Official Guide of 2025 · ADGM
January 2025 schedule consolidating the US-dollar fees the Registration Authority charges under its fees rules for entity registration, commercial licences and renewals, annual filings, data-protection registration and post-incorporation services, for example a USD 17,000 initial registration total for Category A standard entities and a USD 200 commercial licence fee.
The Registration Authority's Overview of Fees 2025 (version date January 2025) is the consolidated schedule of what it costs to register, license, renew and administer an entity in Abu Dhabi Global Market. All fees are in US dollars, with a stated conversion rate of 1 USD = AED 3.6725. The document describes itself as a non-binding indicative guide to be read with the relevant Fees Rules and regulations, which may change without notice; the binding amounts are in those rules.
Licensing fees depend on the category of business activity: Category A for financial activities, Category B for non-financial activities and Category C for retail. Specialised fees apply to professional membership organisations, captive insurers, investment partnerships and their general partners, open and closed ended investment companies and special purpose vehicles. Incentivised fees apply for a limited period to tech start-ups, FSRA-approved venture capital fund managers and social enterprises.
Section 1.1 sets the initial registration totals: USD 17,000 for Category A, USD 5,800 for Category B, USD 2,800 for Category C, USD 1,900 for specialised entities including SPVs, USD 7,800 for a company service provider, USD 15,000 for a DLT foundation and USD 1,000 for a foundation. Each total is built from a USD 200 name reservation, a USD 300 incorporation application, a USD 200 commercial licence fee, a business activity fee (USD 16,000, 4,800, 1,800, 900, 6,800 and 14,000 respectively; none for a foundation) and a USD 300 data protection fee. Annual renewal totals are USD 16,500, 5,300, 2,300, 1,400, 7,300, 14,500 and 500 respectively. Every entity must also maintain an ADGM registered office address and pay the associated lease registration fee; data protection renewal is submitted separately from the licence renewal; registering as a Restricted Scope Company costs an additional USD 3,100; incorporation fees are not refunded if an application is withdrawn or rejected.
Section 2.1 gives the incentivised rates: USD 1,500 for tech start-ups and venture capital fund managers for three years (registration plus two renewals), USD 700 for social enterprises and USD 1,900 then USD 1,000 for carried interest vehicles, excluding data protection fees. Sections 3 and 4 cover auditors and insolvency practitioners. Section 5 charges USD 7,500 for continuance into or out of ADGM. Section 6 covers annual filings and post-incorporation services: annual accounts are filed free, the confirmation statement costs USD 100, most event-driven notices cost USD 100, licence variations range from USD 100 within a category to USD 11,300 from Category B to A, and a strike-off application is free. Timely filings are required to avoid a late filing fee or fine, and paper copies carry a 15% surcharge.
The schedule is current as the 2025 edition.
Every person applying to register, license, renew, vary, restore or strike off an entity in ADGM, including companies, branches, partnerships, foundations, DLT foundations, SPVs, auditors, insolvency practitioners and company service providers, and the entities themselves for their annual and event-driven filings.
English official text in 21 provisions. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Section 1.1 | Initial registration totals: USD 17,000 (Category A), USD 5,800 (Category B), USD 2,800 (Category C), USD 1,900 (specialised, including SPVs), USD 7,800 (company service provider), USD 15,000 (DLT foundation) and USD 1,000 (foundation); annual renewals USD 16,500, 5,300, 2,300, 1,400, 7,300, 14,500 and 500. |
| Section 1.1 (notes) | Every legal entity must maintain an ADGM registered office address and pay the associated lease registration fee; data protection renewal is submitted separately from the licence renewal; a Restricted Scope Company pays an additional USD 3,100; incorporation fees are non-refundable on withdrawn or rejected applications. |
| Section 2.1 | Incentivised fees: USD 1,500 for tech start-ups and FSRA-approved venture capital fund managers for three years covering registration and two renewals, USD 700 for certified social enterprises, USD 1,900 initial and USD 1,000 renewal for carried interest vehicles; data protection fees are excluded and standard category fees apply afterwards. |
| Section 3 | Auditor registration costs USD 3,000 per firm plus USD 750 per audit principal, with USD 5,000 for each additional public audit or financial institution permit; renewal is scaled from USD 3,000 for up to ten audits to USD 20,000 plus USD 500 per audit above thirty. |
| Section 4 | Insolvency practitioner registration costs USD 300 and the annual return USD 100; notifications of changes, notices of appointment and cancellation are free. |
| Section 5 | Continuance into or out of ADGM costs USD 7,500; initial registration of a company charge costs USD 300 and related notices USD 100 each. |
| Section 6.1 | Annual accounts and reports are filed free of charge by companies (other than Restricted Scope Companies) and LLPs; the confirmation statement or annual return costs USD 100; the commercial licence renewal follows Section 1.1. |
| Section 6.3 | Event-driven filings: USD 100 for change of name, share capital amendment, share transfer, changes of officers, councillors or guardians, change of registered office and amendment of articles, charter or by-laws; licence variation USD 100 within a category, USD 3,100 from C to B, USD 11,300 from B to A, USD 4,000 or USD 15,200 for an SPV moving to a Category B or A activity; foundation restoration USD 1,500. |
| Section 6.4 | Support services available to all entities cost USD 100 each: no objection certificates, certified copies, witnessing of signature, register extracts and search certificates or information requests. |
| Section 6.5 | An application to strike off or deregister is free; withdrawing a strike-off application costs USD 100. |
The schedule states that timely filings as required by the Regulations are necessary to avoid a late filing fee or fine, but does not itself set those amounts; they arise under the Companies Regulations and the relevant Fees Rules. Paper copies of documents attract a 15% surcharge.
We price every ADGM SPV, holding company and foundation set-up and renewal for clients from this schedule, and we quote the government fees separately from our own so the client sees exactly what ADGM charges. The comparison that matters most to our clients is the specialised SPV total of USD 1,900 to incorporate and USD 1,400 to renew against the equivalent DIFC prescribed company fees, and the foundation's USD 1,000 and USD 500. We remind clients that the registered office lease registration fee, the separate USD 300 data protection renewal and the USD 100 confirmation statement sit outside the headline licence figure, and we budget USD 100 for each officer change or charter amendment we file. Where a client is moving a company into ADGM we flag the USD 7,500 continuance fee early, since it changes the economics of a redomiciliation.
No amendments, repeals or cross-references recorded for this instrument.
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
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