Furniture trading licence, worded for your buyers
No sector regulator approves furniture trading. The effort goes into wording the activities for the people who buy from you.
- Usual route
- Usually mainland
- Extra approval
- Licence only
- AML
- Standard bank checks
A furniture trading licence in Dubai needs no sector approval for the furniture activities themselves. Household retail, office furniture, school and hospital furniture, wholesale and used furniture each have their own activity code, so the licence lists every group you sell to. Walk-in retail to Dubai residents means a mainland licence from DET.
- Covers
- Home and office furniture, sold retail, wholesale or online
- Not covered
- Making furniture, fit-out work, upholstery and repairs
- Premises
- A showroom, a warehouse, or both
- Timeline
- Weeks, led by the showroom unit and staff visas
Home, office or trade buyers
Pick the activities by buyer. A sofa shop for families and a firm supplying desks to offices are licensed differently, even when both import from the same factory.
Inside this licence
Outside this licence
- Covered by Carpentry and joinery
- Covered by Interior design and fit-out
- Covered by Furniture repair and upholstery
- Covered by Used furniture trading
Tick what you plan to do. The result shows here.
We fix the wording before you apply. Send us your list on WhatsApp
Assembling furniture as a paid service is its own activity, so we add it when your price list charges for it.
Showroom, warehouse or export
A showroom for Dubai families sits on the mainland, on a lease registered in Ejari. Regional stock often waits in a free zone warehouse.
| If most of your clients are | Likely route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Families furnishing homes in Dubai | Mainland (DET) | A showroom open to the public sits on a DET licence |
| Companies, schools and hotels on tenders | Either route | Either can supply a tender, though regular deliveries from a free zone need DET cover |
| Retailers and buyers across the region | Free zone | Goods re-exported to the region can stay in a free zone warehouse |
Selling regularly to Dubai homes or offices from a free zone company takes a DET branch licence or permit, under Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025. Those mainland sales also have to pass the QFZP qualifying test.
A free zone suits wholesale and re-export, where stock sits in a warehouse and the buyers are other traders across the region. Compare free zones
Three questions. The closest row is marked in the table above.
Your likely route shows here.
Furniture trading licence, unit and staff
DET issues the licence without waiting on any other regulator. The unit takes longer, because Dubai Municipality or the master developer's authority has to issue the showroom's fit-out permit before the work starts.
Before the licence
- Trade name and initial approvalDET
The licence
- Licence listing your furniture activitiesDET
Alongside the licence
- Importer registrationDubai Customs
After the licence
- Fit-out permit for the showroomDubai Municipality or the area's authority
- Work permits for sales and delivery staffMOHRE and GDRFA Dubai
- VAT registration once sales pass the thresholdFederal Tax Authority (FTA)
- Corporate bank accountThe bank
Your catalogue is checked against the DET activity list before we file.
How far does your range reach?
Pick what you will sell or charge for, and the result names what the licence needs beyond the household furniture activity.
Office and hotel tenders often ask for installation too, so we read the tender terms against your activities before you bid.
Tick everything on your first price list
| What you plan | Points to |
|---|---|
| the household furniture activity and nothing more | |
| a second trading activity on the same licence | |
| a second trading activity on the same licence | |
| a service activity on the licence for the paid work | |
| a service activity on the licence for the paid work | |
| a carpentry workshop licence, because making furniture is workshop work | |
| a fit-out contracting licence with its own approvals |
Tick a line to see where your plan points.
Deposits, containers and the bank
Bank viewStandard; supplier payments abroad and customer deposits
Furniture customers pay a deposit and wait weeks for delivery, while factories abroad want paying before the container ships. So money leaves long before sales arrive.
That gap draws most of the bank's questions, and signed supplier contracts answer them. Otherwise the account looks like ordinary retail or wholesale trade.
Activities missing from furniture licences
Office furniture on a household licence
A shop licensed for household furniture that wins an office tender would be supplying outside its licence, and tender buyers check the wording before they award.
Charging for assembly and upholstery
Upholstery and repairs are activities of their own. So is assembly, once you charge for it. A shop that adds them after opening has to amend its licence with DET.
A showroom on a free zone licence
A free zone licence on its own does not cover a showroom for Dubai shoppers. The doors wait for a DET branch licence or permit.
Asked by furniture traders
A question about your plan? Describe your furniture trading plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.
Ask on WhatsAppHow much does a furniture trading licence cost in Dubai?
How to start a furniture business in Dubai?
Can I sell used furniture in Dubai with a trading licence?
Does a furniture shop licence cover online sales?
Can a free zone company run a furniture showroom in Dubai?
Do I need a Dubai Municipality permit for a furniture shop?
Is office furniture a separate activity on a Dubai licence?
Do I need a licence to import furniture into Dubai?
Do you need a business licence to sell furniture in Dubai?
Can a furniture business owner get the UAE Golden Visa?
Related pages
Carpentry and joinery licence in DubaiA carpentry licence covers joinery made in your workshop, and fitting it on site or batch production adds a licence step.
General trading company setup in DubaiGeneral trading company setup in Dubai, scoped right: free zone for re-export, mainland for onshore sales, and the activity breadth you will use.
Dubai mainland company setupDubai mainland company formation with a DET licence: trade across the UAE, bid for government tenders and hold 100% ownership for most activities.
Selling to homes, offices or both?
Each buyer group has its own activity code. Share your range and price list, and we list the furniture activities you need and whether the showroom belongs on the mainland.
On the call
- Showroom unit and fit-out plans
- Paid assembly and upholstery
