Corporate Secretarial and Compliance Services in the UAE

What’s included

• Trade licence renewals and ongoing regulatory filings with the relevant authority
• Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) register maintenance and filings
• Memorandum of association amendments, share transfers and changes in shareholders or directors
• Guidance on economic substance after ESR reporting was cancelled, and the substance test for free zone companies under Corporate Tax
• Document attestation and legalisation for use with banks, government bodies or an overseas parent

UAE company compliance at a glance

A UAE company’s recurring duties come from its licensing authority, the Federal Tax Authority and, for mainland companies, the Commercial Companies Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021). Free zones set their own company rules.

Obligation	Rule
Beneficial owner test	Any individual owning or controlling 25% or more, directly or indirectly; failing that, whoever controls by other means, then the senior manager
Beneficial owner and partners registers	Created and filed with the registrar within 60 days of licensing
Changes to the registers	Recorded within 15 days
Outside the UBO rules	Companies wholly owned by the federal or a local government (and companies they wholly own), government partners and companies in the financial free zones (DIFC and ADGM); a company owned by a listed company with adequate disclosure rules is exempt only from obtaining and holding beneficial owner details
General assembly (mainland LLC)	At least once a year, within 4 months of the financial year end
Annual accounts (mainland LLC)	Balance sheet, profit and loss account and annual report prepared by the manager within 3 months of year end
Auditor (mainland LLC)	One or more auditors appointed each year by the general assembly
Record keeping	Accounting records for at least 5 years (Commercial Companies Law); tax records for 7 years after the tax period (Corporate Tax Law)

UAE annual compliance calendar: what is filed, where and with whom

A UAE company’s recurring filings go to four bodies: its licensing authority, GDRFA or ICP, MOHRE and the FTA. This table lists each recurring event, its deadline and the platform it runs on.

Event	Deadline	Platform	Authority
Trade licence renewal	Before the licence expires each year	Invest in Dubai, or the free zone’s portal	DET or the free zone authority
Establishment card renewal	Before the card expires	GDRFA Dubai or ICP services	GDRFA Dubai or ICP
Salary payments	Monthly; late if unpaid 15 days after the due date	Wage Protection System	MOHRE
Emiratisation (50 or more staff)	1% more Emiratis in skilled jobs every six months	MOHRE systems	MOHRE
VAT return and payment	28 days after each tax period	EmaraTax	FTA
General assembly (mainland LLC)	Within 4 months of the year end, on at least 21 days’ notice	Company minutes	Commercial Companies Law
Statutory reserve (mainland LLC)	5% of net profit each year, until the reserve reaches 50% of capital	Annual accounts	Commercial Companies Law
Corporate tax return and transfer pricing disclosure form	9 months after the year end; the form applies once related-party transactions exceed AED 40m	EmaraTax	FTA

How do you change a shareholder or manager of a UAE company?

A change of owner or manager must be approved, filed with the licensing authority, then mirrored in the UBO register, the GDRFA/ICP file and the tax record.

1. Pass the partners’ or board resolution approving the change, as the memorandum of association requires.
2. Sign the share transfer or amended memorandum of association in the form the licensing authority (DET or the free zone) requires.
3. File the amendment and collect the updated licence and partners list.
4. Update the beneficial owner register and the partners or shareholders register within 15 days, and file the new data with the registrar.
5. Amend the establishment card with GDRFA Dubai or ICP, and the MOHRE establishment file, if an owner or signatory has changed.
6. Notify the FTA on EmaraTax within 20 business days, for example of a new authorised signatory or an amended trade licence.

Which registers and records must a UAE company keep?

Keep these current and ready to produce; the registrar can demand extra beneficial owner data within 14 days.

• Trade licence and partners list, renewed each year
• Memorandum and articles of association, with every amendment
• Register of beneficial owners (anyone owning or controlling 25% or more)
• Register of partners or shareholders
• Disclosure from any nominee board member, given to the company within 15 days
• Name, address and ID of a UAE-resident individual authorised to give beneficial owner information to the registrar
• Annual financial statements, general assembly minutes and auditor appointment (mainland LLCs)

UAE compliance deadlines and penalties (2026)

The penalties for missed filings are fixed by Cabinet resolution. These are the main deadlines and amounts in force in 2026.

Item	Amount / deadline
UBO and partners registers	Within 60 days of licensing; changes within 15 days
Registrar’s request for more UBO data	Within 14 days
UBO and register violations	AED 5,000 to AED 100,000 per violation (Cabinet Resolution No. 132 of 2023)
FTA tax record update	Within 20 business days; AED 1,000, or AED 5,000 for a repeat within 24 months (corporate tax)
Corporate tax return	Within 9 months of the tax period end; late filing AED 500 a month for 12 months, then AED 1,000 a month
Failure to keep tax records	AED 10,000; AED 20,000 for a repeat within 24 months
Corporate tax deregistration	Within 3 months of cessation, dissolution or liquidation; AED 1,000 a month if late, capped at AED 10,000
General assembly (mainland LLC)	Within 4 months of the financial year end

Licence renewal fees and late-renewal fines are set by DET or the free zone authority. AED 5,000 and AED 100,000 are the lowest and highest amounts in the UBO penalty table.

What does a late UAE corporate tax return cost?

Filing and paying 3 months late adds AED 3,468.75 in penalties to a corporate tax bill of AED 56,250 in the example below. The monthly late-filing fine doubles after 12 months, and the late-payment charge runs for every month the tax is unpaid.

1. Corporate tax due: (1,000,000 − 375,000) × 9% = 625,000 × 9% = AED 56,250, payable by 30 September 2026.
2. Months late: October, November and part of December 2026 = 3 months, because each month or part of a month counts.
3. Late-filing penalty: 3 × AED 500 = AED 1,500.
4. Late-payment penalty: 56,250 × 14% ÷ 12 = AED 656.25 a month; 656.25 × 3 = AED 1,968.75.
5. Total penalties: 1,500 + 1,968.75 = AED 3,468.75. Total paid: 56,250 + 3,468.75 = AED 59,718.75.
6. At 14 months late instead: late filing = (12 × AED 500) + (2 × AED 1,000) = AED 8,000; late payment = 656.25 × 14 = AED 9,187.50; total 8,000 + 9,187.50 = AED 17,187.50.

Assumptions: mainland LLC with a financial year ended 31 December 2025; revenue above AED 3m, so no Small Business Relief; taxable income AED 1,000,000; return filed and tax paid together on 20 December 2026. Penalties follow Cabinet Decision No. 75 of 2023 as amended and run from the day after the due date.

Compliance dates for a 31 December year-end UAE company (2026 to 2027)

For a company whose financial year ends on 31 December 2026, the fixed compliance dates run from October 2026 to September 2027. The VAT dates assume quarterly tax periods that follow the calendar quarters.

When	What	Deadline	Authority
28 October 2026	VAT return and payment for July to September 2026	28 days after the quarter	FTA
31 December 2026	Second-half Emiratisation check for companies with 50 or more staff	1% growth in Emiratis in skilled jobs for the half year	MOHRE
28 January 2027	VAT return and payment for October to December 2026	28 days after the quarter	FTA
31 March 2027	Manager prepares the 2026 balance sheet, profit and loss account and annual report	3 months after the year end	Commercial Companies Law
9 April 2027	Last day to send notice of a general assembly held on 30 April	21 days before the meeting	Commercial Companies Law
28 April 2027	VAT return and payment for January to March 2027	28 days after the quarter	FTA
30 April 2027	General assembly approves the accounts, appoints the auditor and approves the 5% reserve transfer	4 months after the year end	Commercial Companies Law
28 July 2027	VAT return and payment for April to June 2027	28 days after the quarter	FTA
30 September 2027	Corporate tax return and payment for 2026, with the transfer pricing disclosure form if required	9 months after the year end	FTA

Common UAE compliance mistakes

Most penalties arise when a change is recorded in one place but not the others.

• Updating the licence but not the UBO register: changes must be recorded within 15 days, and a stale register is a separate violation.
• Forgetting the FTA after a change: signatory, activity, address and licence changes must reach EmaraTax within 20 business days.
• Cancelling the licence without deregistering for tax: the deregistration application is due within 3 months, with late penalties up to AED 10,000.
• Treating ESR as fully closed: reporting has ended, but obligations for earlier years and any FTA requests about them still apply.
• No UAE-resident contact for the registrar: the company must name a resident individual authorised to disclose beneficial owner data.
• Skipping a mainland LLC’s annual general assembly: it must meet within 4 months of year end, and it appoints the auditor each year.

UAE compliance terms explained

These terms come up in every UAE company’s annual compliance cycle.

Term	Meaning
Registrar	The authority that keeps the company’s commercial register: DET for a Dubai mainland company, or the free zone authority for a free zone company. Beneficial owner and partners data is filed with it.
Real beneficiary	The term UAE law uses for a beneficial owner: the individual who ultimately owns or controls the company. Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023 sets the rules.
Partners register	The company’s record of each partner or shareholder and their stake. It is filed with the registrar together with the beneficial owner register.
General assembly	The meeting of a mainland LLC’s partners. The manager must call it at least once a year and send notice at least 21 days before it meets.
Statutory reserve	A reserve a mainland LLC builds from profit by setting aside 5% of net profit each year. The partners may stop the transfers once the reserve equals 50% of the capital.
Wage Protection System (WPS)	MOHRE’s electronic system for paying private-sector salaries. An employer that has not paid within 15 days of the due date is late, and from the 17th day MOHRE suspends new work permits.
Establishment card	The company’s file with GDRFA Dubai or ICP, showing its partners and authorised signatories. The company needs it to apply for work permits and residence visas.