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IT consultancy licence, usually a light file

An IT consultancy licence in Dubai needs no regulator's approval, so your clients decide the route and the tax result.

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A consultant sketches a system plan in a notebook while a client explains her needs
Usual route
Mainland or free zone
Extra approval
None extra
Timeline
Weeks
AML
Not a DNFBP activity
At a glance

An IT consultancy licence in Dubai is a DET or free zone licence with the IT consultancy activity, and no extra regulator's approval is needed. It covers advice, systems design and integration. Managed support calls, hardware sales and software products sit in other activities, and free zone fees from mainland or overseas clients are usually non-qualifying for QFZP.

Covers
IT strategy, systems design, integration and project advice for clients
Not covered
Hardware resale, software products, hosting and security testing
Premises
An office on the licence; client sites for delivery
Timeline
Weeks, from licence to bank account

Advice, design and integration work

An IT consultancy sells advice, systems design and integration. Hardware and software can go in when they form part of the system.

Covered

Not covered

Running client systems day to day can share the activity. PC setup and repair calls are a second activity, added before filing.

Clients, route and the QFZP test

Where your clients sit settles the route and the corporate tax treatment, because IT consultancy sits outside QFZP's qualifying activities.

Likely route by where most of your clients are
If most of your clients areLikely routeWhy
Dubai companies and mainland groupsMainland (DET)Mainland clients point to a DET licence and the standard corporate tax rates
Companies inside UAE free zonesFree zoneFees from free zone clients can count as qualifying income
Clients abroad, billed from DubaiEither routeOverseas fees are non-qualifying for QFZP, so the free zone tax edge fades

A free zone consultancy serving mainland clients looks at a DET branch licence or permit (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025). IT services billed to mainland clients are usually non-qualifying for QFZP.

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

IT consultancy licence and what follows

IT consultancy is one of the lighter files in Dubai. No regulator signs off the consultancy itself, so the work is in the activity wording, the tax registration and the bank account.

  1. Before the licence

    • Trade name and initial approvalDET or the free zone

  2. The licence

    • Licence with IT consultancy activityDET or the free zone
    • IT services or trading activityDET or the free zone

  3. After the licence

    • Corporate tax registrationFederal Tax Authority (FTA)
    • Corporate bank accountThe bank
    • Visas for consultants and engineersGDRFA Dubai

We word the activities to match your first contracts.

Which IT work will you bill for?

Tick the work in your first contracts. The heaviest item shows what the licence needs beyond the consultancy activity.

Hardware invoiced inside a designed system can stay with the consultancy, so we read your quotes before deciding on a trading activity.

Tick everything you plan to invoice

Tick everything you plan to invoice
What you planPoints to
the IT consultancy activity alone, a light file with no regulator
the IT consultancy activity alone, a light file with no regulator
a second IT services activity for setup, installation and repair calls
a trading activity for hardware and software licences
a software development activity, as a software company holds
a cyber security activity, with DESC certification for government testing
a data centre set-up with its own building approvals

Retainers, overseas clients and the bank

Bank viewStandard; retainers and project invoices

Banks see IT consultancy as a standard professional service. Income arrives as retainers and project invoices, often from clients abroad, and that mix is what they ask about first. Hardware bought for a client project and passed on also draws questions, because it looks like trading. We put the licence, the first contracts and a client list into the account file together.

AMLNot a DNFBP activity; the bank's own customer checks still apply.

What trips up IT consultancies

  1. Hardware resale on a consultancy licence

    Supplying laptops or licences on their own is trading. A firm that invoices kit as separate line items needs a trading activity on the licence first, or the bank asks why the goods are there.

  2. A free zone chosen before the tax test

    IT consultancy sits outside QFZP's qualifying activities, so fees from clients outside the free zones are usually non-qualifying. Past a small allowance, the company loses its free zone tax status for that year and the next four.

  3. Security testing added as a side line

    Penetration testing for government or critical infrastructure clients needs DESC Cyber Force certification. An IT consultancy that adds it on request takes on that requirement, so we plan it before the first tender.

Questions about a IT consultancy licence

A question about your plan? Describe your IT consultancy plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.

Ask on WhatsApp

How much does an IT consultancy licence cost in Dubai?

An IT consultancy licence cost in Dubai depends on the route, the number of activities and the team. A consultancy-only file costs less than one that adds IT services or hardware trading, and each consultant's visa adds to it. You get a written quote before anything starts, and it only changes if your plans do.

Can foreigners get an IT consultancy licence in Dubai?

Yes. IT consultancy is open to foreign founders on the mainland and in free zones, and no regulator's approval sits on top of the licence. The choice turns on where your clients are, because that sets the route and the corporate tax result. We check it against your first contracts.

Can an IT consultancy work from a free zone in Dubai?

Yes, and it suits clients inside the free zones. IT consultancy sits outside QFZP's qualifying activities, so fees from clients outside the free zones are usually non-qualifying. Regular mainland work can also call for a DET branch licence or permit. We model the tax result before you choose.

How to start an IT consultancy business in Dubai?

Start with your client list. It decides the route, the activities and whether hardware or support work needs its own activity. The licence itself needs no regulator's approval, so the time goes into tax registration, visas and the bank account. We line those up in the right order.

Related pages

Do your contracts point to mainland or free zone? We model the tax before you choose

Fifteen minutes with a senior advisor on your clients, your services and any hardware you supply. You leave with the activities, the route and the tax result on that route.

Book a 15-minute callMessage us on WhatsApp

On the call

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