Ask a Lawyer

UAE trade licences are generally grouped into a few main categories based on the nature of the activity. A commercial licence covers trading activities such as buying and selling goods, general trading, and retail. A professional licence covers services that rely on intellectual or specialised skills, such as consultancy, legal, accounting, IT, and similar professions. An industrial licence covers manufacturing, processing, and production activities. Some emirates and free zones also offer tourism, agricultural, or specialised licences for particular sectors. The licence type determines which activities you can legally perform, what approvals you may need, and sometimes the ownership structure available to you. Licences are issued by the emirate's economic department on the mainland, or by the relevant authority inside a free zone. Because activities are mapped to specific licence types and codes, confirm the correct category for your business with the licensing authority before applying. For help matching your activity to the right licence and any regulated-activity approvals, you can compare verified UAE legal professionals on LEXAI.

LLC stands for Limited Liability Company, the most common corporate structure for doing business on the UAE mainland. The 'limited liability' means the company is a separate legal person from its owners, so a shareholder's financial responsibility is generally limited to the value of their shares in the company's capital rather than their personal assets. An LLC can hold a trade licence, sign contracts, own assets, hire staff, and sponsor employee visas in its own name. It is governed by the UAE Commercial Companies Law and licensed by the economic department of the relevant emirate (for example Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism). LLCs can carry out commercial, professional, or industrial activities depending on the licence issued. Because rules on ownership, activities, and required approvals differ by emirate and by the specific activity, confirm the current requirements with the licensing authority before committing. If you want help understanding how an LLC fits your situation, you can compare verified UAE legal professionals on LEXAI.

For most UAE mainland LLCs, there is no fixed statutory minimum share capital amount imposed across the board; instead the law generally requires that the company has capital sufficient and adequate to achieve its stated purpose, with the amount stated in the Memorandum of Association. Some specific activities, regulated sectors, or free zones may set their own minimum capital or proof-of-capital requirements, so the figure can vary considerably depending on what you do and where you register. Capital is usually expressed in the MOA and divided into shares of equal value among the shareholders. Because requirements are activity- and jurisdiction-specific, you should confirm the exact capital expectations for your business with the relevant economic department or free zone authority rather than relying on a generic number. The official UAE government portal sets out the general framework. For help drafting the capital clauses of your MOA, you can compare verified UAE legal professionals on LEXAI.

The main difference is jurisdiction, ownership, and where you can trade. A mainland company is licensed by the emirate's economic department (e.g. Dubai's DET) under the UAE Commercial Companies Law and generally trades across the UAE and bids for government work. A free zone company is licensed by its zone's authority, has long allowed full foreign ownership, and often suits import/export, services, or international trade, though selling into the mainland may require a distributor or extra steps. Mainland activities are now also widely open to full foreign ownership. Activities, office requirements, visas, and regulators differ; confirm specifics with the relevant authority. Full comparison: [UAE Mainland vs Free Zone Company Setup](/blog/uae-mainland-vs-free-zone-company-setup).

Gift cards and vouchers in the UAE are governed mainly by the terms and conditions the issuer sets, combined with the general consumer-protection principle that those terms must be clear, fair, and properly disclosed before you buy or accept the card. Key details such as any expiry date, where the card can be used, and what happens to an unused balance should be stated transparently. If an issuer tried to apply a hidden expiry or a condition that was never disclosed, that lack of transparency can be a consumer-protection concern. To protect yourself, read the voucher terms when you receive it, note any expiry, keep the card and proof of purchase, and use the balance within the stated period. If a retailer refuses to honour a validly issued, unexpired voucher, raise it in writing and, if unresolved, escalate to the Ministry of Economy (600 522225) or your local economic department. Because gift-card rules depend largely on the issuer's disclosed terms, confirm the specific conditions with the retailer, and check the current consumer-protection guidance with the Ministry of Economy if you are unsure of your position.

Largely, yes — and this is one of the biggest practical effects of the 2022 reform. Since Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2020 came into force on 2 January 2022, an unpaid or partially paid cheque is treated as an executory instrument (a writ of execution). That means the beneficiary can take the cheque, together with the bank's confirmation of non-payment, directly to the execution judge to begin recovery, instead of first filing a separate lawsuit to establish the debt. In addition, the bank is required to pay out any partial balance available in the account, and the holder retains the right to pursue the unpaid remainder through enforcement. This route was designed to make recovery faster and to shift cheque disputes from the criminal system into civil enforcement. The exact filing process, documents and any court fees are set by the competent court, so confirm them locally. If you want help preparing an execution file or recovering the balance, you can compare verified UAE legal professionals on LEXAI.

Yes. In the UAE you can pursue a contractor for building defects, and the route depends on the type of defect and your contract. For serious structural defects or collapse, the UAE Civil Transactions Law imposes mandatory decennial (ten-year) liability on the contractor and supervising engineer, which cannot be contracted out of. For non-structural or workmanship defects, your remedy usually flows from the contract's defects-liability/maintenance period and general contractual obligations, allowing you to require repair or claim the cost of making good. Practically, start by documenting the defects (photos, dates, an independent engineer's report), notify the contractor in writing, and check your contract's defects-liability provisions and any retention held. If the contractor does not remedy the defects, you can escalate to the dispute-resolution forum named in the contract — arbitration or the competent court. Time limits apply, so do not delay. Because defect claims turn on technical evidence and the correct legal basis, an engineering report plus legal advice is the strongest start. Compare verified UAE construction professionals on LEXAI for your situation.

Time limits for construction claims in the UAE depend on the legal basis of the claim, so identifying the correct one is essential. General contractual claims are subject to the limitation periods set out in the UAE Civil Transactions Law, while claims for serious structural defects fall under the mandatory decennial-liability regime, which makes the contractor and engineer liable for ten years from handover, with a separate, shorter window to actually file once the defect or collapse is discovered. Arbitration and court proceedings can also be affected by contractual time bars and by notice requirements in FIDIC-style contracts, which can defeat a claim well before any statutory limitation runs. Because these periods differ and the exact filing windows are time-sensitive, confirm the specific limitation period applicable to your claim type rather than assuming a single deadline. The safest course is to seek advice as soon as a problem appears and to file or formally notify promptly. Compare verified UAE construction-litigation professionals on LEXAI to confirm the deadline that applies to your case.

For criminal matters, the UAE applies federal criminal law across the country, so the core framework of offences and penalties is national rather than differing fundamentally from one emirate to another. What can vary is the administration and certain local procedures handled by each emirate's police and prosecution. A common point of confusion is the financial free zones — DIFC in Dubai and ADGM in Abu Dhabi — which operate their own independent civil and commercial court systems based largely on common-law principles. Those free-zone courts deal with civil and commercial disputes; they are not a separate criminal jurisdiction, so criminal matters generally remain within the UAE's federal criminal framework and the onshore authorities. Because the boundaries between these systems can be nuanced and depend on the nature of the issue, you should confirm which system applies to your specific matter rather than assuming. If you are unsure whether your issue is criminal, civil, or free-zone related, a lawyer can identify the correct forum. You can compare verified UAE legal professionals on LEXAI to clarify which system governs your case.

In the UAE, criminal sentencing is decided by the court within the framework set by the applicable penal legislation for the specific offence. Punishments can range from fines to imprisonment, and for some offences other consequences such as deportation of a non-citizen may follow a conviction. Courts consider factors including the nature and seriousness of the offence, the circumstances, the harm caused, and any aggravating or mitigating elements. The UAE system also provides avenues to appeal a conviction or sentence to a higher court, where the outcome can be reviewed. Because the available penalties for any given offence are fixed by law and applied to the facts, the specific range should be confirmed for your charge rather than assumed from general information. A defence lawyer can explain the likely exposure, present mitigation, and pursue an appeal where grounds exist. If you are facing charges, get advice early — before, not after, key hearings. You can compare verified UAE criminal-defence professionals on LEXAI to assess your case and represent you through sentencing and appeal.