Freeze Trade License UAE 2026: Fees, Rules and Options

You can freeze a trade licence in the UAE only where the licensing authority offers it: on the authorities' own pages checked on 19 October 2026, DMCC charges AED 5,000 for 12 months of dormancy (up to 36 months in a company's life), JAFZA charges AED 3,000 plus AED 1,000 to reactivate, Ajman DED charges AED 2,000 for a three-year freeze, and the Ministry of Economy charges AED 7,500 a year to freeze a foreign company branch. Every route requires visas to be cancelled first. Where no freeze exists, which includes Dubai DET mainland licences and most free zones, the real choice is between renewing at the lowest tier and closing the company.

That is the short answer for anyone whose company has gone quiet: a project has ended, a founder has moved abroad for a year, or the market has slowed and the renewal invoice now looks bigger than the business. Freezing sounds like a simple pause button. In practice it is a formal application with conditions, clearances and a fee, and it is only available from a handful of authorities. This guide sets out who offers it, what it costs, what it does to your visas, bank account and tax position, and when closing or renewing at a minimum tier is the better call.

What freezing a trade licence means, and who allows it

A freeze, also called dormancy or voluntary suspension, keeps a company on the register while its licence is paused. The company still exists, keeps its licence number and trade name, and can be reactivated later without forming a new entity. During the freeze it cannot trade, cannot hold employees on visas, and in most cases cannot keep a lease.

The practical value is continuity. A reactivated licence keeps its history, which matters for bank relationships, tenders that ask for years of operation, and trade name protection. DMCC states that a reinstated licence keeps the same number and history, with a remark that it was dormant for a period. Ajman DED describes its freeze as an alternative to cancellation that preserves the trade name and the count of licence years.

The catch is availability. A freeze is a service that each licensing authority chooses to offer, under its own rules. On public pages checked on 19 October 2026:

• DMCC publishes a Voluntary Suspension of Licence (Dormancy) service with a full guidance note and fees on its schedule of charges.
• JAFZA publishes a Company Freeze guide with documents, processing time and fees.
• Ajman DED publishes a Commercial License Freezing Service (service code DED01.006) for mainland Ajman licences.
• The Ministry of Economy and Tourism publishes a Freeze Foreign Company Registration service for branches of foreign companies, which sits on top of the local licence freeze.
• Dubai DET lists licence cancellation among its business services on investindubai.gov.ae, but we did not find a freeze service or fee on its public pages.
• Abu Dhabi TAMM lists cancellation of commercial and industrial economic licences under Manage your Business, but no commercial licence freeze service appeared in that list.
• The free zones on our rate card (ANCFZ, Ajman Free Zone, RAKEZ, IFZA, SHAMS, SPC, SRTIP, Meydan and Dubai South) do not publish a freeze service on their public pages.

"Not published" does not always mean "impossible". Some authorities handle requests case by case. But you cannot plan a budget around an unpublished option, so we treat it as unavailable until the authority confirms in writing.

Freeze fees in 2026: the authorities that publish them

These are the published figures, read on the authorities' own pages on 19 October 2026. Government fees change, so confirm on the official portal before you pay.

Two things stand out. First, the fee is rarely the biggest number. JAFZA's AED 3,000 looks modest until you add the lease you must hand back, and DMCC's AED 5,000 comes after you have cancelled every visa and closed or suspended the bank account. Second, every route is built around a company with nothing left running. If you still have a member of staff, an active lease or a live contract, the freeze is not available until those are wound down.

DMCC dormancy: 12, 24 or 36 months

DMCC has the most detailed published rules, set out in its guidance note on Voluntary Suspension of Licence of a DMCC Company under the DMCC Company Regulations 2020.

Eligibility. The company must have an active registration and must have held a valid licence for at least 12 months before the proposed start of dormancy. Branches in DMCC cannot apply. If the company holds more than one licence, the application covers all of them. A company with an active sanction cannot apply.

Term and fees. You choose 12, 24 or 36 months, at AED 5,000, AED 10,000 or AED 15,000 on DMCC's schedule of charges. The lifetime cap is 36 months of dormancy. An extension costs AED 5,000 a year and is only open to a company that has used less than 24 months of dormancy.

What has to happen first. After pre-approval, the company must cancel all visas, permits and access cards, cancel its property lease, cancel third-party permits, and close or suspend its bank accounts. The document list includes shareholder or board resolutions, a letter from the auditor confirming solvency, a landlord clearance letter, clearances from du, Etisalat and DEWA, a Customs clearance for trading licences, evidence of the bank account suspension or closure, and an NOC from the regulator for regulated activities.

What dormancy does. The registered manager is resigned from the date of dormancy, while directors and the secretary stay in office. Portal users are deactivated, and access passes to the shareholder or director chosen in the application. All services stop except extension, reinstatement, termination and portal balance refunds.

How it ends. DMCC sends reminders 90, 60 and 30 days before dormancy expires. At the end, the company must extend (if it has allowance left), reinstate the licence with a new manager, or terminate. If it does none of these, DMCC may terminate the dormant licences.

For comparison, DMCC's verified schedule puts the licence fee at AED 20,285 a year and the establishment card at AED 1,825 a year. A company paying AED 5,000 for a year of dormancy is saving the larger part of its fixed cost for that year, before visa and office costs.

JAFZA company freeze: one year, lease handed back

JAFZA's Company Freeze guide is shorter but just as strict in practice.

Timing. The request must be submitted before the licence expires or within the 30-day grace period after expiry. After that window, a freeze is no longer the route, and the late renewal fine and reinstatement rules take over.

Documents. An owner's declaration on company letterhead freezing the licence for one year, with a reason that is subject to management approval. An undertaking letter. A completed lease termination form, with the keys handed over. Clearance of all outstanding dues from JAFZA Finance. An RTA clearance. All visas cleared with the admin department. DEWA final bill clearance where the company holds a warehouse or plot. A Customs clearance. An Etisalat clearance. The registrar can ask for more.

Fees and timing. AED 3,000 for the freeze and AED 1,000 to reactivate the licence after one year. Courier is AED 10 inside the zone or AED 20 outside. Processing takes 5 to 7 working days.

The real cost question. On JAFZA's published renewal fees, a trading licence renews from AED 5,000, a general trading licence at AED 15,000 and a holding licence at AED 30,000, before the establishment card (AED 1,910) and the lease. The lease is usually the largest line, and the freeze requires you to give it up. If your warehouse or office is the reason the business can restart, compare the cost of finding space again with the cost of keeping it.

Ajman DED: a three-year freeze for AED 2,000

For mainland Ajman licences, Ajman DED's Commercial License Freezing Service is the cheapest published freeze in the country per year of protection.

Fee and term. AED 2,000, for a freeze period of three years. The service page states that the licence cannot be frozen for fewer than three years and lists three years as the limit of the service.

Early exit. The freeze can be lifted at any time before the period ends. The fee is not refunded. Reactivation is linked to Ajman DED's commercial licence reactivation and renewal services.

Conditions. The licence must be valid at the time of application. The establishment must have no workers, the establishment card must be cancelled, and passports cleared from the file. You need the freeze application form and a copy of the external approval licence or NOC from any government body that regulates your activity.

During the freeze. No activity on the frozen licence is allowed. Ajman DED's page states that fines apply under the rules for violating licences if the business trades while frozen.

Delivery. Ten minutes by e-service, with electronic payment.

Compare that with a normal Ajman DED renewal. The verified line items include AED 600 for the economic licence renewal, AED 50 for the application, AED 350 for the signboard permit, AED 200 each for the commercial register, unified activities register and register certificate, a AED 1,500 contribution to the UAE CSR Fund for companies, and Ajman Chamber membership from AED 500 to AED 5,500 depending on category. For a company with nothing to trade for three years, AED 2,000 once is a clear saving over three renewals.

Foreign company branches: the Ministry of Economy freeze

A branch or representative office of a foreign company has two layers of registration: the local licence and the federal registration with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. Freezing only one of them leaves the other running.

The Ministry's Freeze Foreign Company Registration service allows a company to freeze the registration of one or all of its branches or offices in the UAE for one to three consecutive years. The fee is AED 7,500 per year. The conditions are a decision of the management body (or authorised person) stating the period and reasons, no labour on the company with ICP or MOHRE, proof that the registration has been frozen with the competent local authority, and payment of the renewal fees for the freeze period. Delivery is one working day through the Ministry's website or app.

The sequence matters: the local freeze comes first, because the federal application asks for proof of it. If the local authority does not offer a freeze, the federal freeze is not available either, and the branch is back to renewing or cancelling.

Dubai mainland, Abu Dhabi and the other free zones: when no freeze is published

Most UAE companies hold a licence from an authority that does not publish a freeze. For these companies there are three realistic options.

1. Renew at the lowest tier. Drop to zero visas at renewal and keep the licence alive at the minimum cost. On our current rate card, renewal with no visas costs:

Health insurance is not included and is required for visa holders. For a company that plans to restart, a zero-visa renewal in a lower-cost zone can cost about the same as a freeze elsewhere, and it keeps the company fully active: it can still invoice, hold a bank account and sign contracts.

2. Close the company. For a Dubai DET mainland company, the published cancellation fees on investindubai.gov.ae are AED 1,020 for licence cancellation, AED 2,520 for company dissolution and AED 520 for the certificate of dissolution and liquidator appointment, plus newspaper notices and a 45-day period for creditor claims. Our company liquidation guide covers the full sequence. Abu Dhabi's TAMM lists commercial licence cancellation at AED 10 plus AED 10 for Chamber, with a 30 working day timeline and liquidator documents.

3. Move to an authority that offers a freeze. This is rarely worth it on its own, because transferring or re-forming a company costs more than a year or two of minimum renewals. It can make sense if you were restructuring anyway.

What does not work is simply not renewing. Dubai DET does not publish a mainland renewal fee schedule, but an expired licence still blocks immigration services: ICP renews an establishment card only against a valid trade licence, and late establishment card fees run at AED 100 a month. Free zones add their own late fees on top, which is why an unplanned lapse usually ends up costing more than either a minimum renewal or a voluntary closure.

Freeze, renew at minimum, or close: the numbers side by side

Here is how the three options compare for the authorities with published fees. The figures are government or published fees only, before our service fee, lease and visa costs.

A simple way to decide:

• Freeze if you can name a restart date within the authority's maximum period, you value the licence history or trade name, and you can cancel every visa and lease without damage.
• Renew at minimum if you still need to invoice, receive payments, keep a bank account or hold your own residence visa through the company.
• Close if you cannot name a restart date. A dormant company is not free: it still carries tax filings, records, the reactivation fee and the cost of reopening a bank account later.

What a freeze does to visas, the bank account, tax and UBO

Visas and the establishment card. Every published freeze requires the company to be empty of visa holders. That includes the owner. If your own residence visa is sponsored by the company, freezing means cancelling it, and you need another basis to stay in the UAE before you file. Overstay after the grace period is charged at AED 50 a day under ICP's fee schedule. The establishment card is cancelled as part of the process; if it lapses instead, ICP charges AED 100 a month after 30 days, up to AED 1,000, under its establishment card renewal service. Employees' visas follow the normal cancellation route with MOHRE and ICP, including end-of-service settlements.

Bank account. DMCC requires the company's bank accounts to be closed or suspended before dormancy is confirmed. Even where an authority does not say so, a bank will review an account whose licence shows as frozen, and many will not keep it open. Collect receivables and settle payables before you file. Reopening a business account after reactivation means a new onboarding review.

Corporate tax. A freeze pauses the licence. It does not deregister the company from corporate tax. Under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, deregistration is tied to cessation of business, dissolution or liquidation, and a registered company is expected to keep filing its returns, including nil returns, until then. Late filing penalties under Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 are AED 500 a month for the first 12 months and AED 1,000 a month after that. Dormant companies with no income usually have a simple return, but it still has to be filed on the Federal Tax Authority portal. This is general information; confirm with a registered tax agent.

VAT. If the company is VAT registered and stops making taxable supplies, the deregistration rules may apply. Our VAT deregistration guide explains the triggers and deadlines. Leaving a VAT registration open on a frozen company means returns are still due each period.

UBO and records. The company stays on the register, so its beneficial owner register and corporate records must stay current. A change of shareholder during the freeze still needs a UBO update, within 15 working days under Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023, and an FTA records amendment within 20 business days. Keep your accounting records; a freeze does not shorten the retention period.

Audit. DMCC requires an auditor's solvency letter with the application. Free zones that require annual audited accounts may still expect them for the years before and after dormancy, so ask your authority what is required for the frozen period.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Letting the licence expire and calling it a freeze. Expiry starts penalties: AED 200 a month at SHAMS and Meydan after a 30-day grace period, a AED 1,000 late fine at JAFZA, AED 250 at ANCFZ after one month. A freeze is a formal application.
• Missing the filing window. JAFZA accepts a freeze only before expiry or within 30 days after. DMCC requires 12 months of licensed history and no active sanction.
• Cancelling your own visa without a plan. If you are sponsored by the company, freeze only after you have another residence route in place.
• Leaving receivables uncollected. Once the bank account is closed or suspended, incoming payments become difficult to receive.
• Stopping tax filings. A frozen licence does not end corporate tax or VAT registration. Late filing penalties keep running.
• Freezing the local licence but not the federal registration. Foreign branches need both; the Ministry of Economy freeze is a separate AED 7,500 a year application.
• Trading while frozen. Ajman DED applies fines under its violation rules, and DMCC requires the company not to trade until the licence is reactivated.
• Freezing when you will not come back. Over three years, a dormant company can cost more than a clean closure. If there is no restart date, close.
• Assuming every authority offers a freeze. Dubai DET, Abu Dhabi and most free zones do not publish one. Get written confirmation before you plan around it.

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. What we can do is tell you, from your licence and visa list, which of the three options costs less for your company and then run it end to end.

For a company that has gone quiet, we:

• Confirm whether your authority offers a freeze or dormancy service and what it needs from you, in writing.
• Sequence the employee and owner visa cancellations, the establishment card and the lease so that nothing expires on its own and starts a penalty.
• Prepare the resolutions, undertakings and clearance requests, and file the freeze with the authority.
• Model the alternative: a zero-visa renewal on our current rate card, from AED 4,888 a year at ANCFZ or AED 5,750 at SHAMS, or a full closure through our cancellation service.
• Keep your corporate tax registration (AED 400 to register) and VAT position (AED 500 to register) in order, and flag the filings that continue during the freeze.
• Handle reactivation when you are ready to trade again.

Our service fee is quoted after we see your licence, and authority fees are paid at actual. Message us on WhatsApp: talk to an adviser about freezing your licence, or call +971 52 253 5694. Send your licence number, expiry date and the number of visas on the company, and we will reply with the options and the numbers for each.

Frequently Asked Questions