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As of November 2026, the cheapest way to sell online legally in Dubai is the DET e-Trader licence: AED 1,070 plus AED 300 Dubai Chamber fees, for a home-based sole establishment, if your nationality and activity qualify (see below). A full mainland licence with an e-commerce activity, or a free zone company, costs more; the lowest free zone prices we could verify are AED 5,750 at SPC Free Zone (Sharjah) and AED 12,500 at Meydan (Dubai).
Which one fits depends on three things: whether you sell from home as an individual or need a company, whether you need residence visas, and whether your customers are inside the UAE. Mainland e-commerce licences, including the e-Trader, also need approval or a no-objection certificate from the TDRA, the UAE’s digital regulator.
Below: the comparison table with the source of every figure, how to choose, the steps, and what you need after the licence to sell legally (VAT, payments and consumer law).
The three routes compared
The e-Trader is the cheapest and quickest, but it is a home-based sole establishment. A mainland licence sells directly to UAE customers but needs premises. A free zone company gives you a company and visas, but selling directly to mainland customers may need a distributor or extra approvals.
| Compared | DET e-Trader | Mainland licence with e-commerce activity | Free zone company |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A sole establishment licence for Dubai home-based businesses | A commercial licence from DET with an e-commerce activity | A company licensed by a free zone authority, with retail via the internet among its activities |
| Who can apply | An individual resident in Dubai, with an Emirates ID. Whether non-GCC residents can get it for selling goods, not only for professional services, isn’t confirmed on the official pages we read: check your activity on Invest in Dubai | Companies and individuals; civil (professional) businesses fully owned by non-GCC nationals need a local service agent, according to u.ae | Companies, including 100% foreign-owned ones |
| Cost | AED 1,070 (licence, knowledge and innovation fees) + AED 300 Dubai Chamber | Varies by licence type and activity; DET doesn’t publish one figure | Meydan from AED 12,500 (no visa) · DMCC Basic Biz package AED 35,484 · SPC (Sharjah) from AED 5,750 · IFZA quotes per proposal |
| Time | Issued within 5 minutes once you apply, according to Invest in Dubai | Within 10 minutes for a normal licence, after approvals | Depends on the free zone; check the current timing with it |
| Office | No: it’s run from home | Yes for a normal licence (lease registered in Ejari); the Instant licence comes with a virtual site for the first year | A flexi desk is enough in the packages we checked |
| Sell across the UAE | Online, from home in Dubai; the official pages don’t say more | Yes, directly | Inside the free zone and abroad; to sell directly on the mainland you may need a local distributor or additional approvals |
| TDRA | Approval or NOC needed | Approval or NOC needed | Ask your free zone: the TDRA rule on u.ae is stated for mainland licences |
Prices checked on 2026-11-04 on the official pages linked under Sources. Free zone figures are each zone’s own published starting price; visas, establishment card and medical tests are usually extra, and what’s included varies by package. Confirm the current price with the free zone before you pay.
How to choose your e-commerce licence in Dubai
You sell from home, on social media or a small website: e-Trader
The e-Trader is built for individuals selling products or services through social media and online platforms, according to dubai.ae. It is a sole establishment, so you carry full legal responsibility for the business. It doesn’t give you a company or visas.
Who can get it is where online guides disagree. Some set-up firms say only UAE and GCC nationals; others say any resident. The official pages we read don’t settle it for selling goods, so check your own activity on the Invest in Dubai portal before you count on it.
The official steps are short: the trade name comes first, because Invest in Dubai issues the e-Trader to home-based businesses “that have been issued with the trade name”; then you apply on the Invest in Dubai portal with your ID number, and you run the business from your residence in Dubai. Renewals go through the same portal.
You want to sell directly to UAE customers with a company: mainland
A mainland licence from DET with an e-commerce activity is the route u.ae describes for selling online on the mainland. You need a business location with a lease registered in Ejari, and some activities need extra approvals. The fee depends on the licence type and activities, so DET points you to its fee calculator on Invest in Dubai.
You want a company, visas and lower set-up costs: free zone
A free zone company can sell inside its zone and internationally. For customers on the mainland, u.ae says you may need a local distributor or additional approvals. IFZA says a mainland distributor is required to sell within the UAE. That matters if most of your buyers are in the UAE.
If you sell only on marketplaces such as Amazon.ae or noon, check each platform’s seller requirements too before you choose the licence.
Free zone company set-up costs we could verify
Only free zones that publish a figure on their own website are here. Each price covers a company licence; visas and extras are priced separately unless the package says otherwise.
| Free zone | From | What the published price includes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meydan Free Zone (Dubai) | AED 12,500 | Licence, flexi desk, up to 3 activity groups, no visa. With a 1-visa allocation AED 14,350; with 3, AED 18,050. The visa itself (AED 4,000), establishment card and medical are add-ons | Meydan FZ, trading and e-commerce page |
| DMCC (Dubai) | AED 35,484 (Basic Biz) | Basic Biz package: licence and flexi desk, eligible for 1 visa. Jump Start, with 1 visa included: AED 43,780 | DMCC business set-up packages |
| SPC Free Zone (Sharjah) | AED 5,750 | The page doesn’t detail what’s included | SPC blog, updated 2026-10-01 |
| IFZA (Dubai) | Not published | Priced per proposal through its partners | IFZA |
Dubai CommerCity, a free zone for digital commerce, and other zones don’t publish an e-commerce price we could check; ask them directly. We left out zones whose price we couldn’t trace to their own site.
How to get an e-commerce licence in Dubai, step by step
The order is the same on every route: activity, legal form, name, approvals, then the licence.
- Choose the activity. Online retail of your product category, or a service. Goods that need special approval can’t be sold until you have it.
- Choose the route and legal form. e-Trader (sole establishment), mainland company or free zone company.
- Reserve the trade name.
- Get initial approval and any external approvals, for example for food or cosmetics.
- Secure the location: home for the e-Trader, an Ejari-registered lease on the mainland, a flexi desk or office in a free zone.
- Pay and receive the licence. On the mainland, through Invest in Dubai or a service centre; in a free zone, through the zone.
- Get TDRA approval or NOC (mainland and e-Trader): u.ae and dubai.ae require it for mainland e-commerce licences.
- Set up tax, payments and the store, below.
Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman have their own economic departments and licences; u.ae lists the online service for each.
After the licence: VAT, payments and consumer law
A licence lets you trade. It doesn’t make the store compliant on its own.
VAT: 5% and the AED 375,000 threshold
UAE VAT is 5%. Registration is mandatory once your taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000 over the previous 12 months, or are expected to within the next 30 days, and voluntary from AED 187,500, according to the Federal Tax Authority. Below the threshold you don’t charge VAT; above it, prices and invoices must show it. Your accountant confirms the treatment.
Card payments and instalments
Card payments go through a payment gateway. In the UAE, services such as merchant acquiring and payment aggregation are licensed by the Central Bank (CBUAE) under its Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation, so pick a provider that states its licence. Telr, for example, says it is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE. Your company opens the account; approval and fees are the provider’s. The gateways we connect to Shopify and WooCommerce are on our ecommerce web design in Dubai page.
What the store must show (Decree-Law 14/2023)
The UAE e-commerce law, Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2023 on Trading by Modern Technological Means, asks online sellers to:
- publish prices, delivery, payment terms and conditions;
- avoid misleading information;
- show the licence, address and contact details;
- let consumers choose whether they receive advertising;
- accept returns in the cases the law sets, such as faulty goods or goods that don’t match the description.
Consumer protection (Federal Law 15/2020)
The Consumer Protection Law adds two rules that catch online stores out:
- Discounts and promotions need a prior licence (art. 18), and fake discounts count as misleading advertising (art. 1).
- Consumer information, ads and contracts must be in Arabic (art. 26); other languages can go alongside.
If you promote your products on social media, check whether you also need the UAE Advertiser Permit. Cart reminders on WhatsApp count as marketing messages and need opt-in: see WhatsApp Business API set-up.
Not legal advice. General information checked against the official sources linked on this page on 2026-11-04. Fees, eligibility and free zone packages change; confirm your case with DET, your free zone and the TDRA before you pay or start selling.
Frequently asked questions
The DET e-Trader costs AED 1,070 plus AED 300 Dubai Chamber fees, according to Invest in Dubai (November 2026). A mainland licence depends on the licence type and activities. Free zone companies cost more: AED 5,750 at SPC Free Zone (Sharjah), AED 12,500 at Meydan and AED 35,484 for DMCC’s Basic Biz package, on their own websites, with visas usually extra.
Yes. According to u.ae, you need the appropriate licence to carry out e-commerce: a commercial licence with an e-commerce activity from your emirate’s economic department plus TDRA approval, or a free zone licence that includes e-commerce.
The e-Trader is a sole establishment licence for home-based businesses in Dubai selling online, at AED 1,070 plus AED 300, for residents whose nationality and activity qualify. An e-commerce licence is a full mainland or free zone company licence with an e-commerce activity: it costs more, but it can have premises, partners and visas.
Search by licence number or business name on the Invest in Dubai licence search. u.ae’s verify business licences page links to it and to the federal registers.
It can sell online within its free zone and internationally. To sell directly on the mainland, u.ae says it may need a local distributor or additional approvals. Ask your free zone what it allows before you choose it.
Once your taxable supplies and imports pass AED 375,000 in the previous 12 months, or are expected to within 30 days. You can register voluntarily from AED 187,500.
Related terms
- DET: Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, which issues mainland trade licences, including the e-Trader.
- e-Trader: DET’s licence for home-based businesses selling online, issued as a sole establishment.
- TDRA: the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, which approves mainland e-commerce licences.
- Local service agent: the UAE agent a foreign owner must appoint for some mainland legal forms, such as a professional sole establishment.
- Ejari: Dubai’s registration system for lease contracts, needed for mainland premises.