ANCFZ License Renewal 2026: Fees, Fines and Steps

ANCFZ license renewal in 2026 costs from AED 4,888 a year for a company with no visas, AED 10,800 for one visa and AED 16,200 for two on the free zone's own published list, and you can lock in 1 to 5 years at once. Ajman NuVentures Centre Free Zone gives you one month after the expiry date to renew; after that its fines list charges AED 250 for the late renewal alone, and an expired licence stops every visa and establishment card service until it is fixed.

That is the short version. The rest of this guide is for the founder who holds an ANCFZ licence today and wants to know what the renewal will really cost, whether a multi-year term is worth it, which fines can stack up, and what to check on the tax side before paying. ANCFZ is unusually open about its prices, which makes this easier than most free zones: the numbers below come from the zone's own 2026 price page, its published list of violations and fines, and the federal authorities that sit behind the visa and tax parts of a renewal. Where we quote our own price, it comes from our current rate card.

Who renews you: ANCFZ is its own authority, not Ajman Free Zone

The most common mistake we see on ANCFZ renewals starts before any money changes hands: the founder, an accountant or a bank calls the company an "Ajman Free Zone" company. It is not. Ajman has more than one free zone, and they are separate authorities.

Ajman NuVentures Centre Free Zone was established by Amiri Decree No. 15 of 2023, issued by the Ruler of Ajman. Article 2 of that decree creates the Centre as a free zone with its own legal personality and financial and administrative independence, and it states that the Centre is not subject to Amiri Decree No. 8 of 2021 on the free zones authority in Ajman, nor does it fall under it. In practice that means:

• Your licence names ANCFZ as the issuing authority. Renewal, amendments, fines and cancellations are handled by ANCFZ, through its own customer portal.
• The price list is different. Ajman Free Zone (AFZA) and ANCFZ publish different packages, and a quote for one does not apply to the other.
• Bank and tax records must use the right name. If your bank's KYC file or your Federal Tax Authority registration lists the wrong authority, fix it during the renewal, not after a compliance query.

If you are not sure which zone issued your licence, look at the header of the licence certificate. If it reads Ajman NuVentures Centre Free Zone, this guide applies. If it reads Ajman Free Zone, read our Ajman Free Zone license renewal guide instead, because the fees and the late-fine rules differ.

ANCFZ renewal fees in 2026: the published price list

ANCFZ publishes its 2026 package prices on its own site, at ancfz.ae. The page was last updated in July 2026 and states that all amounts are in AED and that the one-year price is the full advance payment with a 10% upfront discount already included. The zone also states that multi-year packages renew on the approved price list for the duration you choose.

Source: ANCFZ package prices 2026, read on 18 October 2026. Confirm the current figure on the official portal before paying, because free zones revise packages during the year.

What the price covers matters as much as the price. Every ANCFZ package lists the business licence, unlimited shareholders, up to 10 mix-and-match activities, the lease agreement, the commercial registry, the share certificate, the certificate of incorporation, the certificate of incumbency and a bank letter. Visa packages add the immigration services, and several of them are marked "new/renewal" on the zone's list: the establishment card, the e-channel registration, the ICP licence activation on renewal, the residence visa, the visa medical in Ajman and the Emirates ID.

What it does not cover is health insurance. ANCFZ states plainly that health insurance is mandatory during the visa process and is excluded from the package price. Budget for it per visa holder, every year.

ANCFZ also offers Tabby instalments for the GCC market, splitting a payment into four parts. That helps cash flow, but it does not change the renewal deadline: the licence is renewed when the zone receives payment, not when the last instalment clears your card.

Renewing for one year or five: what a multi-year term actually saves

Because ANCFZ publishes every term from one to five years, you can work out the real yearly cost yourself. The pattern is not the same at every tier, and that is where founders either save money or lock cash away for nothing.

These per-year figures are our arithmetic on ANCFZ's published totals, assuming the one-year price stays the same each year. Three things stand out.

The zero-visa tier has no multi-year discount. Two years cost exactly twice one year, and five years cost exactly five times. Paying five years upfront on a no-visa licence only protects you from a future price rise; it does not save anything on today's list.

The discount grows with the visa count. At one visa, a five-year term saves about 7% on paying yearly. At five visas, the two-year price of AED 49,005 is AED 10,395 below two single years, a saving of about 17.5%.

A long term is a bet on your headcount. If you lock in five visas for five years and the business shrinks to two people, you have prepaid for allocations you are not using. ANCFZ allows downgrading at renewal based on visas used, so a shorter term keeps that option open.

Our view: a two-year term is the sensible default for a stable company with one to three visas. Go to five years only when the visa count is settled and the cash is genuinely spare. A zero-visa holding or consulting licence can stay on one-year renewals with no penalty on price.

Our ANCFZ renewal prices, and how ANCFZ compares with other free zones

ANCFZ is one of the free zones we renew most often, and our renewal quotes for it are fixed by our current rate card:

• 0 visas: AED 4,888 a year
• 1 visa: AED 9,900 a year
• 2 visas: AED 13,950 a year
• 3 visas: AED 17,550 a year
• 4 visas: AED 21,150 a year

Our visa-tier renewal figures sit below the free zone's one-year list for a new package. That reflects how our renewal pricing is built: a renewal year does not repeat items that ANCFZ marks as "new" on its own inclusions list, such as the investor security approval for a new registration, the entry permit and the e-channel guarantee. Health insurance stays extra at AED 500 per person per year on our card.

How does that compare with renewing elsewhere? These are our own year-two renewal prices from the same rate card:

ANCFZ is the lowest no-visa renewal in this table. Once visas are involved, SHAMS renews more cheaply per visa, so a founder planning to add several visas over the next two years should run both numbers before deciding to stay. For most one-person companies, though, the cost of moving zones (a new licence, new visas, a new bank KYC file and a new tax record) is far larger than the yearly difference. Our free zone license renewal cost guide compares more zones side by side.

The renewal calendar: the grace month, the AED 250 fine and the fines that stack

ANCFZ publishes a formal list of violations and fines that apply to licensed establishments, signed off by the Chairman's office and dated September 2025. It is in the Rules and Regulations section of ancfz.ae. Chapter 6 covers licences, and its first lines are the ones every renewing founder should know.

The schedule has a "first time / warning" column and a "second time / fine" column. Some office violations get a written warning first. Clause 6.05 does not: the warning column is blank, so the AED 250 applies directly once the grace month has passed.

On its own, AED 250 is a small number. The real risk is what sits next to it. A company that keeps trading on an expired licence is, on a strict reading, conducting activity without a valid licence, which is clause 6.01 at AED 5,000. Fail to fix a violation inside the period ANCFZ gives you and clause 6.47 adds another AED 5,000. And because the immigration side needs an active licence, an expired licence also freezes visa renewals, which is where the larger federal fines begin.

The calendar we use for ANCFZ clients:

1. 60 days before expiry: check the visa count, activities, shareholders and address. Decide on the term and tier.
2. 30 days before expiry: collect documents and pay. This leaves room for a medical or Emirates ID appointment if a visa renews in the same month.
3. Expiry date: the licence should already be renewed.
4. Expiry plus one month: the end of the grace period. After this, clause 6.05 applies.

What renews inside the package: visas, establishment card, Emirates ID and medical

If your company holds visas, the licence renewal is only half the job. The immigration file belongs to the federal Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), and ANCFZ processes it on your behalf as part of the visa package.

Establishment card. This is the company's immigration file. ICP's own service page for renewing an establishment card lists an application fee of AED 100, AED 100 for each year of validity, an e-system subscription of AED 1,000 and a smart service fee of AED 100, with a delay fine of AED 100 a month once the card is more than 30 days late, capped at AED 1,000. ICP also requires a valid trade licence and settled fines before it renews the card. You can read the service details on icp.gov.ae. ANCFZ's visa packages list the establishment card renewal as an included item, so check your invoice to see it covered rather than paying it twice.

Residence visas and Emirates ID. Each visa holder needs a renewed residence permit, a fresh Emirates ID and, on ANCFZ's list, a visa medical in Ajman. The package covers the processing, but the person has to attend the medical and any biometrics appointment. If a visa expires in the same month as the licence, start with the licence: an expired licence blocks the visa renewal.

E-channel. The e-channel registration is renewed with the package. If it lapses, the company cannot file immigration transactions online.

Health insurance. Mandatory for every visa holder and excluded from ANCFZ's package. Our basic policy is AED 500 per person per year. A visa cannot be renewed without valid cover.

A practical point: if one of your visa holders is outside the UAE when the renewal falls due, tell us early. The licence can be renewed remotely; the medical cannot.

Step by step: renewing an ANCFZ licence

ANCFZ's FAQ says licences must be renewed annually (or for the multi-year term you bought) and that the process can often be completed online without shareholders being present. The steps below are how a renewal runs in practice.

1. Confirm the expiry date and the tier. Read the licence certificate and the establishment card. Decide whether to renew as is, downgrade the visa tier, or change term.
2. Check that the company file is clean. Unpaid fines, an incomplete beneficial owner record or a pending amendment can hold a renewal. Clear them first.
3. Update anything that changed. New shareholder, new manager, new activity or a change of address must be approved by ANCFZ before or with the renewal, not after it. Adding an activity without approval is a fine in its own right (clause 6.06).
4. Request the renewal invoice through the ANCFZ customer portal or your consultant. Check that it shows the correct authority, term, visa tier and activities.
5. Pay. Payment can be made online. If you use Tabby instalments, the first payment starts the renewal.
6. Receive the renewed licence and the updated documents. Download and store them; your bank will ask for the renewed licence within weeks.
7. Renew the immigration file and the visas that fall due: establishment card, e-channel, residence visas, medical and Emirates ID.
8. Update your bank and tax records if anything changed (see the next section).

On paperwork, expect to provide the current licence, passport copies and visa pages for shareholders and managers, the Emirates ID copies for visa holders, a valid health insurance certificate per visa holder, and any approvals required for regulated activities. ANCFZ notes that regulated activities such as financial services, healthcare and education may need extra approvals from other authorities, and those approvals must also be in date at renewal.

Corporate tax, VAT and UBO checks to run at renewal

Renewal is the one moment each year when every company document is in front of you. Use it to run three compliance checks that cost far more to fix later.

Corporate tax registration. Every UAE company, including a free zone company with no visas and little revenue, must register for corporate tax with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA). The penalty for late registration is AED 10,000. If you never registered, do it now; it is free to register directly on the EmaraTax portal at tax.gov.ae, and our service fee for registration is AED 400.

Qualifying Free Zone Person status. A free zone company can pay 0% on qualifying income, but only while it meets the conditions, including adequate substance and audited financial statements. Non-qualifying revenue, such as income from work physically performed for mainland customers, is allowed only up to a de minimis limit of the lower of AED 5 million or 5% of total revenue. Breach it and the company loses the status for that period and the following four. This is general information; confirm your own position with a registered tax agent.

Tax record amendments. If the renewal changes your trade name, activities, address or shareholders, the FTA record must be amended within 20 business days. A first failure is an AED 1,000 penalty.

VAT. A company whose taxable supplies pass AED 375,000 in 12 months must register for VAT. Our VAT registration fee is AED 500.

Beneficial owner register. ANCFZ hosts the federal rules on its own regulations page: Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023 on beneficial ownership and Cabinet Resolution No. 132 of 2023 on the penalties. Under Resolution 132, failing to update the register of beneficial owners starts with a written warning and 15 days to correct it, then an AED 15,000 fine, then AED 30,000. Failing to register beneficial ownership details properly is AED 20,000 for a second violation and AED 40,000 for a third. The Ministry of Economy oversees the beneficial owner framework. If your shareholders changed in the year, the register must change too.

Renew as is, downgrade, add activities, or move

Every renewal is a decision point. These are the four paths, and when we recommend each.

Renew as is. The right choice for most companies. No new approvals, no new documents, and the fastest turnaround.

Downgrade the visa tier. ANCFZ allows downgrading at renewal based on visas used. If you bought three visas and two are in use, renewing on the two-visa tier saves AED 4,500 a year on the published list. You cannot downgrade below the number of residence visas actually issued, so cancel any unused visa first.

Add activities. An ANCFZ licence holds up to 10 mix-and-match activities, chosen from more than 3,500 the zone lists. If you have started doing something your licence does not cover, add it now. Clause 6.03 fines an unlisted activity at AED 1,000, and clause 6.06 fines adding one without approval at AED 200. Regulated activities can need an outside approval first.

Move to another zone or to the mainland. Moving rarely pays for a small company, as the comparison table above shows. The exception is a business whose work has moved onshore. An ANCFZ company can invoice clients anywhere in the UAE for services performed from the free zone, but if staff now work physically at mainland client sites, or you need a shop or office outside the zone, you need a mainland licence or branch. That income also falls outside the free zone tax benefit. At that point a mainland licence, from AED 24,999 with us, can be cheaper overall than staying put and paying for the mismatch.

If your plan is to close rather than renew, do not simply let the licence lapse. The grace month and the fines keep running, and an abandoned company still has a tax record to deregister. Ask for a cancellation quote instead.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Calling the company an Ajman Free Zone company. ANCFZ is a separate authority under Amiri Decree No. 15 of 2023. Use the right name with your bank and the FTA.
• Missing the grace month. One month after expiry, clause 6.05 applies (AED 250), and an expired licence stops visa and establishment card services.
• Renewing visas before the licence. An expired licence blocks immigration services. Renew the licence first.
• Locking in five years on a zero-visa licence. ANCFZ's list shows no multi-year saving at that tier. Pay yearly unless you want protection from a future price change.
• Prepaying visas you will not use. Downgrade at renewal while the option is open.
• Forgetting health insurance. It is mandatory for visa holders and outside the package price.
• Adding work without adding the activity. Clauses 6.03 and 6.06 fine unlisted and unapproved activities.
• Ignoring tax and UBO updates. A shareholder change needs an FTA amendment within 20 business days and an updated beneficial owner register.
• Trusting old price lists. Third-party pages still show older ANCFZ packages. Check the zone's own 2026 page or ask us for a current invoice.

What Noble Core does for you

Noble Core Ventures is an independent private business setup consultancy, founded in 2020, with offices in Dubai and Riyadh. We are not a government body and we cannot guarantee approvals, visas or bank accounts, but we do this work every week and we know where ANCFZ renewals stall.

For an ANCFZ renewal we:

• Read your licence, establishment card and visa dates and tell you the exact renewal figure for your tier, at AED 4,888 a year for no visas or AED 9,900 for one visa on our current card.
• Advise on term and tier, including whether a downgrade or a two-year term makes sense.
• Handle the renewal invoice, payment and documents with ANCFZ.
• Book and track the visa renewals, medical and Emirates ID, and arrange health insurance at AED 500 per person per year.
• Check your corporate tax registration (AED 400), VAT position (AED 500 to register) and beneficial owner register, and file any amendment the renewal triggers.

Message us on WhatsApp: chat with a renewal adviser, or call +971 52 253 5694. Send us your licence number and expiry date, and we will reply with the renewal figure for your company and the date you need to act by.

Frequently Asked Questions