RAK ICC Offshore Company Cost: Registry Fees, Renewal and Rules

RAK International Corporate Centre (RAK ICC) is the offshore company registry of Ras Al Khaimah. It is not a free zone: it registers international business companies that hold shares, assets and property, but do not trade in the UAE and do not get visas on their own. RAK ICC publishes its full government fee schedule, effective 1 January 2026, and this page sets out those fees, the surcharges that change the total, and the rules that come with an offshore company, as checked on 4 October 2026.

RAK ICC incorporation and renewal fees

From the RAK ICC Fee Schedule effective 1 January 2026, in AED:

RAK ICC offers multi-year registration and renewal for up to three years, and states that fees can change without prior notice.

Surcharges that raise the total

• More than three activities: AED 550 for each extra activity.
• More than three shareholders or directors: AED 200 for each extra individual, AED 400 for each extra corporate shareholder or director.
• Complex ownership: AED 1,250 for two levels of corporate shareholders, AED 1,750 for three or more levels, AED 1,750 where trusts are involved.
• Enhanced due diligence: AED 7,000 for an IBC (AED 8,500 for a foundation), charged only to cases RAK ICC treats as high risk, on top of the normal fee.
• Additional share class: AED 1,750, up to three classes.
• Segregated portfolio company: AED 1,500 per portfolio.
• Urgent same-day processing: AED 1,250, not available for new incorporations, renewals or amendments with more than three shareholders.

Other registry fees you may meet: name reservation extension for 90 days AED 550, standard Arabic translation of the memorandum and articles AED 2,400, certificate of good standing AED 750, certificate of incumbency AED 1,000, change of activity AED 600, transfer of shares AED 1,250 between individuals or AED 1,750 for a corporate party, voluntary strike-off AED 1,500 and liquidation AED 1,500.

What a simple company costs

One shareholder who is also the director, one to three activities, no corporate layers: the RAK ICC fee is AED 3,250 in the first year and AED 3,950 every year after, or AED 9,600 for three years upfront. Add the registered agent’s fee, which each agent sets for itself, and any bank charges. The often quoted AED 12,500 is not a company fee: it is what RAK ICC charges an agent to be onboarded and to renew as an agent.

The registered agent is mandatory

A RAK ICC company can be incorporated only through a registered agent, and it must have one at all times. Its registered office is in the UAE at the agent’s office, unless the Registrar approves an address abroad, and a post office box is not allowed. RAK ICC keeps a public directory of registered agents, searchable by country of office. It does not set or publish the agents’ service fees and disclaims responsibility for your dealings with them, so ask each agent for a written quote that separates the RAK ICC fee from its own.

How to set up a RAK offshore company

1. Choose a registered agent from the RAK ICC directory.
2. Prepare the documents on the RAK ICC checklist: the memorandum and articles signed by all shareholders, the agent appointment letter, certified passport copies and proof of address for every shareholder and ultimate beneficial owner, the director’s consent and the beneficial owner declaration. A corporate shareholder adds its certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles, incumbency, good standing and a board resolution. Documents must be dated within three months, and translations must be certified into English or Arabic.
3. The agent submits the application and you receive the certificate of incorporation.

RAK ICC says an IBC is incorporated within two working days of submitting the documents. It does not require foreign corporate documents to be legalised.

Company types

• International business company: limited by shares, limited by guarantee, unlimited, restricted purpose, or segregated portfolio. At least one shareholder and one director, up to 50 shareholders, and a corporate director is allowed. RAK ICC publishes no minimum share capital for an IBC; shares can be in any currency, and bearer shares are not permitted.
• Foundation: minimum capital USD 100.
• Premium Product: a RAK ICC holding company with a subsidiary in RAKEZ, the free zone, which can hold residence visas. The RAKEZ part is priced by RAKEZ; see RAKEZ licence cost.

What a RAK offshore company can and cannot do

• It cannot do business with persons in the zone unless RAK ICC authorises it, and cannot carry on any activity elsewhere in the UAE without licences from the competent UAE authorities.
• It cannot provide financial services by way of business anywhere in the world.
• It can keep a UAE bank account for its routine operations, hold board meetings, keep its records and hold shares in an operating company. RAK ICC does not open the account: you apply to the bank yourself. See offshore bank accounts in Dubai.
• A standalone IBC gets no visas, no visa quota and no establishment card.
• It can register Dubai freehold property under the Dubai Land Department arrangement that RAK ICC announced, with a No Objection Certificate from RAK ICC at AED 1,250 per property, where the shareholders are natural persons.

Renewal and late fees

Renewal is due every year on the anniversary of incorporation, together with the annual return, which must reach the Registrar within 30 days. After one month of grace, the renewal fee rises by 10% in the second month after expiry, 15% in the third, 25% in the fourth and 50% in the fifth. At the start of the sixth month RAK ICC begins striking the company off; restoring it costs the unpaid fees plus a flat AED 550. Rule breaches are fined on a scale from AED 1,000 to AED 20,000.

Records, owners and tax

• Accounting records are kept at the agent’s office or another place notified to the agent, for at least five years.
• A change in the ultimate beneficial owner must be reported within two weeks.
• The Federal Tax Authority treats offshore companies incorporated in the UAE as juridical persons resident in the UAE for corporate tax. The RAK ICC regulations exempt them only from taxes levied by RAK ICC or Ras Al Khaimah, not from federal corporate tax.
• Economic substance reports are no longer required for financial years ending after 31 December 2022.

RAK ICC or another offshore registry

The other offshore registry many founders compare is JAFZA Offshore in Dubai: AED 10,000 to register and AED 2,500 a year to renew, also only through a registered agent; see JAFZA offshore company cost. For the difference between offshore, free zone and mainland companies, read offshore companies in the UAE and mainland vs free zone vs offshore.

What RAK ICC does not publish

• An all-in offshore package price; only its own registry fees.
• Registered agent and registered office fees.
• A minimum share capital for an IBC, and whether an IBC needs an audit.
• Prices for the Premium and Global products.
• A list of the Dubai freehold areas open to RAK ICC companies.

Free zones in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah we cover: Ajman Free Zone, Ajman NuVentures Centre, Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone, Fujairah Free Zone and Fujairah Creative City.