Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (West, South & Central) |
| ISO 3166-1 | AE / ARE |
| Registry | Emirate DED (mainland); zone authority (free zone) |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in United Arab Emirates and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | TRN | Federal Tax Authority (FTA) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Trade Licence Number (mainland) / Registration Number (free zone) | Emirate DED (mainland); zone authority (free zone) |
Sector regulators
CBUAE · CMA · DFSA · FSRA · TDRA
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Limited Liability Company (mainland) | LLC | 1–50 partners; liability limited to capital contribution; 100% foreign ownership permitted for most activities under FDL 32/2021. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Sole Establishment | — | Single natural-person trade licence on the mainland; owner bears unlimited personal liability; 100% foreign ownership permitted (local service agent required for non-professional activities). Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
| Civil Company | — | Two or more licensed professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants) practising together under a shared trade name; governed by the Civil Transactions Law rather than the CCL; partners bear joint and several liability. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership. |
| General Partnership Company | — | Two or more natural-person partners, all UAE nationals, jointly and severally liable for all company obligations under FDL 32/2021; rarely used by foreign investors. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership. |
| Limited Partnership Company | — | One or more general partners with unlimited joint liability plus one or more silent partners liable only to the extent of their capital contribution; governed by FDL 32/2021. Closest US equivalent: Limited Partnership (LP). |
| Public Joint Stock Company | PJSC | Minimum capital AED 30 million; board required; shares publicly tradable on UAE exchanges. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Private Joint Stock Company | PrJSC | Minimum capital AED 5 million; shares not publicly traded; governed by FDL 32/2021. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Free Zone Establishment / Free Zone Company | FZE / FZC | Single-shareholder (FZE) or multi-shareholder (FZC) closely held entity incorporated within a UAE free zone under zone-specific rules; liability limited to share capital; shares not publicly tradable. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| DIFC Private Company (Limited by Shares) | Ltd | Closely held company incorporated under DIFC Companies Law (DIFC Law No. 5 of 2018); English common law; registered with DIFC Registrar of Companies; maximum 50 shareholders; shares not publicly tradable. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| DIFC Public Company (Limited by Shares) | PLC | Public company incorporated under DIFC Companies Law; minimum capital USD 100,000; may offer securities to the public; listed on NASDAQ Dubai or DIFX. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| DIFC Prescribed Company | PC | Reduced-footprint private company limited by shares under DIFC Prescribed Company Regulations 2024; used as a holding or SPV vehicle within a group; exempt from filing annual audited accounts. Equivalent to a US LLC (single-member). |
| DIFC Limited Liability Partnership | LLP | Partnership with separate legal personality and limited liability for all partners; incorporated under DIFC LLP Law; commonly used by professional services firms. Closest US equivalent: LLP. |
| ADGM Private Company (Limited by Shares) | Ltd | Closely held company incorporated under ADGM Companies Regulations 2020; English common law; registered with ADGM Registration Authority; shares not publicly tradable. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| ADGM Public Company (Limited by Shares) | PLC | Public company incorporated under ADGM Companies Regulations 2020; may offer securities to the public and list on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| ADGM Limited Liability Partnership | LLP | Partnership with separate legal personality and limited liability for all partners; incorporated under ADGM LLP Regulations; used primarily by professional services firms. Closest US equivalent: LLP. |
| Branch of Foreign Company | — | Extension of a foreign parent entity; no separate legal personality; mainland registration via MoE and emirate DED, or free zone / DIFC / ADGM registration via the respective authority. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
| Foundation (DIFC / ADGM) | — | Non-corporate legal entity used for wealth structuring, succession planning, and charitable purposes; incorporated under DIFC Foundations Law 2018 or ADGM Foundations Regulations 2017; assets held separately from the founder. Closest US equivalent: Statutory/Business Trust. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | Trade Licence (Rukhsa Tijariya) |
| Constitutive Documents | Memorandum of Association |
| Tax Registration | TRN Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Trade Licence (Rukhsa Tijariya) |
| Ownership Records | Shareholders Register |
| Governance Records | MoA or MoE Extract (Managers/Directors Section) |
| Signing Authority | All required: Power of Attorney (Wakala) + Arabic Translation (Certified) |
| Address | Any one of: Ejari Tenancy Contract · DEWA / ADDC Bill · كشف حساب بنكي |
| Good Standing | Certificate of Good Standing |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Trade Licence (Rukhsa Tijariya) | Legal Registration, Operating Permit |
| Memorandum of Association | Constitutive Documents |
| TRN Certificate (FTA) | Tax Registration |
| Shareholders Register | Ownership Records |
| MoA or MoE Extract (Managers/Directors Section) | Governance Records |
| Power of Attorney (Wakala) | Signing Authority |
| Arabic Translation (Certified) | Signing Authority |
| Ejari Tenancy Contract | Address |
| DEWA / ADDC Bill (خلال 90 يومًا) | Address |
| كشف حساب بنكي (خلال 90 يومًا) | Address |
| Certificate of Good Standing / DED Status Letter / Free Zone Authority good-standing letter | Good Standing |
| Sector-Specific License | CBUAE Licence |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Dual-registered entities must provide both.
- Tax Registration: Single certificate covers VAT and Corporate Tax.
- Operating Permit: Doubles as business-registration evidence for mainland entities.
- Sector-Specific License: Collect only for regulated-sector entities.
- Governance Records: Mainland LLC uses Mudir (Manager); JSCs and free-zone entities use Directors.
- Signing Authority: UAE is NOT a Hague Apostille party — full legalisation chain required.
- Address: Lease (no recency bound) or utility bill or bank statement dated within 90 days. Same document satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
- Good Standing: Mainland: request the Certificate of Good Standing from the issuing emirate’s DED (some emirates issue a ‘To Whom It May Concern’ status letter instead — accept either). Free zone: request from the zone authority (DMCC, DIFC, JAFZA, ADGM, etc.). Distinct from the Trade Licence, which proves authorisation to operate, not current standing. Banks typically require issuance within 30 days.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Manager (Mudir — مدير) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Named executive managing mainland LLC; day-to-day authority; named in MoA. |
| General Manager | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Operational head; common in free zones and branch offices. |
| Director (JSC / DIFC / ADGM) | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board-level governance role in PJSC, PrJSC, DIFC LTD, or ADGM Ltd. |
| Authorised Signatory | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Person empowered to bind the entity; named in POA or board resolution. |
| Nominee (Wakil — وكيل) | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Registered nominee under Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023; must be notified of changes within 15 days. |
Additional fields
Country-specific fields you’ll need to collect during onboarding, beyond the document uploads.| Field | Applies to | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Free Zone Registration Number | shareholder | Zone entities carry a separate zone registration number from any mainland Trade Licence; both required if dual-registered. |
Notes
- UAE is NOT a Hague Apostille party (confirmed HCCH Status Table, 31-XII-2025). Foreign POAs require: home-country notarisation → UAE Embassy/Consulate attestation → MOFAIC attestation. Apostille alone is not sufficient.
- Mainland vs. free zone are legally distinct tracks. DIFC/ADGM entities are governed by English common law under DFSA/FSRA; not subject to MoE or emirate DED jurisdiction. Collect the correct registration document for the applicable track.
- Capital markets and securities are regulated by CMA (Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2025, in force 2026-01-01); CMA replaces the former SCA. Treat any pre-2026 SCA licence as a current CMA licence.
- Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 (issued 2023-11-06, in force 2023-11-16) superseded Decision No. 58 of 2020. New Decision introduced a nominee-board-member register and penalties under Cabinet Decision No. 132 of 2023. Do not cite 58/2020 as current.