F&B Business Setup Package

Yes. Since the 2021 Companies Law amendment, foreign nationals can hold 100% ownership of a mainland LLC in the UAE for most F&B activities, with no local sponsor required. Certain emirate-specific activities may still carry conditions; our team confirms eligibility for your specific concept and trade activity code before any fees are paid.

The DET (Dubai Economy and Tourism) trade license authorises your company to operate commercially. The Dubai Municipality food license — issued by the Food Control Department — separately certifies that your specific premises, kitchen layout, and food-handling processes meet public health standards. Both are mandatory, and you cannot obtain the food license without a valid trade license already in hand.

The DET trade license can be issued in as few as five working days once documents are complete. Civil Defence inspections, however, depend on a physical site visit after fit-out — and the inspection queue in Dubai currently runs four to eight weeks. We book your inspection slot the day your fit-out contractor confirms a handover date, so you are never waiting in queue after the fact.

Mainland is the default choice for any restaurant serving the general public, as free zone entities cannot trade directly with mainland customers without a distributor. DIFC and Meraas free zones are exceptions: they have their own food-licensing authorities and are ideal for high-footfall F&B destinations. We map your concept against your target customer base and give a written jurisdiction recommendation before you commit to any location.

A realistic end-to-end timeline from company incorporation to receiving the food establishment permit and Civil Defence NOC is 8 to 12 weeks for a mainland restaurant. The DET trade name and initial approval take 3 to 5 working days; the DM food license review runs 5 to 15 working days after kitchen layout submission; and Civil Defence inspection depends on a physical site visit, which adds 4 to 8 weeks. We compress this by running all submissions in parallel.

For DET mainland licensing, an Ejari-registered tenancy contract is required before the food establishment permit is issued, but initial trade name reservation and DET initial approval can begin before you sign a lease. Critically, we advise clients never to sign a lease before confirming the unit's zone permits the intended food activity under DM land-use rules. Signing first and discovering a zoning restriction is one of the costliest mistakes in UAE F&B setup.

Ejari is Dubai's official tenancy registration system managed by RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Agency). All commercial tenancy contracts in Dubai must be registered through Ejari to be legally recognised. DET and Dubai Municipality require an Ejari-registered lease as proof of premises before issuing a trade license and food establishment permit. Without Ejari registration, your lease is not acceptable as supporting documentation to any UAE government authority.

DET trade license fees for F&B activities on the mainland typically range from AED 3,000 to AED 8,000 annually depending on activities listed and share capital. The DM food establishment permit adds AED 1,500 to AED 5,000 depending on risk category and seating capacity. Civil Defence fees and any required NOCs add further costs. Our package provides a full government-fee schedule before any commitment so you have a complete cost picture upfront.

No -- dark kitchens (delivery-only with no public access) are classified under a different DM food establishment category and typically require a food preparation kitchen permit rather than a full food establishment licence. The Civil Defence and MEP requirements differ as well. Our team advises on the correct licence type for your operating model at the outset, preventing a mismatch between your permit and your actual activity that would trigger compliance issues during inspections.

DM's Food Control Department requires architectural drawings showing kitchen dimensions, workflow zoning (raw vs. cooked separation), ventilation exhaust specifications, hand-wash basin placement, grease-trap location, and surface material specifications. Drawings must be submitted through the DM Montaji portal by a registered consultant. Fit-out may only begin after DM layout approval; starting without it invalidates DM inspection outcomes and can require physical rework at your cost.

Free zone restaurant licenses in DIFC and similar zones can be issued faster -- sometimes within 5 to 7 working days -- but annual costs are typically higher, ranging from AED 10,000 to AED 25,000 or more before rent. The key trade-off is customer reach: free zone entities can only operate within their zone boundaries. A mainland license allows trading across all UAE, which is essential for any restaurant with walk-in customers from the general public.

A Food Control Certificate (also called a food establishment permit) is issued specifically by Dubai Municipality's Food Control Department and certifies that your kitchen, storage, and food-handling processes meet public health standards. It is separate from the DET trade license, which only authorises commercial activity. Both must be valid simultaneously. The Food Control Certificate is renewed annually and requires a DM inspection visit; failure to renew results in forced closure independent of your trade license status.