Requires every person carrying on business in or from ADGM to hold a commercial licence from the Registration Authority, defines controlled activities that need specific permission, and empowers the Board to make subordinate rules on controlled activities, licence conditions, client money and fees. The consolidated text is published in the ADGM rulebook hosted by Thomson Reuters.
The Commercial Licensing Regulations 2015 are the ADGM instrument under which every person carrying on business in or from the zone must hold a commercial licence from the Registration Authority. The official page read for this record is ADGM's setting-up FAQ rather than the text of the Regulations, so what follows is the licensing regime as ADGM describes it to applicants; section numbers are not cited because the page does not show them.
The FAQ states that once an entity is registered its directors must comply with the requirements prescribed by the ADGM Companies Regulations, the ADGM Commercial Licensing Regulations 2015 and any other relevant regulations and enabling rules. The commercial licence must be renewed annually, and the licence fee is a recurring variable charge based on the number and type of activities, alongside a compulsory one-off name reservation fee of USD 200, valid for 30 days and renewable for USD 200, and a registration fee set by activity. Non-financial and retail activities are licensed by the Registration Authority from its list of permitted activities; financial services activities need authorisation from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority first. ADGM does not license gaming or gambling.
The licence covers business in ADGM. An entity that wants to keep doing business outside Al Maryah Island must hold or obtain an Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development licence as well, and is responsible for any approvals needed outside the zone. A Tech Startup Commercial Licence is available to Hub71-approved startups with physical space on Al Maryah Island, at USD 4,000 a year for up to three years at the emergent stage, but it cannot be used for regulated financial services, consumer retail or manufacturing outside ADGM.
The continuing conditions listed are a physical office address in ADGM at all times, annual renewal of the licence and of the data protection registration (USD 300 a year), an annual return confirming company details, annual accounts whether or not the entity traded, and notification of changes to name, articles, address, directors, share capital, shareholders and beneficial owners within the time limits in the Companies Regulations. Foundations pay USD 1,000 to apply and USD 200 a year to renew and must keep their registered office inside the zone, held directly or through a registered agent. Applicants may be represented by third-party service providers who complete the registration on their behalf. The Registration Authority targets approval within 10 business days and accepts filings in good faith without verifying every detail.
The Regulations remain in force and have been amended since 2015; the controlled-activity regime made under them is now the Controlled Activities Rules 2025, and the fine levels for contraventions are set by rules under the Regulations rather than in the FAQ.
Every company, branch, partnership and foundation carrying on business in or from ADGM, which must hold and renew a Registration Authority commercial licence; financial services firms, which also need FSRA authorisation; tech startups using the Hub71 licence; and the service providers and directors responsible for keeping the licence in good standing.
| Section: What happens after my entity is registered? | Directors must comply with the requirements prescribed by the ADGM Companies Regulations, the ADGM Commercial Licensing Regulations 2015 and any other relevant regulations and enabling rules; the licence must be renewed annually. |
| Section: Permitted activities | Non-financial and retail activities are licensed by the Registration Authority from its permitted activities list; financial services activities require FSRA authorisation first under the FSRA rulebook; gaming and gambling are not licensed. |
| Section: Fees | A compulsory one-off name reservation fee of USD 200 valid for 30 days, a registration fee based on activity, and a recurring variable commercial licence fee based on the number and type of activities; foundations pay USD 1,000 to apply and USD 200 a year; data protection renewal is USD 300 a year. |
| Section: Operating outside Al Maryah Island | Entities wanting to do business outside Al Maryah Island must maintain or obtain an Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development licence and are responsible for any approvals needed outside ADGM. |
| Section: Ongoing obligations | Maintain a physical office in ADGM at all times, renew the licence and data protection registration annually, file an annual return and annual accounts every year regardless of activity, and notify changes to name, articles, address, officers, share capital, shareholders and beneficial owners within the Companies Regulations time limits. |
| Section: Tech Startup Commercial Licence | An incentivised licence for Hub71-approved startups with dedicated space on Al Maryah Island, USD 4,000 a year for up to three years at the emergent stage, not usable for regulated financial services, consumer retail or manufacturing outside ADGM. |
| Section: Registration Authority and service providers | The Registration Authority handles name reservation, registration and compliance monitoring, targets approval within 10 business days and accepts filings in good faith; applicants may be represented by third-party service providers who complete registration through the same channels. |
The FAQ does not state fine amounts. Contraventions of the Regulations and of the rules made under them attract fines at levels fixed by the Registration Authority's fines rules, late filing fees apply to overdue renewals and returns, and an entity that lets its licence lapse cannot lawfully carry on business in ADGM and risks strike-off under the Companies Regulations.
Every ADGM client of ours pays the annual commercial licence renewal under these Regulations, and we diarise it with the annual return, the accounts filing and the data protection renewal so that the four fall due together and nothing lapses. At formation we settle the activity list with the client because the licence fee scales with the number and type of activities, and we check whether any activity is a controlled activity or a financial service that needs FSRA authorisation before the Registration Authority will license it. Clients who want to sell into Abu Dhabi beyond Al Maryah Island are told about the DED licence requirement at the outset. The physical office is arranged through an ADGM-registered provider we appoint, and we act as the client's representative for the filings.
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