Can I renew my Dubai trade licence myself, and what documents do I need?

Yes — an owner can handle a Dubai trade licence renewal directly, and for a straightforward mainland licence it is largely the form-filling exercise you suspect. Renewals run through the Department of Economy and Tourism, mostly online via the Invest in Dubai platform, and no rule requires a PRO firm. What you generally need: your current licence details, a valid Ejari registration for the business premises covering the renewal period, and renewed approvals from any external authority if your activity is regulated — health, food, transport and education activities are common examples. The documents that trip people up are usually not the forms but the prerequisites: an Ejari that has expired or does not match the licence address, unpaid fines sitting on the licence or the company, expired passports or Emirates IDs for partners, and external approvals that take longer than expected. Check those a few weeks early and the renewal itself is normally quick. If your structure is more complicated — multiple partners, pending amendments, inherited fines — a PRO fee may buy genuine convenience, but it is a convenience, not a requirement. If anything unusual surfaces on the file, a licensed UAE corporate lawyer can untangle it well before the expiry date.