Restaurant licence and food permit in Dubai
You need a DET trade licence and a Dubai Municipality food permit. We check the unit can pass inspection before you sign.
- Trade licence
- DET, Dubai mainland
- Food permit
- Dubai Municipality
- Premises
- Inspected and graded A, B or C
- Usual structure
- Mainland for walk-in service
A Dubai restaurant needs a DET trade licence and a Dubai Municipality food permit, which approves and grades the unit. Walk-in restaurants usually go mainland; some delivery-only kitchens suit a free zone. We check the premises before the lease is signed, then sequence the licence, food permit, banking and any alcohol licence.
What we settle before signing
Once these are settled, the rest is sequencing we run for you. Left late, they make openings slip. Food sits with the premises-led sectors in business setup by industry.
Approvals
DET licence and a food permit
The trade licence makes the company legal. The Dubai Municipality food permit approves and grades the unit.
Activity code
Matched to the concept
Cafe, fine dining, cloud kitchen and bakery are separate activities. The wrong code limits what you can serve and where.
Premises
A unit that can pass inspection
Layout, ventilation, grease trap and waste, checked before the lease is signed.
01The grade you are building toward
An A grade is designed into the fit-out and kitchen workflow from the start.
02Alcohol, if it belongs
A separate licence with its own rules, planned from the start so it does not hold up your opening offer.
03Banking and payments, in step
The corporate account and card payments, sequenced with the licence for opening day.
On cost: it depends on the unit, the fit-out and the concept. We map it against your premises and confirm the scope before you commit.
What decides your opening date
Founders tend to compare licence quotes, yet the approval that decides the opening is the food permit for the unit.
The trade licence alone
It is a real approval, but on its own it does not let you serve food. It also says nothing about whether your unit can pass a kitchen inspection.
Passing Dubai Municipality inspection
Dubai Municipality judges layout, ventilation, grease trap and waste against the unit, then grades it A, B or C. A kitchen that fails means costly changes or a lost lease, with rent already running, while a problem found before signing is cheap to fix. Baking and selling share one bakery licence, and Dubai Municipality signs off the kitchen layout before fit-out. Bottled water counts as food too, and delivering it calls for a drinking water distribution licence.
Opening a restaurant on two tracks
Both tracks start together, and the premises sets the pace. A compliant unit can usually be licensed in three to six weeks, while an unsuitable one can hold up the food permit for much longer.
Before you sign
We check the unit against Dubai Municipality requirements for layout, ventilation, grease trap and waste first, because skipping this step is the most expensive mistake in the process.
Trade licence
The DET trade licence carries the activity code chosen for your concept, and restaurants serving the public are usually mainland. This licence alone does not let you serve food.
Food permit, in parallel
The Dubai Municipality food permit approves the premises and sets the A, B or C grade, and we run it alongside the trade licence.
Banking, in step
The corporate account opens in step with the trade licence, with card payments set up alongside it. The bank makes its own decision, so we start early enough for opening day.
Opening day
Both tracks are complete, the premises approved and graded, and the account active. If the concept includes alcohol, its separate licence is in place by now.
Mainland or free zone for a restaurant?
A restaurant serving walk-in customers is a mainland business, and free zones suit narrower food models such as a delivery-only kitchen. Dubai Municipality rules apply to the premises on either route.
| Usual fitMainland | Free zone | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | A restaurant, cafe or outlet serving the public from a fixed location | Certain models such as a central or cloud kitchen, subject to the zone's rules |
| Serve walk-in customers | Yes, directly at the premises | Depends on the zone and activity, confirm for your concept |
| Trade licence issued by | Department of Economy and Tourism | The free zone authority |
| Dubai Municipality food permit | Required, with premises approval and grading | Food-safety requirements still apply to the premises |
| Alcohol service | Possible with a separate licence and approval | Not the typical route for licensed alcohol service |
Usual fitMainland
- Best for
- A restaurant, cafe or outlet serving the public from a fixed location
- Serve walk-in customers
- Yes, directly at the premises
- Trade licence issued by
- Department of Economy and Tourism
- Dubai Municipality food permit
- Required, with premises approval and grading
- Alcohol service
- Possible with a separate licence and approval
Free zone
- Best for
- Certain models such as a central or cloud kitchen, subject to the zone's rules
- Serve walk-in customers
- Depends on the zone and activity, confirm for your concept
- Trade licence issued by
- The free zone authority
- Dubai Municipality food permit
- Food-safety requirements still apply to the premises
- Alcohol service
- Not the typical route for licensed alcohol service
For food businesses the structure decision usually points to mainland. The full trade-offs are in our mainland versus free zone comparison.
A trade licence makes the company legal, but only the food permit makes the kitchen legal.
The openings we are asked to rescue usually share one pattern: licence first, then a lease on a unit that cannot pass kitchen approval. We work in this order:
- The premises confirmed before the lease.
- The activity code set to fit the concept.
- The food permit and banking sequenced alongside the licence.
- Alcohol planned in if it belongs.
Cafe and kitchen licences
Each concept carries its own activity code and permit path.
Questions restaurant founders ask
A question about your own setup? Send it on WhatsApp and an advisor answers it directly.
Ask on WhatsAppWhat permits does a Dubai restaurant need before opening?
How much does a restaurant licence cost in Dubai?
How do I open a restaurant in Dubai?
What approvals does a restaurant in a Dubai mall need?
Do I need a licence to sell food retail in Dubai?
Should I open my food business on mainland or in a free zone?
Often decided alongside
- Every UAE structure, and the one that fits an F&B businessWe form companies in all four UAE structures, so our advice follows your clients and activity.
- Mainland setup, and why F&B usually needs itNeeded to bid for government work or invoice locally.
- How UAE business banking worksThe bank decides under Central Bank rules.
Confirm the unit before signing
Fifteen minutes with a senior advisor on your concept, the unit you have in mind and any alcohol plans. You leave knowing whether the premises can pass, which activity code fits and the order of the steps. Rated 5.0 on Google.
On the call
- Your concept and the unit you have in mind
- Whether the premises can pass, and the code that fits
- The order of the steps, with any alcohol licence
