Free Zone License Amendment
Activities added or removed, the trade name changed, the licence upgraded or downgraded.
Amending a free zone licence
The rule that sits under every amendment on this page is the same in two of the three zones that publish regulations, almost word for word. Shams: “A Licensee must only carry out the Activity permitted on its valid Licence” (Companies and Licensing Regulations 2017, Art. 10.1). Meydan: the same sentence at Clause 11.1 of its Companies and Licensing Regulations.
Both then provide the way out, in the same words again: “A Licensee may apply to the Authority to vary its Licence through meeting any requirements specified by the Authority” (Shams Art. 11; Meydan Clause 12.1). Doing the new thing first and amending afterwards is what the regulations treat as the problem — Meydan makes carrying on a different Activity without prior written approval a ground for suspension or cancellation at Clause 14.2.6, and Shams says the same at Art. 13.2(f).
So an amendment is cheap and an unapproved activity is not. That is the whole argument for doing this properly.
What this desk covers
- Adding an activity, including working out whether it needs a second authority's approval
- Removing an activity you no longer carry on
- Additional activities on an existing licence, where the zone's package allows them
- A company name change, and the resolution and notice period the zone attaches to it
- Upgrading a licence, where the zone's structure provides for it
- Downgrading a licence, and saying plainly where a zone does not publish one
- Checking first whether what you want is an amendment at all, or a new licence
Get this quoted
Itemised in writing, government charges shown separately, before anything is filed.
Which one do you need?
Who this page is for
- Owners whose business has moved on from what the licence says
- Anyone who has been doing an activity the licence does not list and wants it regularised
- Companies rebranding, where the legal name has to follow the trading name
- Owners trimming a licence back to what they actually do
- Groups keeping several free zone licences consistent with each other
- Anyone told an amendment is impossible in their zone, who would like that checked against the regulations
What we need from you
To quote and start:
- The current licence
- What you want changed, in plain words
- For an activity: what the business will actually do, not the category you think it falls in
- For a name change: the proposed name, and a second choice
- Whether any shareholder or manager is changing at the same time
A name change needs a resolution. Meydan requires a Special Resolution (Clause 15.3); Shams requires a Resolution (Art. 14.3); RAKEZ requires the Memorandum of Association to be amended to reflect the change (Art. 20(4)). We draft it to the form your zone wants.
No zone of the six publishes a full supporting-document list for an amendment. What is published is the route — an application to vary — and we work to the zone's own form rather than a list we made up.
How an amendment runs
- Tell us what is changing, and whether you have already started doing it.
- We check the category question first. Some changes are a variation of the licence; some are a new licence; one or two are neither and need a different instrument altogether.
- The approval question. An activity that is regulated by someone other than the zone brings that authority's timetable with it.
- Written quote, with the zone's charges separate from our fee.
- Resolution drafted, where the change needs one.
- Application to vary filed with the zone and followed up.
- Replacement licence issued. Meydan and Shams both reissue rather than annotate: on approval of a variation the Authority issues a replacement Licence.
- Notice filed, where the zone sets a deadline for telling it formally.
Turnaround and fees
- Fees: quote on request, itemised, with the zone's charge shown separately.
- The notice deadlines are published and they are short. Meydan: a name change must be notified within 15 Business Days (Clause 17.1.1), and 30 Business Days for a Branch (Clause 17.2.1). Shams: 10 Business Days (Art. 16.1(a)), and 30 for a Branch (Art. 16.2(a)). Those are the zones' own numbers, not ours.
- A name change is effective on a certificate, not on filing. Meydan Clause 15.6 and Shams Art. 14.5(a) both tie the effective date to the Authority's certificate of change of name. RAKEZ ties it to the Registrar's certificate at Art. 20(3).
- An activity change has no published timetable in any of the six. Where a second authority is involved, it sets the pace.
Adding or removing an activity
The licence defines what you may do, and the regulations say it in one sentence. Shams Art. 10.1 and Meydan Clause 11.1 both read: "A Licensee must only carry out the Activity permitted on its valid Licence." The way to change it is the variation route, and again the wording matches: "A Licensee may apply to the Authority to vary its Licence through meeting any requirements specified by the Authority" (Shams Art. 11, shams.ae; Meydan Clause 12.1, meydanfz.ae). On approval the Authority reissues the licence rather than annotating it, so what you end up holding is a new document. The order matters more than the paperwork does. Doing the activity first and amending afterwards is a ground for suspension or cancellation in both zones (Meydan Clause 14.2.6; Shams Art. 13.2(f)). An amendment is a form; an unapproved activity is a reason to lose the licence. Removal is the part nobody publishes. There is no separate removal procedure in any of the six, so it goes through the same variation application.
Additional activities on one licence
Some zones encourage it. Ajman NuVentures describes the appeal as "the flexibility to combine multiple activities under a single license" — and in the same breath notes that regulated activities "may require additional approvals from relevant authorities" (ancfz.ae). That second half is where the work is. Whether two activities sit together on one licence is a question for your zone's own activity list, and whether one of them is regulated is a question for a different authority entirely. Neither can be answered from a general page about free zones, including this one, which is why we check the pair against the zone before quoting. RAKEZ's position is the broadest published: entities "may conduct any lawful business activity as prescribed by the Authority from time to time" (Art. 11), and the trade licence states the activities (Art. 15(1)(a)) (rakez.com).
Changing the company name
Three steps, and all three are published. The resolution. Meydan requires a Special Resolution (Clause 15.3); Shams a Resolution (Art. 14.3); RAKEZ requires the Memorandum of Association to be amended to reflect the change (Art. 20(4)). The notice. Meydan, within 15 Business Days (Clause 17.1.1). Shams, within 10 Business Days (Art. 16.1(a)). For a branch both allow 30 Business Days. These are short, published deadlines and missing them is avoidable. The certificate. The change is effective from the date the authority issues a certificate of change of name — Meydan Clause 15.6, Shams Art. 14.5(a), RAKEZ Art. 20(3). Contracts signed between the resolution and the certificate are signed in the old name, which is worth knowing before a deal is dated. SPC, Dubai South and ANC publish nothing on a name change, so for those three the procedure is whatever the zone tells us when we ask.
Upgrading and downgrading a licence
This is the thinnest section on this page, and that is the finding rather than an omission. Not one of the six free zones we work with publishes a licence upgrade or downgrade procedure. The nearest published thing is RAKEZ's "Lease Upgrade/downgrade", which appears twice in its customer service catalogue — once for physical facilities and once for co-working — and is about the premises, not the licence (eportal.rakez.com). In practice an upgrade usually means more activities, a larger visa quota, or a different premises tier, and each of those is a different application. So the useful thing is not to ask whether your zone allows an upgrade, but to say what you want to be able to do and let us work out which application produces it.
Amendment, zone by zone
| Zone | Vary the licence | Name change | Notice deadline | Upgrade/downgrade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPC Free Zone | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| SHAMS | Art. 11, apply to vary | Art. 14.3, by Resolution | 10 business days; 30 for a branch | Not published |
| Dubai South | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Meydan | Clause 12.1, apply to vary | Clause 15.3, Special Resolution | 15 business days; 30 for a branch | Not published |
| RAKEZ | Named as a service; Art. 11 on activities | Art. 20(1), Registrar's acceptance | Not published | Lease only, not the licence |
| ANC | Activities combinable; route not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Three of the six publish nothing at all in this table. That is not a reason to avoid them; it is a reason not to trust a procedure for them that you read on a consultancy's website.
Amendment questions, from the regulations
Can I just start doing the new activity and fix the licence later?
No, and both zones that publish regulations treat it as a breach rather than an irregularity. Meydan makes "carrying on a different Activity to that set out on the Licence" without prior written approval a ground for suspension or cancellation (Clause 14.2.6, Companies and Licensing Regulations); Shams says the same at Art. 13.2(f) (shams.ae).
How is an activity actually added?
By applying to vary the licence. The wording is identical in both regulations: "A Licensee may apply to the Authority to vary its Licence through meeting any requirements specified by the Authority" (Shams Art. 11; Meydan Clause 12.1). On approval the Authority issues a replacement Licence rather than amending the old one.
Can I remove an activity?
In practice yes, through the same variation route, but note what is not published: neither Meydan nor Shams sets out a separate procedure for removing an activity, and nor does any of the other four. It is handled as a variation because there is nothing else it could be handled as.
Does RAKEZ handle activity changes for free zone companies?
It names the service. "Activities & Licenses Free Zone" is a line in the RAKEZ customer service catalogue, separate from the non-free-zone equivalent (eportal.rakez.com). The catalogue names it; the procedure and the fee are not published with it.
Can I change my company name after incorporation?
Yes, in the three zones that publish regulations, and each attaches a slightly different mechanism. Meydan, Clause 15.3: "A Company may change its name after incorporation, subject to Clauses 15.1 and 15.2", by Special Resolution. Shams, Art. 14.3: the same, by Resolution. RAKEZ, Art. 20(1): a company may "change its name, provided that the new name is acceptable to the Registrar", and Art. 20(4) requires the Memorandum of Association to be amended to reflect it.
When does the new name take effect?
On the certificate, not on the application. Meydan Clause 15.6, Shams Art. 14.5(a) and RAKEZ Art. 20(3) all tie it to a certificate of change of name issued by the authority. Until that certificate exists, the old name is the company's name.
Can the zone refuse a name?
RAKEZ publishes the clearest power: the Registrar may direct a change where a name is "misleading, conflicting with other names or otherwise undesirable" (Art. 21(1), Companies Regulations). It is worth having a second choice ready rather than discovering this at the counter.
What about a branch's name?
It is a different clause and a longer notice period. Meydan Clause 15.4: "A Branch may change its name by resolution of" the relevant board, with notice within 30 Business Days (Clause 17.2.1). Shams does the same at Art. 14.4 and Art. 16.2(a).
Can I upgrade or downgrade a free zone licence?
That depends entirely on how your zone structures its licences, and this is a place where nothing useful is published. RAKEZ's catalogue lists "Lease Upgrade/downgrade" for facilities, not a licence upgrade or downgrade (eportal.rakez.com), and none of the other five publishes an upgrade or downgrade route at all. So we ask your zone about your licence instead of telling you what free zones do.
Does Shams allow activity changes after incorporation?
Its own FAQ answers it in one line: "Yes, you may change your business activities even after you have incorporated your company" (shams.ae). The regulations then set the route, at Art. 11.
Can I transfer my licence to someone else?
Not without approval, and Shams publishes the prohibition: Art. 10.2 bars assigning or transferring the Licence without the Authority's prior written approval. A change of ownership is a different conversation from an amendment and should start before anything is signed.
What does an amendment cost?
Quote on request, in writing, with the zone's charge itemised separately. No zone of the six publishes an amendment fee, and the one thing we can say about the range is that a regulated activity changes it more than the amendment itself does.
Clause and article numbers above are quoted from the regulations the zones themselves publish, read on 10 November 2026. Three of the six publish no regulations, and their rows say so rather than guess. A zone may amend its regulations at any time and need not tell anyone. 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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