DIFC — Dubai International Financial Centre

DIFC law, not UAE federal civil and commercial law. Federal Law No. 8 of 2004 permits financial free zones and, as the DIFC Courts explain, exempts them from federal civil and commercial laws while UAE criminal law continues to apply; Federal Decree No. 35 of 2004 then established the DIFC as a financial free zone and Dubai Law No. 12 of 2004 created the DIFC Courts of First Instance and Appeal. Your company is incorporated under the Companies Law, DIFC Law No. 5 of 2018, administered by the DIFC Registrar of Companies, and contract and company disputes are decided by English-language common-law courts. Federal criminal, anti-money-laundering and tax legislation still reaches DIFC entities, so we plan every DIFC structure against both layers.

Sources: DIFC Courts — DIFC Courts; DIFC Authority — DIFC Legal Database (accessed 24 October 2026)

Only if the company will carry on financial services. The DFSA is the independent regulator of financial services conducted in or from the DIFC: asset management, banking and credit, dealing in investments, insurance and similar activities. Holding companies, Prescribed Companies, foundations, family offices and professional-services firms are non-regulated, and their licence comes from the DIFC Registrar of Companies, which issues and renews licences for non-regulated commercial activity. Most of the entities we establish in the DIFC are in this second group, so the work runs through the Registrar and the DIFC Portal rather than a DFSA authorisation. If your plans include a regulated activity we say so at the outset, because the authorisation route, capital requirements and timeline are different.

Sources: Dubai Financial Services Authority — The DFSA; DIFC Registrar of Companies — Registrar of Companies (accessed 24 October 2026)

Companies, partnerships, non-profit incorporated organisations, foundations and branches of foreign entities, plus continuation of existing entities into the Centre. The Registrar of Companies processes applications to incorporate, register or continue each of these under DIFCA-administered legislation: the Companies Law, DIFC Law No. 5 of 2018, for private and public companies and recognised (branch) companies; the LLP, Limited Partnership and General Partnership Laws; the Foundations Law, DIFC Law No. 3 of 2018; and the Non Profit Incorporated Organisations Law. Regulations under the Companies Law add Prescribed Companies, protected and incorporated cell companies, investment companies and, from 2026, variable capital companies. We form companies, foundations and Prescribed Companies in the DIFC and handle their filings; the registered-office role sits with a DIFC-licensed corporate service provider that we appoint and coordinate.

Sources: DIFC Registrar of Companies — Registrar of Companies; DIFC Authority — DIFC Legal Database (accessed 24 October 2026)

A Prescribed Company is the DIFC's special purpose vehicle: a private company under the Companies Law that the DIFC describes as a passive holding company used to ring-fence and isolate assets and liabilities from financial and legal risk. Since the 2026 amendments to the Prescribed Company Regulations the regime is open to any applicant, so unless exempt any person may apply to establish or continue one. The vehicle may hold any registrable asset anywhere in the world, but it cannot conduct commercial or operational activities or employ staff, and unless it qualifies as an Exempt Prescribed Company it must appoint a DIFC-licensed Corporate Service Provider as its administrative and compliance interface with the Registrar. We prepare the application, resolutions and articles and appoint and coordinate that CSP.

Source: DIFC Authority — Establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPVs) in DIFC (accessed 24 October 2026)

The DIFC's published fees are a one-time application fee of USD 100 and an annual commercial licence fee of USD 1,000, to which an AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation Dirham fee is added. Add the data protection notification: the Commissioner of Data Protection charges non-regulated (Category II) entities USD 750 on registration and USD 250 for each annual renewal, which is processed with the licence renewal. Fees for other entity types, such as private companies, branches and holding companies, are set out in the Registrar of Companies' Table of Fees published on the DIFC Handbooks & Fees page, and the fee of the appointed Corporate Service Provider is set by that provider. We quote the full year-one and recurring cost, with government and third-party items separated, before you commit.

Sources: DIFC Authority — Establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPVs) in DIFC; DIFC Commissioner of Data Protection — Compliance with DP Law 2020: Notifying the Commissioner (accessed 24 October 2026)

Yes. Every DIFC entity must notify the Commissioner of Data Protection under the Data Protection Law, DIFC Law No. 5 of 2020. The notification is built into the incorporation service request and is completed in two steps, the second of which must be finished within six months of licensing; it is then renewed as part of each annual licence renewal, and changes to your processing must be notified within 14 days. The DIFC's FAQ confirms that the notification must be updated annually and that a Data Protection Officer is mandatory in only three cases, most commonly high-risk processing or where the Commissioner directs it. We file the notification with the incorporation, diarise the renewal and keep the registrable particulars current.

Sources: DIFC Commissioner of Data Protection — Compliance with DP Law 2020: Notifying the Commissioner; DIFC Commissioner of Data Protection — Important FAQs on Data Protection & Privacy (accessed 24 October 2026)

Yes, by written opt-in. The DIFC Courts hear all cases arising out of the DIFC and its operations and, since Dubai Law No. 16 of 2011 amended Dubai Law No. 12 of 2004, any civil or commercial claim where the parties agree in writing to file it there, whether before or after the dispute arises, provided the agreement is made in specific, clear and express terms. The jurisdiction is civil and commercial only; criminal matters are referred to the relevant external authority. The Courts' Small Claims Tribunal takes claims up to AED 500,000 and can be used by parties operating outside the DIFC and the UAE if the clause is in the contract. We include the Courts' suggested jurisdiction clause in group documents when a DIFC entity is involved.

Sources: DIFC Courts — OPT IN; DIFC Courts — DIFC Courts (accessed 24 October 2026)

Not automatically. The DIFC states that it is considered a qualified free zone for the purposes of the UAE Corporate Tax Law, so a DIFC entity can benefit from a zero per cent corporate tax rate on qualifying income as specified by the relevant cabinet and ministerial decisions. The Ministry of Finance puts it the same way: a Free Zone Person that meets the conditions can benefit from a Corporate Tax rate of 0% on its Qualifying Income under Federal Decree-Law No. (47) of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses. Meeting those conditions is a compliance exercise, not a given, and income that does not qualify is taxed normally. We test the structure against the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions before incorporation and keep the evidence file afterwards.

Sources: DIFC Authority — Home to Leading Non-Financial Firms Across Key Sectors; UAE Ministry of Finance — Corporate Tax in the UAE (accessed 24 October 2026)