Optical shop licence in Dubai, optician on board
Filling prescriptions or testing eyes makes an optical shop in Dubai a DHA optical centre, with its own licence.
- Usual route
- Usually mainland
- Extra approval
- DHA optical
- AML
- Standard bank checks
An optical shop licence in Dubai starts as DET retail, and dispensing prescription lenses or testing eyes adds a Dubai Health Authority (DHA) optical centre licence. DHA inspects the shop before opening and will not issue that licence until a licensed optician or optometrist joins. Sunglasses and plain frames on their own sell as ordinary retail.
- Covers
- Prescription glasses, contact lenses, frames, sunglasses and eye tests
- Not covered
- Eye surgery, medical eye treatment and wholesale supply
- Premises
- A shop with a dark eye examination room built to DHA rules
- Timeline
- Weeks to months, set by staff licences and inspection
Frames, lenses and eye tests
Eyewear retail is the base activity. The optical centre licence adds eye tests and prescription dispensing, and centres approved by the RTA can run driving licence eye tests.
Inside this licence
Outside this licence
- Covered by Ophthalmology clinic
- Covered by Medical equipment trading
- Covered by a separate retail activity
Tick what you plan to do. The result shows here.
We fix the wording before you apply. Send us your list on WhatsApp
A sunglasses shop that later adds prescriptions needs the DHA licence and an optician first, so we plan the room for it from the start.
Mall unit, street shop or clinic corner
Customers come in for tests and fittings, so the shop sits in a mall or street unit with its lease registered in Ejari.
| If most of your clients are | Likely route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-in customers in a mall or street | Mainland (DET) | A DET licence for the shop, a DHA licence for the optical centre |
| Patients inside a healthcare free zone | Free zone | That zone's own health regulator licenses the centre and staff |
| A clinic adding optometry services | Either route | The licensed facility informs its regulator and adds the service |
A mainland optical shop can belong to a mainland company, or to a free zone company holding a DET branch licence. Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025 allows that branch. Eyewear sold to individuals is not QFZP qualifying income.
A healthcare free zone suits a centre serving patients there, with that zone's own health regulator licensing the centre and its optometrists. Compare free zones
Three questions. The closest row is marked in the table above.
Your likely route shows here.
DHA approval for an optical centre
DHA gives initial approval first, then assesses the finished shop on site. Any non-compliance report comes within five working days, and the DHA licence quotes the DET licence number.
Before the licence
- Trade name and initial approvalDET
- Optical centre initial approvalDubai Health Authority (DHA)
The licence
- Trade licenceDET
Alongside the licence
- Optician or optometrist licensedDHA
- Fire safety equipment approvedDubai Civil Defence
After the licence
- Pre-operation inspection and licenceDHA
- RTA eye test approvalRoads and Transport Authority (RTA), if offered
- Corporate bank accountThe bank
RTA eye test approval comes last, and only if you offer it.
Is your shop an optical centre?
Plain frames and sunglasses are ordinary retail, while prescriptions or eye tests bring in DHA, as each square shows.
Retinal cameras, tonometers and OCT scanners belong in an eye clinic, so we keep them off your equipment list.
| Sunglasses and plain frames | Prescription glasses and contacts | |
|---|---|---|
| No, prescriptions come in | Eyewear retail A retail activity, with no clinical room and nothing further from DHA. | Dispensing optician A DHA optical centre licence and a licensed dispensing optician on staff. |
| Yes, in the shop | Optical centre Testing eyes makes it an optical centre: DHA licence, optometrist, examination room. | Full optical centre DHA licence, optometrist, a dark examination room and registered testing equipment. |
Answer both to highlight your square.
Frame stock and the bank
Bank viewStandard; imported frame stock and card takings are routine
An optical shop pays overseas suppliers for designer frames and lens orders before it opens, and testing equipment is bought abroad too.
Those early payments draw the first questions. Takings then arrive mostly by card. The supplier agreements and the optician's DHA licence show stock that matches a licensed shop.
What holds an optical centre back
No licensed optician on the payroll
Recruiting late holds the opening. So does hiring an optician licensed abroad, because the DHA professional licence has to catch up before the centre licence can issue.
An exam room squeezed into the plan
The examination room needs at least 7.5 square metres, the chair at least 3 metres from the chart and no daylight getting in. Display-led layouts fail the assessment.
Buying clinic equipment for a shop
Clinic-grade kit such as an OCT scanner belongs to an eye clinic, and DHA keeps it out of optical centres. A shop that buys one has paid for equipment it cannot use.
Optical shop licence FAQs
A question about your plan? Describe your optical shop plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.
Ask on WhatsAppHow much does an optical shop licence cost in Dubai?
What are the optical shop licence requirements in Dubai?
Do opticians need a DHA licence in Dubai?
Can an optical shop do driving licence eye tests in Dubai?
Does an optical shop work on a free zone licence?
How to open an optical shop in Dubai?
Can an optician prescribe glasses in Dubai?
How long is a glasses prescription valid in Dubai?
Can opticians do eye exams in Dubai?
Can an optical shop test eye pressure in Dubai?
Related pages
Clinic and healthcare business setupA clinic license in Dubai is two licences: the DHA facility licence and one for every practitioner.
Pharmacy licence in DubaiDHA licenses the pharmacy itself.
Medical equipment trading licenceA medical equipment trading licence pairs DET with an EDE warehouse licence.
Is your optical shop ready for DHA?
Outline what the shop will sell, and we work out the licence type and when your optician needs to join.
On the call
- Your unit and the exam room
- Testing equipment you plan to buy
