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A Dubai mainland trade licence is issued for a year and dies quietly if it is not renewed: banks flag the account, fines accrue, and the company slides out of good standing. Renewal itself is a portal task – Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) runs it through the Invest in Dubai platform – but it has one precondition that catches companies every year: a valid, registered office lease. This page walks the process as it works in August 2026 and is honest about the one thing no article can tell you – your exact renewal fee, which the portal quotes per licence.
The Ejari precondition
A mainland licence is tied to a physical address, and DET checks the lease at renewal: the tenancy contract must be registered in Ejari and cover the licence address. An expired Ejari is the single most common reason a renewal stalls – the fix is renewing the lease registration first, then the licence. Free zone companies do not touch Ejari; their lease sits with the zone.
The renewal, step by step
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Check the licence file | expiry date, activities, and whether any government fine blocks the renewal |
| 2. Renew the lease first | tenancy registered in Ejari and valid past the renewal date |
| 3. Apply on Invest in Dubai | the DET platform issues a payment voucher for your licence |
| 4. Pay the voucher | the licence renews for the next year; the updated licence is downloadable |
| 5. Sync what depends on it | establishment card, visas, bank file – each reads the licence expiry |
What sets the renewal fee
DET does not publish one universal renewal price, and this page will not invent one. The voucher is computed for your licence from its legal form, its activities and the add-ons attached to it – which is why two companies renewing the same week pay different amounts. The reliable way to know yours is the voucher itself, generated in the portal before you commit to payment. Treat any flat “renewal costs AED X” claim in a blog as somebody else’s licence.
| Driver | How it moves the fee |
|---|---|
| Legal form | sole establishment, LLC and branch carry different base fees |
| Activities on the licence | regulated activities carry approvals and their own charges |
| Government add-ons | market fees and channel charges appear on the voucher |
| Late renewal | fines accrue on top once the licence lapses |
If the licence has already expired
An expired licence is not a dead company – it is a company accruing fines and losing standing. Renewal remains possible through the same portal; the voucher simply arrives heavier. The knock-on effects are the real cost: visa renewals stall against an expired licence, and a bank’s compliance review reads an expired licence as a red flag. The wider calendar of what a company must keep alive – licence, lease, cards, filings – is in the annual renewal obligations guide, and the classic failure patterns are in compliance mistakes after setup.
Free zone licences renew differently
Everything above is the DET mainland flow. A free zone licence renews with the zone itself, on the zone’s own portal and price list – and most zones do not publish renewal prices, which this site documents zone by zone. Ask for the renewal figure in writing before the first year is paid; it is the number that decides the three-year cost of the setup.
Who handles this
From the Emirae directory, measured 8 August 2026: 70 active consultants, of whom 36 cover business licensing and 28 cover PRO services. Renewal is a portal task when the file is clean; the paid work is the messy file – expired Ejari, a fine blocking the voucher, activities that need re-approval, or a licence that lapsed months ago.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I renew a Dubai trade licence?
Mainland licences renew through DET’s Invest in Dubai platform. Free zone licences renew with the free zone that issued them (checked 8 August 2026).
How much does trade licence renewal cost in Dubai?
There is no universal published price: the portal computes a voucher for your specific licence from its legal form, activities and add-ons. The voucher, generated before payment, is your real figure.
Is Ejari required to renew a trade licence?
Yes for mainland – the tenancy for the licence address must be registered and valid in Ejari. An expired Ejari is the most common renewal blocker.
What documents does renewal need?
With a clean file, the portal works from what DET already holds: the licence, the registered lease and any regulated-activity approvals. Extra documents appear only when something changed.
What happens if I renew late?
Fines accrue on the lapsed licence and dependent processes stall – visa renewals and bank reviews read the expiry. Renewal stays possible through the same portal, at a higher total.
Can I change activities while renewing?
Renewal and amendment are separate applications. File the amendment first or alongside – an activity change mid-renewal is where timelines slip.
Does renewal extend my visas too?
No. Establishment card and visas have their own renewals – they depend on a valid licence but do not renew with it.
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Official references used for context in this article.
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