Home / Post-formation changes

Amend your
UAE trade licence

Activity change, share transfer, adding or removing a partner, trade name change, manager change, address change, legal-form change or capital change. Filed correctly, with the knock-on records updated.

AED 500DET base amendment fee

0.5%Notary annex above AED 100,000

AED 15,000Annex fee cap

15 daysUBO register update window

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Scope

Every change we handle

Each amendment has its own paperwork. Tell us which change you need and we quote that change, not a generic package.

✓ Activity change — Adding or deleting an activity. External approval is needed where the activity requires one. The change may move your licence fee and your visa quota.

✓ Share transfer, adding or removing a partner — The most involved amendment. Notarised resolution, sale and purchase agreement, NOC from existing partners, and a notarised Annex to the Incorporation Contract. A new licence issues showing the revised ownership.

✓ Trade name change — Name availability check and reservation, then licence reissue. The new name must clear the same naming rules that applied at formation.

✓ Manager change — Resolution, the new manager's passport and an NOC. A new employment contract and work permit may also be required.

✓ Address change — A new Ejari-registered tenancy contract. A location change can affect the visa quota and, in DET, the market fee of 5% of annual rent.

✓ Legal-form change and capital change — A legal-form change is the most complex and is effectively a re-incorporation. A capital change needs a notarised annex, where the 0.5% fee applies above AED 100,000.

Requirements

What each amendment requires

Amendments involving ownership need a notarised MOA annex. A signed side letter is not an amendment. Timelines below are typical rather than authority-confirmed.

Amendment	Notarised resolution or MOA annex	NOC or external approval	Typical timeline
Activity change (add or delete)	No annex for a standard activity change	External approval where the activity requires one	Same-day to a few days
Share transfer	Notarised resolution and notarised Annex to the Incorporation Contract	NOC from the existing partners	Longer, because of notarisation and any attestation
Adding or removing a partner	Notarised Annex to the Incorporation Contract	No-objection letter, plus copy of accommodation	Longer, because of notarisation and any attestation
Trade name change	No annex; name availability check and reservation	Name must clear the formation naming rules	Same-day to a few days
Manager change	Resolution appointing the new manager	NOC, plus the new manager's passport	Same-day to a few days
Address or location change	No annex; new tenancy contract required	New Ejari-registered tenancy contract	Same-day to a few days
Legal-form change	Annex to the Incorporation Contract; closer to re-incorporation	Confirmed case by case	Longer, because of notarisation and any attestation
Capital change	Notarised annex to add, withdraw or change capital	Confirmed case by case	Longer, because of notarisation and any attestation

Government fees

DET authority fee schedule

These are official DET government fees, not My Eloah fees. Only DET's schedule is verified; Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, RAK, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain are confirmed before quoting, and free zones set their own amendment tariffs with no common schedule.

Item	Government fee
Request to amend a trade licence (base service)	AED 500
Change brand or advertisement waiver licence	AED 500
Annex to Incorporation Contract, total sale value under AED 100,000	AED 300 per party signature
Annex to Incorporation Contract, total sale value over AED 100,000	0.5% of value, capped at AED 15,000
Add, withdraw or change capital, increase plus sale value under AED 100,000	AED 300 per party signature
Add, withdraw or change capital, increase plus sale value over AED 100,000	0.5% of value, capped at AED 15,000
All other amendments	AED 200 per party signature
Signature taken at a different service delivery centre	AED 500
Dubai Courts e-notary signature, for a non-resident signing remotely	AED 100 per signature
MOFA attestation of a foreign commercial document	AED 2,000 per document

Follow-through

What else must be updated

This is where amendments go wrong. The licence changes and the rest of the file does not follow.

✓ UBO register within 15 days — Any ownership change must reach the UBO register within 15 days. Fines start at AED 15,000 and rise to AED 30,000.

✓ Establishment card, e-channel and bank mandate — A change of manager or signatory means updating the bank mandate and signatory list, plus the e-channel and establishment card records.

✓ Sanctions screening on the incoming party — Screen every incoming shareholder and UBO before the transfer completes, not after. A match found post-completion is a far worse problem.

✓ Tax and goAML records — An activity change affects corporate tax and VAT classification, and a QFZP position needs checking. Any ownership or activity change updates goAML entity details for a DNFBP.

✓ Name and address records — A trade name change reaches the bank account name, any registered trademark, contracts, invoices and the e-invoicing ASP registration. An address change reaches Ejari, DEWA, telecom, the customs code and bank records.

✓ Employment contracts survive — Under Federal Decree-Law 33 of 2021, Article 48, contracts in force remain valid when the establishment's form or legal status changes. A buyer inherits every contract, accrued gratuity and leave liability, so quantify it in the deal.

FAQ

Common Questions.

The base service, Request to Amend a Trade Licence, is AED 500. That covers changing the business activity, adding or deleting activities, adding a partner and other licence terms, and the same service issues an annex to the Articles of Association. Notary signature fees and any external approval fee sit on top.

Where the total sale value is under AED 100,000, the Annex to the Incorporation Contract is AED 300 per party signature. Above AED 100,000 it is 0.5% of value, capped at AED 15,000. A partner selling AED 2,000,000 of shares pays AED 10,000 on the annex alone, plus the AED 500 base fee, and the cap is reached at a value of AED 3,000,000.

All parties attend the Notary Public, or an attorney attends under a power of attorney. A non-resident can execute remotely through the Dubai Courts e-notary at AED 100 per signature. A signature taken at a different service delivery centre carries a DET fee of AED 500.

Certificate of incorporation, MOA, board resolution and power of attorney all need the full attestation chain: home-country notary, home MOFA, UAE Embassy, then UAE MOFA, plus an MoJ-attested Arabic translation. Commercial documents are AED 2,000 each at MOFA. Always check for a corporate shareholder before quoting.

Timelines are not authority-confirmed. Simple amendments are typically same-day to a few days. Ownership changes take longer because of notarisation and, where a foreign corporate party is involved, attestation.

The substance is similar, but every zone runs its own amendment service and fee schedule and no common tariff exists. The zone authority acts as registrar, so the MOA amendment is usually executed at the zone rather than a public notary. Share transfers often need the zone's own transfer form and consent, and a change in shareholding can affect the facility and visa quota.

Talk to a consultant

Which amendment do you need?

Name the change and we confirm the documents, the authority fees and the records that must follow.

Tell us your situation and a consultant replies with what actually applies to you, what it costs and what we need from you to start.

Amend your UAE trade licence