How much does trade licence cost in the GCC? 2026 fees

Not always, and we would rather say so. If your documents are valid and the transaction is available in an app, file it yourself. Paying a service fee makes sense when a submission has already been rejected without explanation, when several authorities are involved in sequence, or when a deadline fine would exceed the fee.

Comparing headline fees alone is misleading, because renewal cycles differ between states. A lower fee renewed annually can cost more over three years than a higher fee renewed every three. Compare the fee and the renewal cycle together, both of which are in the table on this page.

Because the government fee is only one line. Typing or service centre fees, urgent processing surcharges, delivery, medical tests, insurance and translation are charged separately, and providers bundle them differently. Ask for the government fee and the service fee split out before agreeing to anything.

They are indicative planning figures drawn from the issuing authorities and consistent public sources, and they are dated. Government fees change without much notice and free zone schedules are set independently. Always confirm the current amount with the issuing authority before you pay.

IFZA Dubai starts at AED 5,750 for a digital freelancer permit without a visa allocation, and a single-activity commercial licence with one visa runs about AED 12,900. SHAMS in Sharjah starts at AED 5,750, RAKEZ at around AED 11,500, Meydan from AED 12,500, and Ajman Free Zone from AED 8,500. In Bahrain, a single-activity Sijilat CR with virtual office can land near BHD 250 all in. Always confirm the latest brochure rate; freezones reprice annually and bundle visa allocations differently.

Pick mainland if you need to invoice UAE government bodies, bid for federal tenders, sell physical retail across the country, or open multiple branches in different emirates. Pick a freezone if you serve overseas customers, work in tech, media, or consulting, want 100 percent foreign ownership confirmed under freezone law, or need the 0 percent corporate tax on qualifying income. Mainland LLCs since 2021 also allow 100 percent foreign ownership in most activities, so the historic local-partner argument has largely gone.

In the UAE, GoFreelance through TECOM costs around AED 7,500 per year, IFZA Freelancer AED 5,750, Abu Dhabi's twofour54 from AED 1,200 for individual creators. Saudi Arabia's freelance work permit through HRSD is free for citizens but expats apply via MISA. Bahrain offers a self-employment visa from BHD 200. Oman Invest Easy issues an individual professional licence from OMR 20. Qatar and Kuwait do not yet offer a true GCC-wide freelance route for expats.

In the UAE, mainland LLCs in most activities have allowed 100 percent foreign ownership since June 2021; commercial agencies, oil and gas, and strategic-impact sectors still need an Emirati partner or a Local Service Agent. Saudi Arabia under MISA allows 100 percent foreign ownership in most sectors; retail, wholesale, and engineering each have separate paid-up capital floors. Qatar's Investment Law 2019 opens most sectors. Kuwait still requires a 51 percent Kuwaiti partner for most onshore commercial activities.

Trade Licence in the UAE is the mainland or free-zone permit that lets a company legally operate, hire and bill within the country. A standard Dubai mainland LLC year-one bill runs AED 20,000-30,000 covering initial approval, MOA notarisation, trade name, the licence itself, Chamber of Commerce membership and Ejari registration - office rent is extra. Free-zone packages can be live in 7-10 working days for simple service activities. End-to-end mainland setup takes 2 to 4 weeks from name approval to operational licence with visa quota; bank account opening adds 2-8 weeks. MOHRE issues labour quotas on the new establishment file; ICP and GDRFA Dubai issue dependent visas. The most expensive trap: choosing a free zone without checking visa eligibility for your activity - some zones restrict certain professional activities and others cap visas per package below what the business actually needs.

The Saudi Commercial Registration - Sijil Tijari - is the trade licence required for any business activity in Saudi Arabia, issued by the Ministry of Commerce through the Najiz portal with foreign-investor approval from the Ministry of Investment (MISA). A clean foreign-owned LLC takes 4-8 weeks from MISA application to active CR with a corporate bank account; the bank account is usually the longest leg. The standard MISA investor licence costs SAR 12,000 per year and permits 100% foreign ownership in approved sectors. Qiwa holds the establishment file and Nitaqat compliance once the CR is live; regulated-activity Baladiya licences (restaurants, clinics) can add 2-6 weeks. Two pitfalls: choosing the wrong MISA activity classification at application when changing it later requires a fresh MISA filing and a new CR, and letting MISA lapse before renewal - the cascade into CR cancellation, Qiwa freeze, and bank-account restrictions is fast and painful.

Commercial Registration (CR) and Trade Licence is the trade license service in Qatar, handled through MOI Qatar (https://portal.moi.gov.qa) and administered by the Qatar Ministry of Interior. The headline government fee is 1,000 QAR for commercial registration (cr), first year llc, with the full fee table broken out below. Processing typically runs Mainland CR plus municipal trade licence plus Chamber registration: 4-8 weeks end to end for routine activities. Add 4-12 weeks for FDI-approval activities. QFC…. Watch for one repeat pitfall: Assuming 100% foreign ownership is automatic across all mainland sectors: many activities still require Cabinet-level FDI approval under Law No. 1 of 2019. Another common trap is Choosing the wrong jurisdiction (mainland vs QFC vs QFZ) without a tax and customs analysis. Files can be submitted online or through approved typing centres; the Wathim desk handles the MOI Qatar session and the typing-centre handoff end-to-end if you would rather not queue.

In Bahrain, the Commercial Registration (CR) is issued by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOICT) through the Sijilat platform, with all eKey-authenticated services routed via the bahrain.bh portal and payment via BenefitPay. Basic single-activity CR issuance costs 50 BHD. Simple commercial activities with no regulator clearance take 2 to 3 weeks end to end on Sijilat; regulated activities (health, education, food, security, telecoms) add weeks while the relevant authority reviews. The LMRA establishment file is silently checked at renewal for active work-permit alignment. Two pitfalls repeat: choosing too many activity codes 'just in case', which adds a clearance step at issuance and a fee component at every renewal cycle, and renting premises unsuitable for the activity so the municipality inspection refuses and the lease may need to be replaced. The desk audits activity codes against the actual business model.

Commercial Registration (CR) is Oman's company-formation licence, issued by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion through the Invest Easy portal and surfaced on Oman eGov for residents. The CR fee for a small-grade LLC or sole establishment runs 20–50 OMR, varying by grade and activity; higher grades and regulated activities cost more. End-to-end setup for a typical LLC or sole establishment is 1–4 weeks: the CR itself is usually issued in 1–5 days, with dependent registrations (Oman Chamber of Commerce, municipality, sector approvals, bank account, labour file) taking the additional 1–3 weeks. Larger or restricted-activity setups (industrial, financial, regulated professional services) can run 8–12 weeks because of sector approvals. Common pitfalls are picking a wrong activity code that excludes intended revenue streams (which forces an amendment), and skipping the Oman Chamber of Commerce registration that the labour file later requires.

Commercial Licence (Tarkhees Tijari) in Kuwait is issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI), with trade-name reservation, incorporation steps, and renewals handled through Sahel, the unified MOI Kuwait and PACI digital platform, and the MOCI portal. Trade-name reservation runs around KD 10 to 30, with PACI Civil ID and Kuwait Mobile ID required for partner authentication on every government step. Typical setup for a standard WLL is 6 to 12 weeks from decision to operating business, dominated by MOCI's review and bank-account onboarding. KDIPA-structured foreign investments take 4 to 8 months due to KDIPA's separate review and higher scrutiny on the investment plan. Renewals are 1 to 2 weeks once per year for clean files. Two common pitfalls: choosing the wrong activity code at incorporation (later amendments are slow and costly, and MOCI fines may apply for activity mismatches in the interim), and underestimating the foreign-shareholder bank-onboarding window.