DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities CentreSetup cost, licence types and visa rules
Dubai
Dubai's largest free zone, built around commodities, crypto and financial services.
DMCC is Dubai's largest free zone by company count, spread across 87 towers in Jumeirah Lakes Towers plus the newer Uptown Dubai tower. It began as a commodities registry and still anchors the region's precious metals, diamond and agri-commodity trade, but its fastest-growing communities are now the Crypto Centre, Gaming Centre and a large financial and family-office cluster. It is one of the very few Dubai zones that publishes an itemised schedule of charges rather than routing every enquiry to a sales consultant, which makes it unusually easy to model total cost before committing. It suits established SMEs and trading houses that want a central office address and a well-known registry; it is less suited to businesses that need warehousing or industrial land. Note that despite widespread claims to the contrary, DMCC is not a VAT Designated Zone.
Visit Official Website"Not scored" means we found no evidence for that dimension, not that the zone scored zero. Compare zones against each other, not against 10.
How much does DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre cost?
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre setup costs from AED 29,205, published by Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority, verified 19 August 2026.
Setup cost
AED 29,205
≈ $8,001 · €7,301
One-time formation cost, as published
Annual renewal
AED 20,265 per year
≈ $5,552 · €5,066
Recurring licence renewal
Published by Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority, verified 19 August 2026.View the source page
USD and EUR figures are indicative conversions at AED 3.65/USD and AED 4.00/EUR. Only the AED figure is a published price.
What licence types does DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre issue?
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre publishes 4 licence types: Service License, Trading License, Commercial License and Industrial License. The licence you hold sets which activities you may carry out, and in most zones it also drives the visa allocation and the workspace you are required to take.
Permitted activities
What office options does DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre offer?
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre publishes 5 workspace options: Flexi-desk, Co-working, Serviced office, Business centre, Office. DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre requires a physical presence in the zone, so the workspace cost is part of the real entry price rather than an optional extra.
Published workspace options: Flexi-desk, Co-working, Serviced office, Business centre, Office. Important: a virtual address or flexi-desk satisfies the free zone's own licensing rule but is a separate question from the adequate-substance test that a Qualifying Free Zone Person must meet to claim the 0% Corporate Tax rate. Setup timeline as published by the zone: Approximately 10 working days. What the published entry price covers, as stated by the source: JLT Resident Package (lowest published package on dmcc.ae): DMCC licence with flexi-desk option. Standard startup packages are Basic Biz AED 35,484/yr (licence + flexi desk, 1 visa eligible) and Jump Start AED 43,780/yr (licence + co-working + 1 visa).
Tax and compliance at DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre publishes no blanket audit obligation of its own. Separately, every free zone company in the UAE falls under Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022: the 0% rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person, and a QFZP must file audited accounts at any revenue under Ministerial Decision 84 of 2025. Non-qualifying income is taxed at 9%.
- Regulatory authority
- Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC)
- Zone-level audit requirement
- Not published as a blanket requirement
Tax treatment the authority publishes
- 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic
- 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP
- 0% personal income tax in the UAE
- 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls
- QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue)
- Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person
- Not a VAT Designated Zone - 5% VAT applies to supplies as it would for any UAE business
Substance requirements
Federal position (applies to every UAE free zone): to claim the 0% Qualifying Free Zone Person rate a company must maintain adequate substance in the free zone - core income-generating activity carried out there, plus adequate assets, an adequate number of qualified full-time employees and adequate operating expenditure relative to that activity (Cabinet Decision No. 100 of 2023, Art. 8). Under Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 every Qualifying Free Zone Person must prepare audited financial statements regardless of revenue; a free zone company that is not a QFZP needs audited accounts only where revenue exceeds AED 50,000,000. Economic Substance Regulations notifications and reports were cancelled for financial years ending after 31 December 2022 by Cabinet Decision No. 98 of 2024, so ESR is no longer a live annual filing. UBO disclosure under Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 does still apply. Zone-level audit position: no primary source stating this zone's own audit requirement was retrievable during research. The audit_required flag is recorded as false because the field cannot express 'unknown'; do not read it as confirmation that no audit is required. The federal rules above apply in any case.
Customs treatment
This zone is NOT a VAT Designated Zone, despite the assumption being common in market content. Supplies made from here follow the ordinary UAE VAT rules, including 5% VAT on taxable supplies to UAE customers. Customs duty suspension on goods held inside a customs-controlled free zone area is a separate matter from VAT Designated Zone status.
Profit repatriation
The UAE imposes no exchange controls and no restrictions on repatriating capital or profits from a free zone company, and there is no personal income tax on distributions to individuals. Corporate Tax is assessed on the company, not on the remittance.
Ownership
100% foreign ownership is permitted. No UAE national shareholder, local sponsor or service agent is required.
- Local partner
- Not required
Why there is no banking section
We publish no per-zone bank lists, acceptance rates or account-opening timelines, here or anywhere else on the site. No bank and no regulator publishes that data by free zone. Account opening is a decision each bank makes on your shareholders and your activity — it is not a property of the zone you register in, and any site that scores it per zone is inventing a fact.
Who DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre suits
Every line below is a restatement of something DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre publishes, not a recommendation we were paid to make. We are not a reseller for any zone on this site, which is why the right-hand column exists at all.
Consider it if
- You want 100% foreign ownership with no local partner.
- You want a price you can check against the authority's own page before you commit.
- Your activity spans more than one licence category — 4 are published.
Don't pick this if
- You are not ready to lease space: a physical presence in the zone is required.
- You are optimising for the cheapest possible entry: the published setup cost here is AED 29,205.
Key benefits, as DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre states them
These are the selling points the authority publishes about itself. We reproduce them; we do not endorse them.
Common questions about DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre
How much does it cost to set up in DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre?
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre setup costs from AED 29,205, published by Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority, verified 19 August 2026.
What does it cost to renew a DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre licence?
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre publishes a renewal fee of AED 20,265 per year.
What licence types does DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre issue?
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre publishes 4 licence types: Service License, Trading License, Commercial License and Industrial License.
Can a foreign investor own 100% of a company in DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre?
100% foreign ownership is permitted. No UAE national shareholder, local sponsor or service agent is required.
What tax treatment applies to a DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre company?
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre publishes the following: 0% Corporate Tax on Qualifying Income for a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) - conditional, not automatic, 9% Corporate Tax on any income that is not Qualifying Income; the AED 375,000 zero-rate band does not apply to a QFZP, 0% personal income tax in the UAE, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE exchange controls, QFZP status requires adequate free zone substance, arm's length pricing, transfer pricing documentation, audited accounts and non-qualifying revenue within the de minimis limit (lower of AED 5,000,000 or 5% of revenue), Small Business Relief is NOT available to a Qualifying Free Zone Person and Not a VAT Designated Zone - 5% VAT applies to supplies as it would for any UAE business. The 0% federal rate applies only to the qualifying income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person; other income is taxed at 9%.
Where is DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre located?
DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre is a free zone in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Compare DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre against
- d3 - Dubai Design DistrictAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
- DAFZA - Dubai Airport FreezoneAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500
- Dubai Internet CityAlso in Dubai · AED 7,500 – AED 7,520
- UAQ FTZ - Umm Al Quwain Free Trade ZoneComparable cost bracket · AED 12,500
- Ajman Media City Free ZoneSourced the same way · AED 4,999
Guides that cover Dubai and this zone's situation
- 0% Free Zone Corporate Tax: The Eight QFZP Conditions as a Checklist
Free zone 0% corporate tax has eight conditions, and all must be met. The full checklist, including the audit rule with no revenue threshold.
- Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025: Qualifying Activities, and Why MD 265 Content Is Stale
Ministerial Decision 229 of 2025 repealed MD 265 of 2023 retroactively from June 2023. The current qualifying activities list and what expanded.
- The QFZP De Minimis Rule, With a Worked Example (5% or AED 5m)
Non-qualifying revenue must stay under the lower of AED 5m or 5% of total revenue. Two worked examples and what happens if you breach it.
Cost data for DMCC - Dubai Multi Commodities Centre was last checked against Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority's own site on 19 August 2026. Figures are reproduced in the currency the authority publishes them in, and are never converted, averaged or estimated. We do not charge to be listed, to be listed accurately, or to be ranked. If something here is wrong or out of date, send us the page that says so and we will correct it and re-date the record.