Interior design licence or fit-out licence?
Designing interiors and building them are separate businesses in Dubai. Fit-out works are contracting, with their own register and permits.
- Usual route
- Mainland or free zone
- Extra approval
- By service
- Timeline
- Days
- AML
- Not a DNFBP activity
Interior design in Dubai can mean three separate businesses. A design studio sells concepts, layouts and finishes on a DET or free zone licence. Engineering consultancy, including architectural design, needs Dubai Municipality registration under Law 14 of 2025. Fit-out works on site are contracting under Law 7 of 2025, and the two laws keep consultancy and contracting independent of each other.
- Covers
- Interior concepts, layouts, finishes and styling for clients
- Not covered
- Fit-out works, which need a contracting activity and registration
- Premises
- A studio or office that fits your team
- Timeline
- Days for a design studio; weeks to months for fit-out
What an interior design licence covers
Scope follows what you sell: the design, the drawings for approval, or the works on site.
Covered
Not covered
- Covered by Construction contracting
- Covered by Engineering consultancy office
- Covered by Technical services
- Covered by a trading activity
Tick what you plan to do. The result shows here.
We fix the wording before you apply. Send us your list on WhatsApp
The 2025 laws keep consultancy and contracting in separate hands, so a studio that also wants to build settles the structure before it applies.
Where a design studio should sit
A design studio can work from either route, while fit-out works happen on sites across Dubai and usually point to a DET licence.
| If most of your clients are | Likely route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Clients abroad or in free zones | Free zone | Design work delivered from a studio suits a free zone licence |
| Homeowners and businesses on the mainland | Mainland (DET) | Mainland clients and site visits sit naturally on a DET licence |
| Tenants who also want the fit-out built | Mainland (DET) | On-site works point to a DET licence and contractor registration |
A free zone studio can take mainland projects through a DET branch licence or permit under Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025. Income from those mainland projects can change its QFZP position.
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 approves design and fit-out
A design studio needs the right wording on its licence. Engineering consultancy adds Dubai Municipality registration under Law 14 of 2025, and fit-out works add contractor registration plus a permit for each project from the area's authority.
Before the licence
- Trade name and initial approvalDET
The licence
- Trade licenceDET
After the licence
- Engineering office registrationDubai Municipality
- Contractor registration, for fit-outDubai Municipality
- Fit-out permit per projectThe area's authority, such as DDA
- Corporate bank accountThe bank
- Work permits and visasMOHRE and GDRFA Dubai
We map which registrations your services need before the licence is filed.
Which lane your services fall in
Tick what you plan to sell to see which kind of firm each service needs.
Ticking both drawings and site works means a structure decision first, because the 2025 laws keep consultancy and contracting independent.
Tick each service you plan to sell.
| What you plan | Points to |
|---|---|
| Design studio licence | |
| Design studio licence | |
| Design studio licence | |
| Engineering consultancy office | |
| Engineering consultancy office | |
| Registered contractor | |
| Registered contractor |
Tick a line to see where your plan points.
How banks read a fit-out firm
Bank viewStandard for design; closer look for fit-out deposits
A design studio is a standard file for most banks, with professional fees, a few clients and a small team. Fit-out draws a closer look, because client deposits arrive in large amounts and leave quickly for materials and subcontractors. The bank then wants to see the signed contracts behind those movements. We put the project contracts and the payment schedule into the bank file, so each large transfer has a reason on record.
AMLNot a DNFBP activity; the bank's own customer checks still apply.
Where design studios overreach
Fit-out quoted on a design licence
A client who likes the design often asks the studio to build it. Executing fit-out works is contracting, and taking that job on a design licence leaves the company outside the contractor rules that apply across Dubai.
Permit drawings from the wrong firm
Drawings that go to the authority carry engineering responsibility. Under Law 14 of 2025, only a licensed office registered with Dubai Municipality may present itself as an engineering consultancy.
Expecting one permit route everywhere
Fit-out permits come from the authority that runs the area, and each one sets its own file. A unit in a development authority's community and one on general mainland land can follow different paths.
Questions about a interior design and fit-out licence
A question about your plan? Describe your interior design and fit-out plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.
Ask on WhatsAppCan an interior design company also do fit-out works in Dubai?
Do interior design companies need Dubai Municipality registration?
Who applies for the fit-out permit in Dubai, the designer or the contractor?
Can a free zone interior design company work on projects in Dubai?
Related pages
ActivityConstruction company licence under Law 7DET issues the trade licence, and since January 2026 Dubai Municipality also registers and classifies each contractor before it takes on work.
JurisdictionDET mainland licence for Dubai clientsSuits businesses that sell to UAE customers or bid for Dubai tenders.
CompareMainland or free zone, comparedThe difference between a mainland and a free zone company in the UAE: who you sell to, where you work, the bank and tax decide it, not the price.
Settle whether your studio can also build before a client asks for the fit-out
Thirty minutes with a senior advisor on what you design, what you draw for approval and what you build. You leave with the activity wording, the route and the structure that keeps those roles apart.
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
