Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities (Rulebook)

Issues the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities (the CMA rulebook): licensing categories and requirements for financial activities, approved jobs, business conduct, capital adequacy and AML/CFT guidelines, with status regularisation mechanisms for existing licensees.

Summary

Decision No. 13/Chairman of 2021 adopted the Regulations Manual of the Financial Activities, the CMA's consolidated rulebook for anyone carrying on a regulated financial activity onshore in the UAE. No financial activity or approved job may be practised without a CMA licence or approval (Section Two, Chapter 1, Article 2). The decision was issued on 9 May 2021, published in the Official Gazette on 16 May 2021 and took effect on 17 May 2021; it has since been amended by at least 19 decisions, most recently in 2026.

The Manual has five sections. Section One sets general rules, including the sanctions in Article 17. Section Two lists 32 licensable activities, from brokerage, advice, promotion, introducing and portfolio and fund management to custody, credit rating, crowdfunding, family business investment management and three virtual-asset activities, grouped into seven licence categories. Licensing runs in two stages: an initial approval decided within 20 business days, then a licence decided within 30 working days, with six months (extendable once) to meet the conditions. Annex 1 sets minimum paid-up capital: AED 30 million for dealing in securities; AED 1 million for fund management or administration and AED 3 million for portfolio management; AED 50 million for custody and clearing; AED 5 million for credit rating; AED 500,000 for arranging and advice; AED 1 million for crowdfunding; and AED 2 million to AED 5 million, plus six months' operating expenses for custody and platforms, for virtual-asset activities. Licensed bodies file reviewed quarterly reports within 45 days and audited annual reports within three months, and renew their licence annually.

Section Three governs conduct of business: client classification, client agreements, suitability, client money, conflicts and marketing. Section Four sets capital adequacy, and Section Five sets mandatory AML/CFT standards.

The adopting decision gave existing licensees one year to regularise (Article 2), required Central Bank-licensed cash brokers to obtain a CMA licence (Article 3) and cancelled 17 earlier regulations listed in its schedule (Article 7). Status: in force as amended. It now operates under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025, whose Article 71 makes unlicensed financial activity a crime, and the virtual-asset category is read with CMA Decision No. 4/Chairman of 2026.

Who it applies to

Any person practising a CMA-licensable financial activity or approved job inside the UAE, licensed bodies and their partners, board members, senior management and employees, applicants for licences and approvals, and free zone companies licensed by the CMA. Banks are covered for activities they conduct under a CMA licence.

Contents

English official text in 22 articles. Open the full text or jump to a provision:

1. Article 1 — Legal Form
2. Article 2 — Capital
3. Article 3 — Guarantee
4. Article 4 — Approved Jobs
5. Article 5 — Requirements of Capital Market Institutions
6. Article 6 — Governance regulation
7. Article 7 — Administration regulation
8. Article 8 — Employees Regulation
9. Article 9 — Behavior regulation
10. Article 10 — Bonuses Regulation
11. Article 11 — Bylaws & Internal Regulations
12. Article 12 — Technical Systems
13. Article 13 — Risks Management Regulation
14. Article 14 — Compliance Regulation
15. Article 15 — Internal Audit Regulation
16. Article 16 — Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Regulation
17. Article 17 — Information Confidentiality Maintenance Regulation
18. Article 18 — Regulation of Fraud, Forgery and Deception Confrontation
19. Article 19 — Regulation of Reporting Violations and Laws Breaches
20. Article 20 — Complaints Regulation
21. Article 21 — Outsourcing Regulation
22. Article 22 — Records Regulation

Key provisions

Obligations and deadlines

• Obtain CMA initial approval and then a licence before practising any listed financial activity.
• Meet licence conditions within six months of initial approval.
• Hold the Annex 1 paid-up capital continuously.
• File reviewed quarterly reports within 45 days and audited annual reports within three months.
• Renew the category and activity licence annually within a month of expiry.
• Staff approved jobs with persons approved by the CMA.
• Apply the Section Five AML/CFT standards to all clients.

Penalties

Section One, Article 17: notice, fine up to AED 100,000, suspension for up to one year, closure of unlicensed activity, and licence cancellation for failing conditions, serious breaches, false documents, unpaid fees or fines, bankruptcy or failing to practise within six or twelve months. Approved employees face notice, suspension up to two months, loss of approval or a fine up to AED 100,000. Since 1 January 2026, unlicensed financial activity is punishable under Article 71 of Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2025 by imprisonment of at least one year and a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 250,000,000.

History and citations

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