Key takeaways
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What is it? | An Abu Dhabi mainland licence for small traders and service businesses, issued without an office lease for the first three years |
| What does the government charge? | From AED 790, with six activities included. The published range runs to AED 5,500 depending on activities and legal form, and an LLC costs more than an establishment |
| Who can hold it alone? | UAE nationals and GCC nationals. A resident of another nationality takes it as an LLC with an Emirati partner |
| What do you need to file? | Your Emirates ID. No lease and no other documents |
| Is it a no-office licence for good? | No. The exemption lasts three years. Holders whose three years end in 2026 have been given one more |
| How many activities? | More than 1,200, with extra activities at AED 100 each |
| Where do you apply? | On TAMM, the Abu Dhabi Government services platform |
The AED 790 trade licence is real. It is on the Abu Dhabi Registration Authority’s own website, and it is the floor of the price, not the total. What the figure does not tell you is who can hold the licence alone, and what happens when the office-free years run out.
Start with the first point, because it decides whether this page is for you. A Tajer Abu Dhabi licence is held outright by UAE nationals and GCC nationals. A resident of any other nationality holds it through a limited liability company with an Emirati partner. If you want full ownership, Abu Dhabi has a licence for that, but it comes with rent from day one.
Then the second point. Tajer is not a licence without an office. It is a licence that gives you three years before the office is due. Plan for that date on day one and the route works well. Miss it and the lease arrives as a surprise.
This page sets out the fee and what lifts it, the eligibility rule in the authority’s own words, the three-year clock and the 2026 extension, and what our team plans for on each. Government figures come from the Abu Dhabi Registration Authority (ADRA) and the Abu Dhabi Media Office, read in October 2026.
What is the Tajer Abu Dhabi licence?
Tajer Abu Dhabi, or the Abu Dhabi Trader Licence, is a mainland licence that lets a small business trade in Abu Dhabi without leasing an office for its first three years. It costs from AED 790, covers more than 1,200 activities and is filed with an Emirates ID. Residents hold it with an Emirati partner.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) launched it in 2017 with 30 activities, for UAE nationals only. In 2018 it opened to GCC nationals and UAE residents. Since January 2025 the licence has been registered by ADRA, which is ADDED’s licensing arm, and you apply for it on TAMM.
Demand has grown with the activity list. ADDED says new Tajer licences rose 24 per cent in 2025 and 8 per cent in the first half of 2026. In 2023 the route accounted for more than 23 per cent of all new economic licences in the emirate.
Who can hold a Tajer licence
ADRA’s heading says the licence is open to UAE nationals, UAE residents and GCC nationals. The sentence under it is narrower, and it is the one that counts:
“Tajer Abu Dhabi is ideal for one person companies owned by Emiratis or GCC nationals and limited liability companies owned by residents in partnership with Emiratis.”
| Applicant | Path ADRA describes | Legal form |
|---|---|---|
| UAE national | One-person business | Establishment or sole proprietorship |
| GCC national | One-person business | Establishment or sole proprietorship |
| UAE resident, other nationality | Company in partnership with an Emirati | Limited liability company |
Our team reads the rule the same way, and we have not filed a Tajer licence for an expatriate as sole owner. Plan on an Emirati partner. That partner is a shareholder on the licence, not a local service agent, and no government fee attaches to them. Any yearly payment between you is a private arrangement, so we publish no figure for it.
The rule draws no line between trading and service activities. What matters is whether your activity is on the Tajer list.
So the choice for a resident founder is plain. Three office-free years with a partner on a Tajer licence, or full ownership on the Standard Economic Licence, which opens most activities to foreign owners but needs a lease from the start. Three legal forms are allowed on Tajer: an establishment, a sole proprietorship or an LLC. The liability difference is covered under sole proprietorship versus LLC, and the one-person form in our entry on the sole establishment.
If you live outside the UAE, this is not your route. Tajer is filed with an Emirates ID. ADRA’s Virtual Licence is the product built for founders abroad, and it asks for a passport and a photo.
What “from AED 790” buys, and what lifts it
AED 790 is the authority’s basic licence fee, and it includes six activities of your choice. ADRA publishes the full range as AED 790 to 5,500 and adds one line of small print: fees depend on the economic activities and the legal form you select.
Those are the only two Tajer amounts the authority publishes: AED 790 for the licence and AED 100 for each extra activity. Three choices lift the figure.
| What lifts the fee | How |
|---|---|
| Legal form | An LLC needs a Memorandum of Association and its notarisation. An establishment does not |
| Activity count | The seventh activity onwards adds AED 100 each |
| Regulated activities | An activity another authority oversees carries that authority’s own fee |
Source: adra.gov.ae, Tajer Abu Dhabi Licence page, read 9 and 16 October 2026.
Expect a trade name line and a Chamber line on the same invoice. Under ADDED’s 2021 fee schedule, a trade name is AED 50, Abu Dhabi Chamber membership is AED 50 and licensing procedures are AED 10. We have no Tajer invoice on file to confirm those lines, so treat them as the published schedule rather than a quote. The honest summary is this: from AED 790 for an establishment with up to six activities, more for an LLC.
What the licence fee never includes is the rest of a working business. A residence visa, an adviser’s fee and any partner arrangement all sit outside it. The fee side of every Abu Dhabi route is set out in Abu Dhabi Trade Licence Cost: Government Fee vs Real Bill.
Why some people quote AED 1,000
You will also see AED 1,000 quoted for an Abu Dhabi licence. That figure comes from a 2021 decision that set Abu Dhabi Government charges on a new licence or a renewal at about AED 1,000. Behind it sits a published schedule: AED 790 to issue an economic licence, AED 890 to renew one, plus the small lines above. So AED 790 and AED 1,000 are the same number read two ways, and neither includes federal visa charges.
What you can sell: more than 1,200 activities
The licence began with 30 activities and now covers more than 1,200. ADDED’s last two additions give a sense of the list. In 2022 it added 126 activities. In 2024 it added 12 more, among them logistics consultancy, network consultancy, tourism and recreation consultancy, statistical services, and design and artwork services.
The pattern is clear. These are businesses that can run from a laptop or a home: trading, consulting, online selling and services. Work that needs a site, such as a clinic, a workshop or a shop, belongs on a different licence.
Two practical points.
- Choose the six with care. Six activities come with the basic fee, and each extra one costs AED 100. The wording has to match what you invoice. Our guide to choosing a business activity explains why the match matters to banks.
- Some activities need a second approval. ADRA lists “finalise necessary approvals” as a step. An activity that another regulator oversees waits for that sign-off and pays that regulator’s fee.
The trade name follows the activity too. ADRA says a name has two parts: the name you reserve and the activity, as in “Al Ain Oasis Real Estate”. The general rules are in our glossary entry on trade name reservation. Each Abu Dhabi licence has its own activity range, covered in Abu Dhabi Trade Licence Activities: One List per Licence.
Do you need an office for a Tajer licence?
Not for the first three years. ADRA states that you are not required to lease an office in that time. After it, ADDED’s rule is that holders need physical work premises in line with the rules for their business, with the approvals that go with them, and the lease is registered through Tawtheeq.
| Period | Premises rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Years one to three | No lease required | ADRA Tajer page |
| Year four, if your three years end in 2026 | One more year without premises | ADDED, 24 September 2026 |
| After the exemption | Physical premises registered on Tawtheeq, and the approvals for your activity | ADDED, July 2022 and July 2024 |
The 2026 extension, and who it covers
On 24 September 2026, ADDED extended the no-premises period by one year. The wording is specific. It applies to licence holders whose current period expires during 2026.
That makes it a relief measure for one group, not a new four-year rule. If you take out a licence today, the published position is still three years. Plan on three, and treat any later extension as a bonus.
Year four: what we plan for
In Abu Dhabi a commercial lease is registered through Tawtheeq, the emirate’s tenancy system. It does the job that Ejaridoes in Dubai. Under ADDED’s 2021 schedule, registering a commercial lease costs AED 50 a year whatever the rent. ADRA lists Tawtheeq and a lease agreement among the documents for a Standard Economic Licence, which is the route with an office.
No client of ours has reached year four on a Tajer licence yet, so what follows is our working position rather than a tested one. Every Abu Dhabi mainland file we hold had premises from the start. One of them, the Abu Dhabi branch of a Dubai maintenance and decor contractor, needed a registered lease before the licence could issue.
- Treat the first renewal after the period as blocked without a Tawtheeq lease. Do not plan to renew first and lease later.
- Expect the same licence, with an address added by amendment. We do not expect a conversion to a different licence, and we publish no conversion cost.
- There is no published minimum size. The premises must carry a Tawtheeq contract and suit the activity.
- Do not close and reopen. It restarts the trade name, the bank file and the company’s history. We have not seen it done and would not advise it.
So put a date in your plan. Count three years from the day the licence issues. Six months before that date, you should know one of three things: the premises you will lease, the licence you will move to, or that you will close.
Visas, staff and a bank account
Here the government pages go quiet. ADRA’s Tajer page says nothing about visas. Its Freelancer Licence page, by contrast, states that holders can secure Abu Dhabi residency for themselves and their families.
What we can say is this. A 2022 press report put the Tajer licence at up to three work permits, and our team’s understanding is the same: the licence carries a quota of three employee permits. Whether the owner’s own investor visacan sit on a licence with no registered premises is the question to settle before you pay. The usual mainland sequence is licence, then establishment card, then visa. [NEEDS CLIENT INPUT: whether a Tajer licence can sponsor the owner’s residence visa without premises, and how the three-permit quota is applied in practice. Open as Abu Dhabi hub sheet Q8.]
Banking is the other check, and here the lease matters more than the emirate. A Tajer company is a mainland company and can invoice customers in every emirate. Best Solution has helped open more than 4,500 corporate accounts, and the emirate of registration is rarely what decides an application. A missing lease can, because the lease is the bank’s usual proof that the business exists somewhere.
We have not opened an account for a Tajer licence holder, so we publish no timeline. Without a lease, the file has to prove substance another way. Prepare:
- the owner’s home tenancy contract and a utility bill
- a live website or store page
- supplier and customer invoices or signed contracts
- six months of the owner’s personal bank statements
- a one-page account of where the money comes from
Digital-first banks tend to be more open to a no-premises file. Traditional banks more often ask for the lease. Our guide on how to open a business bank account covers the standard file.
Running a Tajer licence beside a full-time job
Much of the demand for this licence comes from people who want a side business while keeping their job. The published application asks for an Emirates ID and nothing else. A no objection certificate from your employer is not on the list, unlike the Freelancer Licence, which names one.
The risk sits in your employment contract, not in the application. A licence issued without a certificate does not cancel an exclusivity or non-compete clause. So read the contract for exclusivity, outside-work and non-compete terms, get the employer’s consent in writing even though the portal never asks, and stay out of the employer’s line of business. Free zone employees should check their zone’s rules too. On a spouse’s or parent’s visa there is no employer to consent, and holding the licence does not change the visa.
Not sure the licence fits your plan?
Tell us what you sell, whether you need a visa, and where you will be in three years. We will tell you whether Tajer, another Abu Dhabi licence or a different emirate suits you. Call or WhatsApp +971 52 233 0011, or email connect@best-solution.ae. The consultation is free.
Tajer, Instant, Freelancer or Standard: four routes compared
Abu Dhabi sells several licences that look alike at first. The office rule is what tells them apart.
| Tajer Abu Dhabi | Instant Licence | Freelancer Licence | Standard Economic Licence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Not required for three years | Lease contract required | None, work from home | Required, optional in year one for some activities |
| Published cost | AED 790 to 5,500 | AED 790 to 5,500 | From AED 1,200 | From AED 1,200 |
| Activities | More than 1,200 | 940 | More than 100 | More than 1,100 |
| Legal forms | Establishment, sole proprietorship, LLC | Establishment, sole proprietorship, LLC | Sole proprietorship | All forms |
| Documents | Emirates ID | Lease and Memorandum of Association | Attested qualifications, no objection certificate, professional certificates | Memorandum of Association, Tawtheeq, lease |
Source: adra.gov.ae licence pages, read 9 and 16 October 2026.
Read across the top row and the choice gets simpler.
- Tajer suits a trader or service business that needs time before it takes on a lease, and whose owner is Emirati, GCC or has an Emirati partner.
- Instant is fast, but ADRA asks for a lease, with documents due within a month of the licence.
- Freelancer suits one skilled person working under their own name, and it is the page where ADRA mentions residency. The idea is explained in our glossary entry on the freelance permit.
- Standard is the full licence, for shops, sites and larger teams, and the route to full foreign ownership. It needs a Memorandum of Association and a registered lease.
Selling online from Dubai instead? The comparison there is different, and our guide to the e-commerce licence in Dubaicovers it. Every Abu Dhabi route sits side by side in Abu Dhabi Trade Licence: Office Now, Later or Never.
How to apply on TAMM, and how long it takes
The application is online and short. ADRA describes three steps before you trade.
- Select your activities and the licence type. Pick up to six for the basic fee. Search the trade name on TAMM first.
- Fill out the forms. You sign in with UAE PASS and file with your Emirates ID.
- Finalise the approvals. Activities overseen by another regulator wait here.
Then you pay the fee on TAMM and the licence is issued online.
On timing, our figures are estimates, because we have no Tajer file of our own to measure. A simple establishment with unregulated activities should take two to five working days. An LLC, or any activity that needs an outside approval, should take one to three weeks. Four things slow a file: a trade name rejection, which restarts that step; an outside approval, because the other regulator’s clock is not ours; a partner’s signature, because the LLC memorandum waits for every partner; and payment, because the licence issues only after it is paid.
The full filing sequence for a company with premises is planned as Abu Dhabi Mainland Company Formation: What Runs in Parallel.
Renewing each year: no grace, no guess
The licence renews every year. There is no separate published Tajer renewal tariff, so budget the first-year amount again in year two and year three: the licence fee, any extra activities, and the lines that came with your legal form. ADDED’s 2021 schedule lists renewal of an economic licence at AED 890 against AED 790 to issue, so expect the renewal line to sit close to the first.
Renew before the expiry date and treat any grace period as zero. In 2026 ADDED ran a window that cleared outstanding late fines for 7,823 establishments. That window has closed and late fines are being charged again. We publish no fixed fine amount, because the schedule we would quote is the one the waiver just replaced. Our trade licence renewal team can carry the date for you, and the Abu Dhabi process is planned as Abu Dhabi Trade Licence Renewal: ADDED Fees and Steps.
After the licence, two federal items apply to you like any other business. A company registers for corporate tax whatever its size, and an individual trading through an establishment comes into scope once turnover passes AED 1 million in a year. VAT registration becomes mandatory once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 in a year.
When a Tajer licence is the wrong start
The licence is a good first step for some founders and a detour for others. Based on the authority’s own rules, look elsewhere if any of these is you.
- You want sole ownership and have no Emirati partner. Tajer is not built for that. The Standard Economic Licence is, at the cost of a lease from day one.
- You need premises from day one. A shop, a kitchen, a clinic or a workshop needs a site and its approvals. Start on the Standard licence and skip the amendment later.
- You live abroad. Tajer needs an Emirates ID. The Virtual Licence is ADRA’s route for non-residents.
- You are one professional, and residency is the goal. The Freelancer Licence is the product ADRA links to residency for you and your family.
- You already hold a licence in another emirate. Since February 2025, a company licensed elsewhere in the UAE can open an Abu Dhabi branch with no premises for its first year. That route is covered in Abu Dhabi vs Dubai Mainland: Licence Where Your Buyer Is.
- You cannot fund a lease in year four. Three years pass quickly. If the business will not carry rent by then, plan for a licence you can keep.
None of these makes the Tajer licence a poor product. It was built to let a small business test its market before it pays rent, and the growth in new licences says it does that job.
Start small, but date the lease
The Tajer Abu Dhabi licence gives a small business three things at once: a government fee from AED 790, a filing that needs only an Emirates ID, and three years before any lease is due. Use those years well. Settle the partner question before you apply. Settle the visa question before you pay. And put the end of the exemption in your calendar on the day the licence issues.
Best Solution has formed companies in the UAE since 2014. Our mainland licence service can take the filing from activity choice to issue. When you are ready for premises, our office setup service can help with the space, and our UAE residence visa service takes the file on from there.
If you are still weighing emirates, our guide to starting a business on the Dubai mainland covers the Dubai side now. For the done-for-you route, Abu Dhabi Business Setup Services: ADDED Formation is planned as our service page, and our business setup team can start today. Book a free consultation on +971 52 233 0011 or connect@best-solution.ae.
