Civil Company
Two or more professionals practising together, under the civil works company form.
A civil company in Dubai
The civil company is the form professionals practise together under. It is the second of the four legal forms Article 14 of Law No. (13) of 2011 names — “civil works company” — and Dubai’s own investor pages describe it as a company “owned by two or more partners practicing a professional activity such as tailors, beauty salons, consultancy, or training” (dubai.ae, page last modified 14 April 2026).
The law approaches it from the activity rather than from the company. Article 15(a) provides that UAE natural persons and other natural persons “may enter into partnerships” “to personally conduct Occupational or Artisan Activities in the Emirate”, and calls the result a Business Partnership. A legal person may join one “provided that the nature of his activity is similar to the nature of the activity conducted by such Business Partnership”.
So two things define it: more than one partner, and a professional rather than commercial activity. If either is not true, the form is a different one. Fees are quoted on request, in writing, with the government charges separate.
What this desk covers
- Confirming the activity is one this form can carry, which is the question that decides everything else
- Trade name options and reservation
- Initial approval
- The partnership agreement between the partners
- The local service agent contract where the law requires one, and its notarisation
- External approvals where the profession is regulated by a second authority
- Premises and Ejari
- The licence application and the follow-up until it issues
- Establishment card, labour file and the visa filings that follow
- Bank account support, and Corporate Tax and VAT registration
Get this quoted
Itemised in writing, government charges shown separately, before anything is filed.
Which one do you need?
Who this page is for
- Two or more professionals setting up a practice together — consultancy, training, design, engineering, therapy
- A professional adding a partner to an existing practice
- A foreign professional who needs to know what the law requires of a non-UAE national conducting an occupational activity
- A professional firm abroad joining a UAE practice, where the activity is a similar one
- Anyone told a civil company and an LLC are interchangeable, who would like to see what Dubai publishes about each
What we need from you
To open the file and quote:
- Passport copy for every partner
- Emirates ID and residence visa copy for any partner already resident
- The professional activity, in your own words
- Qualifications or professional registrations, where the activity is one the Department or a regulator assesses
- Two or three trade name options
- The split between the partners
Where a partner is a company, Article 15(a) requires that "the nature of his activity is similar to the nature of the activity conducted by such Business Partnership", and the corporate documents have to be attested in the country that issued them.
The federal portal's mainland list names a "Duly attested service agent contract" for civil establishments (u.ae, updated 27 October 2026). Whether your partnership needs one depends on the partners' nationalities and on the activity.
How a civil company file runs
- The activity, and whether it is professional. This is the question the form turns on.
- The partners, and whether any of them is a company.
- Trade name, at the published "AED 620" (ded.ae).
- Initial approval, published at a stated total of "AED 120" (ded.ae).
- The partnership agreement, drafted and signed.
- The service agent contract where one is required, notarised.
- Premises and the tenancy the licence sits on.
- Professional approvals, where the activity is regulated.
- The licence issues, and then the cards, the visas, the bank and the tax registrations.
Turnaround, and the charges Dubai publishes
- Our own turnaround, which is our record and not an authority commitment: about 4–5 working days once documents and approvals are in place. A regulated profession waiting on its own authority is what makes it longer, and that authority sets its own pace.
- Fees: quote on request, itemised in writing, government charges separate.
The published Dubai charges, read on 13 November 2026:
| Published charge | Amount | Where it is published |
|---|---|---|
| Issuing or amending the initial approval | "AED 100", plus "Knowledge Dirham fee: AED 10" and "Innovation Dirham Fee: AED 10" — the page states "The total cost of issuing the initial approval is AED 120" | Department of Economy and Tourism, initial approval |
| Reserving a trade name | "AED 620" | Department of Economy and Tourism, trade name reservation |
| Issuing the licence | "License register fees: AED 600", "Knowledge Dirham fee: AED 10", "Innovation Dirham fee: AED 10" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
| Trade name advertisements | "AED 350" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
| Service request form | "AED 50" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
| A foreign trade name | "from AED 1000 to 3000" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
| General trading as the activity | "General Trade Activity Fees: AED 15,000" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
A professional activity that a regulator has to approve carries that regulator's own charge, which is published by them rather than by the Department. We name it in the written quote once the activity is settled.
The form, and what it is for
Article 14 of Law No. (13) of 2011 lists four legal forms, and the second is the "civil works company". That is the instrument's name for it; in ordinary use, and on Dubai's own investor pages, it is the civil company. Those pages describe it as a company "owned by two or more partners practicing a professional activity such as tailors, beauty salons, consultancy, or training" (dubai.ae, page last modified 14 April 2026). The examples are worth noticing: they are trades and professions practised by people, not goods bought and resold. The law comes at it from the activity. An Occupational or Artisan Activity is "An activity conducted by one or more natural persons who rely on their physical or intellectual efforts", or who "use certain tools and equipment to perform such activity with a limited capital" (dlp.dubai.gov.ae, Article 2). A form built on that definition is a form for people practising, which is why the partners are expected to practise personally.
Who can be a partner
Article 15(a) sets the shape. UAE natural persons and other natural persons "may enter into partnerships" "to personally conduct Occupational or Artisan Activities in the Emirate", and the law calls such a partnership a Business Partnership. A company can join one, with a condition in the same article: "A legal person may become a shareholder in a Business Partnership", "provided that the nature of his activity is similar to the nature of the activity conducted by such Business Partnership". That condition is the one that catches people. A holding company, or a company in an unrelated line of work, is not obviously a similar activity, and whether a particular corporate partner qualifies is a question for the Department rather than one to assume an answer to.
A partner who is not a UAE national
The same rule applies here as to a sole establishment practising an occupational activity, and it is in Article 15(b): "Non-UAE nationals will be authorised to conduct Occupational or Artisan Activities provided that they have an agent", who "may be a natural person holding the UAE nationality" or "a legal person whose partners are all holders of the UAE nationality". Article 16 then limits what that agent carries: responsible "for exercising due diligence" "to enable the Business to conduct its Occupational and Artisan Activities in the Emirate", "and will bear no civil or financial liabilities in relation to the work or activity of the Business", on an agreement that "must be governed by a notarised agency agreement" "based on the template prescribed by the DED". The federal portal reflects the same requirement from the document side, listing a "Duly attested service agent contract" for civil establishments (u.ae, updated 27 October 2026). Whether it applies to your partnership is settled with the Department before anything is drafted.
What Dubai publishes
Quote on request from us. These are the Department's own published charges, read on 13 November 2026.
| Published charge | Amount | Where it is published |
|---|---|---|
| Issuing or amending the initial approval | "AED 100", plus "Knowledge Dirham fee: AED 10" and "Innovation Dirham Fee: AED 10" — the page states "The total cost of issuing the initial approval is AED 120" | Department of Economy and Tourism, initial approval |
| Reserving a trade name | "AED 620" | Department of Economy and Tourism, trade name reservation |
| Issuing the licence | "License register fees: AED 600", "Knowledge Dirham fee: AED 10", "Innovation Dirham fee: AED 10" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
| Trade name advertisements | "AED 350" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
| Service request form | "AED 50" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
| A foreign trade name | "from AED 1000 to 3000" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
| General trading as the activity | "General Trade Activity Fees: AED 15,000" | Department of Economy and Tourism, new licence |
A regulated profession adds its regulator's charge on top, and that is published by the regulator rather than by the Department. It goes into the written quote once the activity is settled.
Civil company questions, answered from the law
What is a civil company?
Dubai's investor pages describe it as a company "owned by two or more partners practicing a professional activity such as tailors, beauty salons, consultancy, or training" (dubai.ae, page last modified 14 April 2026). Article 14(b) of Law No. (13) of 2011 names the form "civil works company" (dlp.dubai.gov.ae).
What does the law call the partnership?
A Business Partnership. Article 15(a): natural persons "may enter into partnerships" "to personally conduct Occupational or Artisan Activities in the Emirate".
Can a company be a partner in one?
Yes, with a condition. Article 15(a): "A legal person may become a shareholder in a Business Partnership", "provided that the nature of his activity is similar to the nature of the activity conducted by such Business Partnership".
Does a foreign partner need a local service agent?
Where the activity is an occupational or artisan one, Article 15(b) applies: "Non-UAE nationals will be authorised to conduct Occupational or Artisan Activities provided that they have an agent". What that agent is and is not liable for is set out on the Sole Establishment page, quoting Article 16.
Civil company or LLC?
The activity decides it before anything else does. A professional activity practised personally by the partners is what the civil form is for; a commercial or trading activity is not. If the activity could go either way, we put it to the Department rather than guessing.
What is an occupational or artisan activity?
"An activity conducted by one or more natural persons who rely on their physical or intellectual efforts", or who "use certain tools and equipment to perform such activity with a limited capital" (dlp.dubai.gov.ae, Article 2).
Am I personally liable in a civil company?
The partners practise personally, and the form does not carry the capital-contribution limit that Article 71(1) of Decree-Law 32/2021 gives a limited liability company's partners. Where liability is the deciding factor, that is the comparison to make.
Does the Department issue this type?
It lists "Civil companies" among the company types on its initial-approval page (ded.ae).
How many visas will it carry?
Not published. The ministry weighs legal status, the size of the work facilities, the projects undertaken and business requirements (u.ae, updated 28 September 2026). See the company visa quota in the UAE.
What will it cost?
Quote on request, itemised. The published government charges are in the table above, each linked to the page it is printed on; a regulated profession adds its regulator's own charge.
Every rule above names the instrument or the authority that published it and the date it was read: Dubai Law No. (13) of 2011 and Federal Decree-Law No. (32) of 2021 as published on the Dubai and UAE legislation portals, and the Department of Economy and Tourism's own service pages for the charges, all read on 13 November 2026. Laws are amended and service pages are revised without announcement, so confirm anything you are about to rely on with the authority itself. AL HUDHUD Documents Clearing Services is a documents clearing and PRO services company, not a law firm; this is information, not legal advice. Fees: quote on request.
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