Trade Name Reservation in Dubai and the UAE (2026): Naming Rules, DET and Abu Dhabi Process, Fees and Examples

Your trade name is the legal name printed on your licence, your bank account, your invoices and every government record, in Arabic and English. In Dubai it's also the first thing the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) checks, and a rejected name can stall a company setup for days. This guide is for founders setting up on the Dubai mainland, in Abu Dhabi or another emirate, or in a free zone, and for the PROs who file for them. It sets out DET's naming rules in plain terms, the 2026 fee and process on Invest in Dubai, how Abu Dhabi and Ajman differ, what happens after reservation, and worked examples of names that pass and names that fail.

Quick answer

On the Dubai mainland you reserve a trade name with DET through the Invest in Dubai portal: check availability, apply online with a verified account, and pay AED 620 in total. DET says the service takes about 10 minutes. The name must reflect your activity, end with your legal form (LLC, Est. and so on), be written literally in Arabic and English, and not copy an existing name, brand or someone else's family name.

• No documents needed for DET — just a verified Invest in Dubai account

• Abu Dhabi uses TAMM; Ajman's service totals AED 350

• Free zone companies reserve their name with the free zone, not DET

• A trade name isn't a trademark — register the brand separately with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism

What a trade name is, and where it fits in setup

A trade name is the registered name of a licensed business. For a mainland company it's issued by the economic department of the emirate where you're licensing: DET in Dubai, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) through the TAMM platform, the Sharjah Economic Development Department, and so on. The trade name certificate is an official government document confirming the name, and DET's service page notes it's used in contracts and other official documents.

The UAE government's own outline of mainland setup puts the steps in this order: choose your business activity, choose your legal form, apply for the licence, register the trade name, obtain initial approval, draft the memorandum of association (and a local service agent agreement where required), secure premises, collect any extra approvals, then submit documents and pay the licence fees. The order matters, because the name must suit both the activity and the legal form. Pick those first and the name check becomes straightforward.

Initial approval, which follows the name, is the government's confirmation that it has no objection to the business being set up. It doesn't let you trade yet; it lets you move on to the lease, the memorandum and the licence itself. Our Dubai business setup guide covers the full journey and the choice between mainland and free zone.

Where the trade name sits in mainland setup

Step 1

Choose activity

Step 2

Choose legal form

Step 3

Reserve trade name

DET / TAMM / DED

Step 4

Initial approval

Step 5

MOA and premises

Step 6

Trade licence

name printed in Arabic and English

DET's naming rules in Dubai

DET publishes its guidelines on the Invest in Dubai service page. Translated into practical checks, they are:

It must be a proper name, and decent. The name can't contain obscene or indecent words or anything offensive to the public.

No divine names. You can't include the name of Allah, the word "God" or His attributes.

Family and tribe names only if they're yours. Don't use family names, tribe names or other individuals' names unless the name belongs to the licensee. "Al Falasi Technical Services" works for a licensee from that family; it doesn't work for an unrelated founder who likes the sound of it.

Distinct from what exists. The name must not be similar to existing names in Dubai, to government projects or to international brands. DET reserves the right to cancel or change a trade name if it later finds a similar name already exists, so a name that slips through isn't safe.

Written literally, not translated. This is the rule that catches most foreign founders. DET's own example: the Arabic name meaning "the high sky" must be written in English as Al Samaa Al Aalya, not translated as "High Sky"; and if the Arabic is simply the phonetic spelling of "High Sky", the English must read High Sky. The two versions have to say the same sounds.

Logical and tied to the activity. The name must reflect what the business does. DET's example is that "Al Madina Contracting" can't be used for a building materials trading licence, because the name promises contracting.

No restricted organisations. Names linked to global political organisations or religious sectarian organisations are banned.

The federal u.ae guidance adds rules that apply in every emirate: the name must end with the acronym of the legal form, such as LLC, Est., PJSC or PrJSC; it can't breach public morals or public order; it must exclude religious names, the names of governing authorities, and the names or logos of outside bodies; and it must not already be registered.

How to reserve a trade name on Invest in Dubai

DET handles trade names through Invest in Dubai, its single portal for mainland licensing. The service page says no documents are required beyond a verified account on the portal, which you create and verify with UAE Pass.

Reserving a Dubai mainland trade name

1. 1

   Decide activity and legal form

   Choose the licensed activity (or activities) and the legal form — LLC, sole establishment, civil company, branch — because the name must match both.

2. 2

   Check availability

   Search your proposed name in the Invest in Dubai name check. Try variations; names that differ only by a letter or a plural are likely to be treated as similar.

   Invest in Dubai portal
3. 3

   Prepare the Arabic and English versions

   Write the name literally in both scripts, so each sounds the same, and add the legal form suffix.

4. 4

   Apply online or at a service centre

   Submit the request with your verified Invest in Dubai account, or at any DET service centre.

5. 5

   Pay the fee

   Pay the total of AED 620 online or through the listed banks and payment channels.

6. 6

   Download the trade name certificate

   DET says the service completes within 10 minutes for straightforward names. Keep the certificate for initial approval and the licence application.

The fee is the government's figure for issuing the trade name. Setup agents and typing centres charge separately for their time, so a quote of several hundred dirhams more than AED 620 reflects their service, not a higher official fee. DET's page lists direct debit through several Dubai banks and cash or cheque payment through others; online card payment is the usual route on the portal.

How long the reservation lasts

DET's service page doesn't state how long a reserved name stays valid, and secondary sources disagree, quoting anything from 60 days to six months. Rely on the expiry date printed on your own trade name certificate, and plan to obtain initial approval and the licence well before it. The u.ae guidance confirms that trade name certificates can be renewed, so a name that's about to lapse can usually be extended rather than lost, but renewing costs another fee and isn't guaranteed if someone has since registered a similar name elsewhere.

Abu Dhabi, Ajman and the other emirates

Every emirate's economic department runs its own trade name service, and the rules are broadly the same: the name must match the activity and legal form, be distinct, and avoid restricted words. The process and the fees differ.

Abu Dhabi. Names are reserved on TAMM, the Abu Dhabi government services platform, for ADDED. According to a Gulf News walkthrough of the TAMM service, you choose your legal form and activity, search the name, and the system then suggests pre-approved names in English and Arabic. Picking a suggested name avoids manual review; customising your own sends it to ADDED for review and approval, after which you pay and download the certificate. TAMM has said the reservation takes up to two days. Fees and the reservation period are shown on TAMM when you apply; confirm them there, as published third-party figures are dated.

Ajman. The Ajman Department of Economic Development's service is a single online request: log in with UAE Pass, enter the details and choose the name, pay, and receive the reservation certificate. The government service catalogue lists the fees as AED 100 for initial approval, AED 50 for the service request and AED 200 for the name, a total of AED 350.

Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah. Each runs its own service through its economic department (Fujairah through its municipality), linked from the u.ae mainland setup page. Some charge extra for particular name types; Khaleej Times, for instance, reported a separate fee in Sharjah for issuing a translated trade name. Check the current fee table on the relevant department's site before you apply.

A trade name reserved in one emirate doesn't automatically give you rights in another. If you plan to operate under the same name across emirates, search the federal National Economic Register, which pulls licence and trade name data from the economic departments, before you settle on it.

Free zone company names

Free zone companies don't go to DET. Each free zone authority checks and reserves the company name itself, as part of incorporation, and applies its own rulebook alongside the same broad principles. The suffix changes too: free zone names typically end in FZE, FZCO, FZ-LLC or, in the financial free zones, Ltd.

Fees and validity vary by zone. ADGM's Registration Authority, for example, charges USD 200 for a name reservation. DMCC publishes detailed company name rules (version 2, last updated October 2020): a name can't start with "International", "Middle East" or "Global", must be longer than three letters, can't use punctuation other than "&", and a branch must carry exactly the parent company's name. DMCC also lists words allowed only for matching activities — "Capital" or "Investment" only for investment activities, "Finance" or "Fund" only for regulated financial activities, "Holding" or "Group" only for holding companies, "General Trading" only with the general trading activity — and says its trade name certificate is valid for six months. If you're choosing between zones, our guides to DMCC, ADGM and IFZA explain the wider setup in each.

Trade name vs trademark

The u.ae guidance draws the line clearly: the emirate's economic department registers the trade name, and the Ministry of Economy and Tourism registers trademarks. They protect different things.

A trade name is your legal identity within the licensing system. It stops another business in that system from registering an identical or confusingly similar name, but it doesn't give you exclusive rights to use the name as a brand, a logo or a product name across the UAE. A trademark, registered federally, does. If you sell products, plan to franchise, or expect copycats, file a trademark for your brand name as well.

The two can clash. DET's rules already refuse names similar to international brands, and a business that registers a trade name close to someone else's registered trademark risks having to change it. Search the trademark register before you reserve a name, not after you've printed stationery and signage.

Worked examples: names that pass and names that fail

1. A mismatch with the activity. Priya is licensing a building materials trading LLC and proposes "Gulf Star Contracting LLC". DET will reject it: the name promises contracting, but the activity is trading. "Gulf Star Building Materials Trading LLC" fits.

2. A translated name. Marco wants the Arabic version of his consultancy name to be the Arabic word for "bright path" because it sounds better to Arabic-speaking clients. DET requires literal writing, so the Arabic must spell out the English sounds, or he must choose an Arabic name and use its transliteration in English. He can't have two names that mean the same thing but sound different.

3. A family name that isn't the owner's. Daniel, a British founder, proposes "Al Rashidi Luxury Cars Trading LLC" because he likes how it sounds. It fails: Al Rashidi is a family name that doesn't belong to the licensee. If his Emirati partner Khalid Al Rashidi is one of the owners, the name is his to use and can pass. In a free zone such as DMCC the rule is stricter: a family name needs the shareholder's first name with it, as in "Khalid Al Rashidi Luxury Cars Trading".

4. A near-duplicate. "Bright Path Consultancy LLC" exists. "Brightpath Consultants LLC" is likely to be treated as similar and refused, and if it slips through, DET can cancel or change it later. "Brightway Management Consultancy LLC" is safer.

5. The cost of getting it wrong. A Dubai founder pays AED 620 for a name, then changes his activity from consultancy to e-commerce trading before initial approval. The name no longer matches, so he must reserve a new one and pay again. Total: AED 1,240 in official fees instead of AED 620, plus any agent charges and a few days' delay. Fixing activity and legal form first avoids the double fee.

Before you reserve a name

0/7

• Activity and legal form decided — the name must match both
• Legal form suffix added (LLC, Est., FZE, FZCO…)
• Arabic and English versions sound the same; nothing translated
• No family or tribe name unless it's the licensee's own
• No divine names, authority names, country or emirate names without approval
• Searched on Invest in Dubai or TAMM and the National Economic Register
• Checked the trademark register for similar brands

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Common reasons names are rejected, and the fix

Most refusals fall into a handful of patterns. Similarity is the commonest: a different spelling, a plural or an added generic word rarely makes a name distinct. Change the distinctive word, not the filler. Activity mismatch comes next, often because founders reserve a name before settling the activity; fix the activity first. Translation catches anyone who wants an elegant Arabic equivalent rather than a literal one. Restricted words include religious terms, the names of authorities and ruling families, and, under the federal guidance, names or logos belonging to outside bodies. Words that imply a regulated or specific business, such as "finance", "capital", "holding" or "general trading", are typically allowed only when your licensed activity matches, as DMCC's restricted list spells out.

If a name is refused, the reason is shown with the decision. Choose a new name that addresses it and apply again; don't resubmit the same name with cosmetic changes. Where you need a name that's close to an existing brand you own or license, keep the trademark certificate or franchise agreement ready, as the economic department may ask for proof that you're entitled to use it.

Official links

• Invest in Dubai — Request to book a trade nameDET guidelines, AED 620 fee, apply online
• u.ae — steps to start a business on the mainlandFederal trade name rules and links to every emirate
• Ajman — Trade Name Reservation serviceAjman DED fees and steps
• u.ae — National Economic RegisterSearch licences and names across emirates
• ADDED (Abu Dhabi)Abu Dhabi mainland licensing; names reserved on TAMM

After the name: next steps

With the certificate in hand, apply for initial approval, then sign your lease and memorandum and pay the licence fees; our UAE business licence guide explains the licence stage and costs. Once the licence is issued, the clock starts on your corporate tax registration, which is due within 3 months of incorporation; see our corporate tax registration guide. If you ever need to confirm another company's name and licence, our guide to checking a trade licence in Dubai shows how. When you start invoicing, make sure the name on every invoice matches the licence exactly; the free invoice generator helps.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

How much does trade name reservation cost in Dubai?

Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) lists the total cost of issuing a trade name as AED 620 on Invest in Dubai. That's the government fee; a typing centre or setup agent will add its own charge if you use one. Free zones and other emirates set their own fees — Ajman's trade name reservation service, for example, totals AED 350.

How long does a Dubai trade name reservation take?

DET says the service is completed within 10 minutes when you apply online through Invest in Dubai or at a service centre, provided the name passes its checks. Names that need a closer look, for example because they're close to an existing name or use a family name, can take longer or be refused.

Can I use my family name in a Dubai trade name?

Only if the name belongs to the licensee. DET's guidelines ask you not to use family names, tribe names or other individuals' names unless the name is the licence holder's own. So Ahmed Al Mansoori can generally use 'Al Mansoori' for his own business, but not someone else's family name.

Is a trade name the same as a trademark in the UAE?

No. The emirate's economic department registers the trade name, which is the legal name on your licence. A trademark is registered separately with the federal Ministry of Economy and Tourism and protects your brand name or logo across the UAE. Many businesses need both, especially if they sell products or plan to franchise.

Do I need to reserve a trade name for a free zone company?

Yes, but with the free zone authority, not DET. Each zone runs its own name check and reservation as part of company formation, with its own rules, suffixes such as FZE, FZCO or FZ-LLC, and fees. ADGM, for example, charges USD 200 to reserve a name.

Can I write my Dubai trade name in English only?

No. Licences show the trade name in both Arabic and English, and DET expects the two to correspond. Its guidelines say names must be written literally rather than translated: an Arabic name is transliterated into English letters, and an English name is written phonetically in Arabic.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 12 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Request to book a trade name — Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai (Invest in Dubai) · accessed 12 October 2026
2. 2.Steps to start a business on the mainland — UAE Government portal (u.ae) · accessed 12 October 2026
3. 3.Trade Name Reservation — Ajman Government (Department of Economic Development) · accessed 12 October 2026
4. 4.National Economic Register — UAE Government portal (u.ae) · accessed 12 October 2026
5. 5.ADGM Registration Authority — Overview of Fees 2025 — Abu Dhabi Global Market · accessed 12 October 2026
6. 6.Interested in setting up a business in Abu Dhabi? Here are the steps you need to follow — Gulf News · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.UAE: How to register trade name for businesses; fees, guidelines explained — Khaleej Times · accessed 12 October 2026
8. 8.Company Name Reservation Rules and Guidelines (Version 2) — DMCC · accessed 12 October 2026