specialised services not sufficiently offered by existing firms, and the applicant must have at least eight years of legal work experience (Article 9(f)).

Branch of a Foreign Law Firm

An international firm can open on Dubai’s mainland as a branch. DLAD’s service description (PDF dated 20 January 2022) and Article 9(c) of the bylaw require:

• an application from the foreign head office with a professional business plan;
• a recognised international reputation in legal services;
• at least 8 years since the head office was established (for merged firms, the oldest firm counts);
• branches or entities in at least 2 jurisdictions, or in 3 states with distinct legal systems within one country;
• a managing partner with at least 8 years of practical legal experience;
• at least 3 legal consultants, the managing partner included, each registered or applying for registration with DLAD.

A firm that does not meet the branch-network test can apply for a “branch exemption” by showing it offers a unique legal service or that there is demand for it in Dubai. DLAD states a service timeframe of 15 working days for the branch application. Documents include the legalised incorporation certificate of the head office, a power of attorney for the managing partner, a board resolution approving the Dubai branch and an executive report on the firm.

Registering Your Lawyers

Every lawyer who practises in the firm must be on DLAD’s roll. The two rolls work differently:

• Legal consultants (all legal services except pleading before Dubai Courts): AED 2,020 for initial registration and the same for renewal. Requirements: a law degree, or a law qualification plus valid professional membership where you practise; 1 year of continuous experience for UAE nationals and for non-UAE nationals who graduated in the UAE, 3 years for those who graduated abroad; UAE residency and an employment contract with a licensed firm; full-time work with no other commercial activity. After approval the consultant takes the Practice Oath.
• Advocates (pleading before Dubai Courts): AED 2,020, and the first requirement on DLAD’s page is “Be a UAE National”. The advocate must also have completed the training period the Ministry of Justice requires (or meet DLAD’s equivalent rules) and takes the oath before the Dubai Courts.

In practice, non-UAE lawyers in a Dubai firm register as legal consultants, and pleading before the Dubai Courts is done by registered advocates.

Step by Step: Opening a Legal Consultancy

1. Decide the form: sole establishment, company or partnership, or foreign branch.
2. Prepare the business plan on DLAD’s form, degrees, experience letters and passports, legalised where required.
3. Apply through DLAD’s Legal Profession System portal and file registration applications for each legal consultant.
4. Attend the assessment meeting if DLAD asks for one, then pay the licence fee.
5. Receive the NOC and obtain the commercial licence from the licensing authority.
6. Lease the office, buy professional indemnity insurance, register on goAML and obtain the Ministry of Justice AML certificate.
7. Submit these to DLAD and receive the professional licence.

What It Costs: DLAD Fees and a Worked Example

Worked example (our arithmetic). A foreign firm opens a Dubai branch with the minimum 3 legal consultants. The licence fee would be 3 × AED 3,000 = AED 9,000, which is below the AED 15,000 minimum, so it pays AED 15,000 + AED 20 = AED 15,020. Registering the 3 consultants costs 3 × AED 2,020 = AED 6,060. DLAD fees in year one: AED 15,020 + AED 6,060 = AED 21,080, before the commercial licence, rent, insurance and visas.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

A valid professional indemnity policy is a condition both for the first licence and for every renewal. The bylaw says it must cover “all risks and malpractices” of the profession, in line with rules DLAD prescribes. Neither the bylaw nor the service pages we read state a minimum sum insured, so confirm the required cover with DLAD before you buy the policy.

AML Duties for Law Firms

Lawyers become designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) when they prepare or carry out transactions for clients in six areas: buying and selling real estate, managing client funds, managing bank or securities accounts, organising contributions to set up or run companies, creating or managing legal persons or arrangements, and buying and selling businesses. That list comes from the Ministry of Justice Lawyers’ Guide on Anti-Money Laundering (2024), which names the Ministry as the supervisory authority for lawyers and notaries. In practice this means:

• registering on the Financial Intelligence Unit’s goAML system (see our goAML registration guide) and appointing a compliance officer;
• customer due diligence, suspicious transaction reports through goAML, and keeping records for at least 5 years;
• obtaining the Ministry of Justice certificate that DLAD requires before it issues the professional licence.

The Ministry’s guide was written under Federal Decree-Law No. (20) of 2018. That law was repealed by Federal Decree-Law No. (10) of 2025, in force since 14 October 2025, which keeps the earlier regulations in effect until they are replaced. Under the new law a supervisor can fine a DNFBP AED 10,000 to AED 5,000,000 per violation, and lawyers are not required to report information obtained under professional secrecy. Firms that want outside help can find it under AML compliance support.

DIFC and ADGM

• DIFC Courts register. Part I registers a law firm so its listed lawyers can issue and conduct proceedings; Part II gives individual lawyers rights of audience after an interview. A firm in Dubai files its DLAD licence with the Part I application. Registration lasts one year; a firm can list up to 7 lawyers in Part I at no extra fee, and each further lawyer costs USD 100. The registration fee itself is not stated on the guidelines page.
• DFSA registration. The DFSA Rulebook lists “a law firm, notary firm, or other independent legal business” in the DIFC as a DNFBP, which must register with the DFSA. The DFSA Fees Module (version 35, April 2026) sets an application fee of USD 3,000 and an annual fee of USD 6,000.
• ADGM. ADGM Courts state that they have not set up a registration system for lawyers as a condition of rights of audience; lawyers register on the eCourts platform to file documents.

For the wider choice of jurisdiction, see mainland, free zone or offshore.

How a New Law Firm Finds Business Clients

Demand exists, but it sits on the client side. In Semrush’s UAE database on 5 October 2026, “law firms in dubai” had 2,400 searches a month, while founder-side queries were small: “legal consultancy license in dubai” 30 and “how to start a law firm in dubai” 20. Clients compare firms on pages such as our law firms in Dubai guide and post requests for corporate and commercial law work.

On Emirae a legal firm lists its profile for free and pays AED 400 only when a client with a verified email opens its contacts. There is no subscription, and a firm can send up to 20 offers in any 24 hours (pricing, read 5 October 2026). Company formation clients often need contracts and shareholder agreements too, which is why legal firms also team up with setup consultants; our guides to the corporate service provider licence and free zone partner programmes explain that side. For other channels, compare lead generation for UAE service firms and B2B lead platforms.

Checklist Before You Apply

• Firm type chosen: advocacy firm or legal consultancy, and its legal form.
• Nationality and experience rules met, or a case for the specialised-services exception.
• Business plan on DLAD’s form; degrees and experience letters legalised.
• Each lawyer’s DLAD registration filed (AED 2,020 each).
• Office lease or title deed in the firm’s or a partner’s name.
• Professional indemnity quote with cover confirmed by DLAD.
• goAML registration, compliance officer and the Ministry of Justice certificate.
• Budget for the commercial licence, which DLAD does not price.

What is not published

• The commercial licence fee for a legal consultancy activity: not on DLAD’s pages; ask the licensing authority for a written quote.
• A minimum professional indemnity cover: not stated in the bylaw or on the service pages we read.
• Processing times for local firms: DLAD gives 15 working days only for the foreign branch service.
• The DIFC Courts registration fee itself and DIFC or ADGM company set-up costs for law firms: not covered here.