Construction licence in Dubai under Law 7
DET issues the trade licence, and since January 2026 Dubai Municipality also registers and classifies each contractor before it takes on work.
- Usual route
- Mainland (DET)
- Extra approval
- DM register
- Timeline
- Weeks to months
- AML
- Not a DNFBP activity
A construction company in Dubai holds a DET trade licence and, since 8 January 2026, a place on the Dubai Municipality contractor register under Law 7 of 2025. Classification sets the work it may take, and engineers and technicians need competency certificates. The law covers free zones too, and contractors already trading have until about 8 January 2027 to regularise.
- Covers
- Civil and building works, within your classification
- Not covered
- Design and supervision (an engineering consultancy office)
- Premises
- A real office; the register checks your capability
- Timeline
- Weeks to months, led by registration and staff certificates
What a building contracting licence covers
The activity covers the works you build and invoice for, inside the limits your classification sets.
Covered
Not covered
- Covered by Engineering consultancy office
- Covered by Technical services
- Covered by Interior design and fit-out
Tick what you plan to do. The result shows here.
We fix the wording before you apply. Send us your list on WhatsApp
Law 7 of 2025 requires contractors to stay independent of engineering consultancy offices, which a separate 2025 law regulates.
Where a contractor should be licensed
Building happens on site, so the usual base is a DET licence. The register follows you either way, because Law 7 covers free zones too.
| If most of your clients are | Likely route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Private owners and developers across Dubai | Mainland (DET) | Mainland sites and clients sit naturally on a DET licence |
| Projects in free zones and on the mainland | Either route | A free zone contractor reaches mainland sites through a DET branch |
| Main contractors, with you as a subcontractor | Either route | Every party in the chain needs its own registration |
Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025 lets a free zone company work on mainland projects through a DET branch licence or permit. Mainland income can change how the company's profits qualify under QFZP.
Several free zones license this activity; we match the zone to your visas, office and banking. Compare free zones
Three questions. The closest row is marked in the table above.
Your likely route shows here.
Who signs off a contractor
DET issues the trade licence, and Dubai Municipality then registers and classifies the company on the unified contractor register. Engineers and technicians need competency certificates, while project permits and subcontract approvals follow job by job.
Before the licence
- Trade name and initial approvalDET
The licence
- Trade licenceDET
After the licence
- Contractor registration and classificationDubai Municipality
- Staff competency certificatesDubai Municipality
- Permits for each projectDubai Municipality or the area authority
- Subcontract approvalsThe regulator, with client consent
- Corporate bank accountThe bank
- Work permits and labour accommodationMOHRE
We build the classification file while the licence is being issued.
Licence and register run side by side
The licence comes quickly, but the register sets the real start date, because classification decides which jobs the company may take.
Contractors already trading must regularise by about 8 January 2027, a date the committee can extend.
Trade licence (DET)
- Trade name and approvalDays
- Licence issuedDays
Contractor register (Dubai Municipality)
- Registration on the registerWeeks
- Classification by capabilityWeeks
- Staff competency certificatesWeeks
How banks read a contracting company
Bank viewCloser look: contracts, payroll and subcontract chains
A contracting company draws a closer look at account opening. The bank wants to see signed contracts or awarded tenders, a payroll that fits the site team, and how money moves down the subcontract chain. Large incoming payments with no contract behind them raise questions at review. We put the contracts, the register status and the staffing plan into the bank file together, so the account reads like the business it serves.
AMLNot a DNFBP activity; the bank's own customer checks still apply.
Where contracting setups stall
Treating the register as a later step
Founders often finish the trade licence and only then look at Dubai Municipality registration. Project owners must appoint registered contractors, so a licensed but unregistered company cannot sign its first job.
A classification file that undersells the team
Classification rests on financial, technical and administrative capability and on experience. A file that leaves out the team's certificates or the balance sheet caps the jobs the company may bid for.
Design and build under one roof
Engineers who start a firm often want to design and build. Contractors must stay independent of engineering consultancy offices, so the design side needs its own structure and its own licensing.
Questions about a construction contracting licence
A question about your plan? Describe your construction contracting plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.
Ask on WhatsAppCan a free zone company do construction work in Dubai?
Do I need Dubai Municipality classification to start a construction company?
What is the Dubai contractor register under Law 7 of 2025?
Can a construction company also be an engineering consultancy in Dubai?
How long does it take to open a construction company in Dubai?
Related pages
ActivityInterior design licence and where fit-out startsDesigning interiors and building them are separate businesses in Dubai.
JurisdictionMainland company setup with DET in DubaiSuits businesses that sell to UAE customers or bid for Dubai tenders.
BankingCorporate bank accounts and what banks checkCorporate bank account opening in Dubai, prepared before you apply: the file a UAE bank reads, the right bank for your profile and a strong first file.
Plan the contractor register alongside the licence before the first tender lands
Thirty minutes with a senior advisor on the works you plan to take and the team behind them. You leave with the activity wording, the route and the order of the DET and Dubai Municipality steps.
On the call
- The activity wording that fits your plan
- The route, and the approvals in order
- A written scope, agreed before any work starts
