Closing a company in Dubai properly takes 4 to 10 weeks and typically costs AED 8,000 to 15,000 all-in for a mainland LLC — less for a free zone entity or a sole establishment. Walking away without cancelling is the expensive option: the license keeps renewing in the registry, fines accumulate, and the FTA penalties continue because tax obligations survive until you deregister.
Amary runs the whole closure as one file: license cancellation, visa cancellations, VAT deregistration, corporate tax deregistration and the liquidation report, in the right order, with one fixed fee quoted in writing before we start.
What cancellation actually involves
A Dubai company is not closed when you stop invoicing. It is closed when the licensing authority strikes it off — and the authority will not do that until every linked obligation is cleared:
- employee work permits and residence visas cancelled (yours included, so plan your own status first);
- clearances from the relevant bodies — MOHRE (labour), GDRFA (immigration), DEWA, telecoms, customs code if you imported;
- VAT and corporate tax deregistered with the FTA — two separate applications, each with its own deadline and penalty;
- for an LLC, a liquidator appointed and a creditor notice published in a local newspaper, with a 45-day objection window;
- the final liquidation report filed and the cancellation fee paid.
Mainland vs free zone: two different tracks
| Item (AED, 2026) | Mainland LLC (DET) | Free zone company |
|---|---|---|
| Authority cancellation fees | ≈ 1,000 – 3,000 | 1,500 – 5,000 (zone-specific) |
| Newspaper creditor notice | 500 – 800 | usually not required |
| Liquidator / liquidation report | 3,000 – 6,000 | 0 – 5,000 (zone-dependent) |
| Visa & permit cancellations | 200 – 500 per person | 200 – 500 per person |
| Typical all-in total | 8,000 – 15,000 | 4,000 – 10,000 |
| Typical duration | 6 – 10 weeks (45-day notice) | 4 – 8 weeks |
A sole establishment or professional license with no employees is the simple case: no liquidator, no newspaper notice — the cancellation can clear in days once the tax side is settled.
The order matters
Most do-it-yourself closures stall because the steps are run in the wrong sequence: a license cancelled while a VAT registration is still live leaves a TRN that keeps demanding returns from a company that no longer exists. The sequence that works: stop trading at a clean cut-off date, cancel work permits and visas, file the tax deregistrations, obtain clearances, then cancel the license — with the liquidation report closing the file.
What Amary does
We act as your single point of contact: we prepare the resolutions, coordinate the liquidator and the newspaper notice where required, file both FTA deregistrations and the final returns, chase every clearance, and hand you back the cancellation certificate and the full closing file for your records. Fixed fee, quoted in writing after a free review of your situation.
Planning to close, relocate or restructure? Send us your license details and we will map the full closure — steps, costs, cut-off dates — in a free written assessment within 24 hours. One file, one fee, no loose ends left behind with the authorities.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to cancel a trade license in Dubai?
Four to eight weeks for a free zone company or a sole establishment; six to ten weeks for a mainland LLC, because the 45-day newspaper creditor notice runs inside the process.
What happens if I just stop renewing the license?
Late renewal fines accrue on the license, the immigration file stays blocked, and FTA penalties keep running on the live VAT and corporate tax registrations. Owners and managers can face restrictions on future licenses. An orderly cancellation is almost always cheaper.
Do I need to deregister from VAT and corporate tax as well?
Yes — both are separate applications with their own deadlines: 20 business days for VAT after you cease taxable supplies, 3 months for corporate tax after cessation. Missing them triggers fines of up to AED 10,000 each. We file both as part of the closure.
Can I cancel the license if the company has debts?
Creditors must be settled or formally acknowledged in the liquidation. The 45-day notice period exists precisely to let them object. A closure with outstanding debts needs structuring first — talk to us before filing anything.
Do free zone companies need a liquidation report?
It depends on the zone: some require a liquidator's report, others accept a board declaration of no liabilities. We confirm the exact requirement for your zone before quoting.