Initial Approval

Initial Approval is DET's (or the equivalent emirate authority's) preliminary 'no objection' to a proposed UAE company — confirming the trade name is acceptable, the shareholders are eligible, and the activity is permitted at the requested address. It is issued before the MOA is notarised and before license fees are paid, and it remains valid for 6 months.

For regulated activities (financial services, healthcare, education, transport), Initial Approval is conditional on additional clearances from the relevant federal regulator. In free zones, the equivalent step is the Free Zone Authority's pre-approval.

The initial approval process usually involves the following steps: 1. Trade Name Reservation: You reserve your desired company name with the licensing authority. 2. Document Clearing: You submit the reservation request, along with other required documents, to the document-clearing service. 3. Submission of Application: The document-clearing service forwards your application to the licensing authority. 4. Review and Approval: The licensing authority reviews the application to ensure compliance with UAE regulations. 5. Issuance of Initial Approval: If approved, the licensing authority issues the Initial Approval certificate.

A company intending to establish a trading company in the mainland will first reserve its trade name. This reservation is then submitted to the document-clearing service, which then forwards it to DET (Dubai’s Department of Economic Development) for review. If DET approves, they issue the Initial Approval, allowing the company to proceed with the MOA signing and license fee payment. Similarly, a company forming a free zone entity will undergo a similar process, with the free zone authority granting initial approval before issuing the final trade license.

Skipping Initial Approval is the most common cause of expensive rework — applicants notarise an MOA only to discover the activity isn't permitted at the registered address, or a shareholder fails screening.