Facility management licence in Dubai, service by service
A facility management licence lets you run buildings for owners, and each service your own staff deliver can add an approval.
- Usual route
- Usually mainland
- Extra approval
- Per service
- Timeline
- Weeks
- AML
- Not a DNFBP activity
A facility management licence in Dubai, usually from DET on the mainland, lets a company run buildings and their service contracts for the owners. Services your own teams carry out go on the licence as activities too. Fire systems then need Dubai Civil Defence approval, in-house guarding a SIRA licence, pest control a Dubai Municipality NOC and electrical installation DEWA enrolment.
- Covers
- Running buildings for owners, from maintenance and cleaning to helpdesk
- Not covered
- Owners association management, new building works and fit-out
- Premises
- An office, then stores and staff housing as teams grow
- Timeline
- Weeks for the licence; months with fire or guarding in-house
Hard and soft FM on one licence
An FM company sells the running of a building. The services you deliver yourself, and the ones you hand to specialists, set the licence.
Covered
Not covered
- Covered by Property management (RERA)
- Covered by Electromechanical contracting
- Covered by Security services (SIRA)
- Covered by Pest control, with a Dubai Municipality NOC
Tick what you plan to do. The result shows here.
We fix the wording before you apply. Send us your list on WhatsApp
Lines you subcontract stay under the specialist's licence and approval, so we agree the split with you before the activity list is filed.
Where FM companies hold their licence
FM teams work inside their clients' buildings, and most of those buildings sit on the mainland. A free zone base suits a management-only model.
| If most of your clients are | Likely route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Landlords and tenants of mainland towers | Mainland (DET) | Your staff work daily on mainland sites, which a DET licence covers |
| Buildings inside one free zone | Free zone | The zone's authority licenses work within its own boundary |
| Owners served through your subcontractors | Either route | A management-only model can sit in a free zone with a DET branch |
A free zone FM company working in mainland buildings needs a DET branch licence or permit (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025). Income from mainland clients also faces the QFZP qualifying test.
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.
Approvals behind a facility management licence
DET licenses the FM activity and each service you deliver. The specialist approvals follow the services, with one exception: Dubai Municipality issues the pest control NOC before the trade licence.
Before the licence
- Trade name and initial approvalDET
- In-house pest control NOCDubai Municipality
The licence
- FM and service activities licensedDET
After the licence
- Fire maintenance company approvalDubai Civil Defence
- SIRA licence for guardsSecurity Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA)
- Electrical contractor enrolmentDEWA
- Work permits and visasMOHRE and GDRFA Dubai
- Corporate bank accountThe bank
We map each contract line to its approval before you bid.
Which lines will your own staff deliver?
Tick the services your own employees will carry out. The heaviest one shows what the company needs beyond the FM activity.
Any line you subcontract runs on the specialist's own approval, so we check those licences before they go into your bid.
Tick each service your own staff will deliver
| What you plan | Points to |
|---|---|
| the FM activity alone, because you manage and specialists deliver | |
| that service listed as its own activity on your licence | |
| that service listed as its own activity on your licence | |
| an electrical activity and DEWA enrolment, with electrical engineers on staff | |
| a Dubai Municipality pest control NOC before the licence, and carded technicians | |
| Civil Defence approval as a fire maintenance company, with each technician approved | |
| a SIRA licence for the company and an individual licence for each guard |
Tick a line to see where your plan points.
How banks read an FM payroll
Bank viewStandard; a large payroll before the first contract pays
Banks treat facility management as a standard service business. Two things draw questions. Salaries for a large team start before the first contract pays, and money flows out to subcontractors as well as in from clients. We put the awarded contracts, the staffing plan and the main subcontracts into the account file together. The review then sees where each payment comes from and where it goes.
AMLNot a DNFBP activity; the bank's own customer checks still apply.
Where FM bids come unstuck
Fire servicing priced without Civil Defence approval
Fire alarm and sprinkler servicing sits in almost every building contract. Only a company approved by Civil Defence, with approved technicians, may maintain those systems, so the line waits or goes to an approved subcontractor.
Your own cleaners on a management-only licence
The FM activity covers running the contract. Cleaners and technicians on your own payroll need their services listed on the licence as well, so we add each one before the first site starts.
An Emirati role missing from the hiring plan
FM grows by headcount. Companies in support services with 20 to 49 employees carry MOHRE Emiratisation targets, so the hiring plan for a large contract needs an Emirati role in it from the start.
Questions about a facility management licence
A question about your plan? Describe your facility management plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.
Ask on WhatsAppHow much does a facility management licence cost in Dubai?
How to start a facility management company in Dubai?
What are the facility management licence requirements in Dubai?
Does a facility management company need a Dubai Municipality permit?
Can a free zone facility management company work in Dubai?
Related pages
ActivityTechnical services licence in DubaiA DET licence covers routine maintenance in clients' buildings.
ActivityCleaning company licence in DubaiA DET licence covers cleaning by your own supervised team.
JurisdictionDubai mainland company setupSuits businesses that sell to UAE customers or bid for Dubai tenders.
Own staff or specialists on your first contract? We map the approvals line by line
Fifteen minutes with a senior advisor on the buildings, the services and who delivers each one. You leave with the activities, the route and the approvals in order.
On the call
- The activity wording that fits your plan
- The route, and the approvals in order
- A written quote before any work starts
