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Accounting licence, sized to the services you sell

Bookkeeping runs on the trade licence. Representing clients at the FTA and signing audits each bring a regulator of their own.

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An accountant checks figures on a calculator beside her laptop and working papers
Usual route
Either route
Extra approval
FTA or MoET
Timeline
Days
AML
DNFBP, on goAML
At a glance

An accounting licence in Dubai is a DET or free zone trade licence, and for bookkeeping and management accounts that is the whole file. Acting for clients before the FTA needs tax agent registration. Audit and assurance work needs a professional licence from the Ministry of Economy and Tourism under Federal Decree-Law 41 of 2023.

Covers
Bookkeeping, management accounts, payroll and tax return preparation
Not covered
Legal advice, investment advice and company formation for clients
Premises
An office suited to client files and confidential records
Timeline
Days for bookkeeping; weeks to months with tax agency or audit

What an accounting licence covers

The trade licence covers keeping and preparing clients' numbers. Speaking for them at the FTA or signing an opinion on their accounts adds approvals.

Covered

Not covered

Keeping books and preparing returns needs the trade licence alone. We read your service list first, since one audit client changes the file.

Mainland or free zone for accountants

Bookkeepers choose by where their clients sit. Audit practised outside a free zone needs the Ministry licence on either route.

Likely route by where most of your clients are
If most of your clients areLikely routeWhy
Small businesses across DubaiMainland (DET)A DET licence lets you bill mainland clients directly
Companies inside one free zoneFree zoneA zone licence fits clients who sit in the same zone
Audit clients across the UAEEither routeThe Ministry licence applies whichever authority issued the trade licence

A free zone company can serve the mainland through a DET branch licence or permit (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025). Mainland income can affect QFZP status, so we check it against your client list.

Several free zones license this activity; we match the zone to your visas, office and banking. Compare free zones

Audit firm licence and tax agent approvals

DET or the free zone authority issues the trade licence. The FTA and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) come in only for the services that need them, each on its own timetable.

  1. Before the licence

    • Trade name and initial approvalDET or the free zone authority

  2. The licence

    • Trade licence for accountingDET or the free zone authority

  3. Alongside the licence

    • Professional indemnity insuranceA UAE insurer

  4. After the licence

    • Tax agent and agency registrationFederal Tax Authority (FTA)
    • Professional licence for auditMinistry of Economy and Tourism
    • goAML registration for transaction workUAE Financial Intelligence Unit

Audit reports carry a signature only once the Ministry licence issues.

Which services add a licence?

Tick the services you plan to sell in the first year. The heaviest one shows what sits on top of the trade licence.

Preparing a return the client files is bookkeeping. Speaking for the client before the FTA is tax agency, so we check where your service stops.

Tick every service you will offer

Tick every service you will offer
What you planPoints to
nothing beyond the trade licence
nothing beyond the trade licence
goAML registration, because client transactions make the firm a DNFBP
goAML registration, because client transactions make the firm a DNFBP
FTA tax agent registration, with professional indemnity insurance
a Ministry of Economy and Tourism professional licence for the firm and its chartered accountants
a Ministry of Economy and Tourism professional licence for the firm and its chartered accountants

The bank file for an accounting practice

Bank viewStandard for bookkeeping; client money draws AML questions

A bookkeeping practice reads to a bank as a standard professional service. The questions change once client money moves through the firm, because accountants who manage client funds or form companies for clients are designated non-financial businesses. We put the service list, the engagement letters and the firm's AML policy into one file, so the review sees exactly which work the practice does.

AMLThis activity is a designated non-financial business (DNFBP) for AML purposes, so the company registers and reports under the AML framework from the start.

Where accounting practice files stall

  1. An audit client signed before the Ministry licence

    Audit and assurance belong to licensed chartered accountants and firms under Decree-Law 41 of 2023. A bookkeeping licence cannot sign the report, and the client's deadline will not wait for the file.

  2. Filing at the FTA for clients unregistered

    Representing clients before the FTA without tax agent registration is an offence. The firm needs a registered agent, indemnity insurance and an FTA-accredited agency before it signs on as a client's agent.

  3. Client payments run with no AML set-up

    Paying suppliers from client accounts or forming companies for clients turns an accountant into a DNFBP. Firms that take on that work before setting up their AML framework end up registering on goAML in a hurry.

Questions about a accounting firm licence

A question about your plan? Describe your accounting firm plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.

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What are the accounting firm licence requirements in Dubai?

For bookkeeping and management accounts, a DET or free zone trade licence is the core requirement. Tax agency adds FTA registration with indemnity insurance. Audit and assurance add a Ministry of Economy and Tourism professional licence for the firm and its chartered accountants, so your service list sets the file.

Can an accounting firm be licensed in a Dubai free zone?

Yes. A free zone licence suits a practice whose clients sit in the zone. For mainland clients it may need a DET branch licence or permit. Audit work outside the zone falls under Decree-Law 41 of 2023, so the Ministry licence applies whichever authority issued the trade licence.

What do you need for an audit firm licence in the UAE?

A professional licence from the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, issued to chartered accountants and to the firm itself. The firm can be a company of two or more chartered accountants, a partnership between chartered accountants and an international firm, or a foreign firm's branch. Indemnity insurance is part of the file.

Does an accounting firm need FTA tax agent registration?

Only if it represents clients before the FTA. Preparing returns that clients file themselves is bookkeeping. Acting as the client's agent needs tax agent registration, indemnity insurance and a supervising partner, and practising as an agent without FTA accreditation is an offence under UAE tax law.

How to start an accounting business in Dubai?

Start with the service list, because it decides the approvals. A bookkeeping practice needs a trade licence and little else. Tax agency and audit each add a regulator, so we plan those files with the licence, and the first client is signed when the approvals are already in hand.

Related pages

Bookkeeping practice, tax agency or audit firm? Your service list decides the licences

Thirty minutes on your services, your clients and your qualifications. You leave with the activity wording, the route and which of the FTA and Ministry files you need.

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On the call

  1. The activity wording that fits your plan
  2. The route, and the approvals in order
  3. A written scope, agreed before any work starts
Portrait of your advisor
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