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UAE company search 2026

UAE company search: find the right register, then check the licence

Updated 13 November 2026Fees from the Ministry of Foreign AffairsAbout 9 minutes to readSearching from your country
The short answer

The UAE has no single company register. Mainland companies are licensed by each emirate, every free zone keeps its own records, and RAK ICC is separate again. Start with the federal National Economic Register: search by licence number or name to see the licence status, activities and dates.

No UAE search shows shareholders. The law keeps them and the beneficial owners private, so for those you ask the company for a certificate of incumbency.

Open the National Economic Register Which register is it on?
Private by law 0 UAE registers that will show you a company's shareholders Licences are public. Owners stay with the registrar, under Cabinet Decision 109 of 2023.

A Dubai supplier wants a deposit. A partner sends a licence from a free zone you've never heard of. Before you can check anything, you need to know which of the UAE's many registers the company lives in, and what that register is allowed to tell you.

Key takeaways

  • There's no single UAE register: emirates, free zones and RAK ICC each keep their own.
  • The federal National Economic Register looks up licences by number, name or activity.
  • Shareholders and beneficial owners are private by law; a certificate of incumbency is how you see them.
  • RAK ICC has no public search; its certificates go only to the company and its agent.
  • The UAE isn't in the Apostille Convention: MOFA attests a company document for AED 2,000.
Chapter 1

Which UAE register holds the company?

The licence or letterhead names the authority that issued it. That name tells you where to look.

Emirate departmentsMainland licences, one department per emirate.Licence lookup online
National Economic RegisterFederal, collecting licences from the emirates and many zones.Licence lookup online
Each free zoneMeydan, SHAMS, IFZA, RAKEZ and dozens more.Ask the zone
RAK ICCInternational companies with no UAE trade licence.Closed registers
What does the paperwork say issued it?
1
Key takeaway

Read the issuing authority off the licence before you search anywhere.

Chapter 2

UAE trade licence lookup on the National Economic Register

The Ministry of Economy built the register to hold every economic licence in the country in one place, active and cancelled, about 1.5 million of them by its own count. It's the fastest first check for a mainland company.

  1. Open the National Economic Register

    Use the licence search. Some routes ask you to sign in with UAE PASS; the basic lookup is reported free.

  2. Search by licence number first

    Or by the economic register number, the trade name, or an activity. A number gives one exact match.

  3. Read status and expiry

    An expired or cancelled licence means the company can't legally trade under it until it's renewed.

  4. Compare the activities

    A licence for general trading doesn't cover consulting, and the reverse.

Emirates keep their own lookups too: Dubai's licences through Invest in Dubai, Abu Dhabi's through TAMM, Ras Al Khaimah's through its economic department. Free zone coverage on the federal register varies by zone, so an empty result for a free zone company proves nothing.

2
Key takeaway

The register confirms a licence is real and current. It never names owners.

Chapter 3

How to check a UAE free zone company

Meydan, SHAMS, IFZA and RAKEZ, the four zones we work with, publish no public company search. Meydan's own advice is to ask the company for its zone-issued papers. So the check runs as a loop:

Step 1Ask the companyLicence, certificate of formation, incumbency, share register.
Step 2Read the incumbencyDirectors, managers, shareholders and signatories in one paper.
Step 3Confirm with the zoneEmail or call the authority with the licence number.

A certificate of incumbency is requested by the company itself through its free zone account, and usually takes 1 to 5 working days. A company that can't produce one within a week is worth a second look.

3
Key takeaway

For free zone companies, the incumbency certificate is the search result.

Chapter 4

RAK ICC company search: the registers are closed

RAK ICC companies are filed with a Registrar in Ras Al Khaimah, but under the RAK ICC Business Companies Regulations the registers of members and directors are not disclosed to the public. There's no search box to type into.

Certificates exist, but they're ordered by the company, its directors or members, or its registered agent. These are the registry fees agents report from the 2026 schedule:

CertificateShowsFee
Good standingIt exists and its fees are paidAED 750
IncumbencyDirectors, shareholders, secretaryAED 1,000
Beneficial owner extractThe people behind the sharesAED 500

So checking a RAK ICC counterparty means asking for a recent good standing and incumbency, then asking its registered agent to confirm them. A genuine company gets both without fuss.

4
Key takeaway

No public RAK ICC search exists. Ask for both certificates instead.

Chapter 5

Who owns a UAE company, and why it isn't public

Every UAE company, free zones included, must file its beneficial owners with its registrar: anyone with 25% or more, or control by other means. Cabinet Decision 109 of 2023 then draws a clear line between what a registrar publishes and what it guards.

Basic data, public by law

  • Name and legal form
  • Articles of association
  • Registered address
  • Managers with decision authority

Articles 4 and 13. Whether each register actually shows managers varies.

Protected

  • The register of partners or shareholders
  • The beneficial owner record
  • Owners' passports and addresses

Article 16: disclosed only with the owner's written consent, or to authorities.

Financial free zones, DIFC in Dubai and ADGM in Abu Dhabi, run their own common law registers outside this decision and publish more. Every other UAE company sits behind Article 16.

5
Key takeaway

Owners aren't hidden from the state. They're hidden from strangers.

Chapter 6

Using UAE company documents abroad: attestation, not apostille

The UAE hasn't joined the Apostille Convention, so a UAE company document used in another country goes through a chain of stamps instead.

Issuing registry or notaryMinistry of Foreign AffairsDestination country's embassy, if it asks
AED 4,000

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rate of AED 2,000 per commercial document. Embassy fees, where they apply, come on top.

6
Key takeaway

Each company paper sent abroad costs AED 2,000 at MOFA. Send only what's asked for.

Chapter 7

How to check a UAE company before you pay it

  1. Match the exact name and licence number

    Letter for letter, including the zone's suffix such as FZE or FZ-LLC.

  2. Check status and expiry

    On the federal register for mainland licences, or from the zone for free zone ones.

  3. Check the activity covers the deal

    Licences list every permitted activity.

  4. Ask for a certificate under three months old

    Incumbency for who runs and owns it; good standing for proof it's current.

  5. Pay only to an account in the company's name

    A personal account or a differently named company is the usual sign of trouble.

7
Key takeaway

Licence first, certificate second, payment last.

Chapter 8

What your own UAE company will show

Someone will check you the same way: a bank, a client, a platform. Here's what they'll find for each company we form in the UAE.

Free zone company

Zone's price plus AED 309, from AED 6,069 in year one
  • Name, licence number, activities, expiry
  • Your name as manager, if the zone shows managers
  • Your shareholding: private
  • You as beneficial owner: private

RAK ICC company

AED 7,709 a year, registry fee included

Compare the four zones on our UAE free zone company page, or the offshore route on RAK ICC company. Renewal dates for both are in UAE annual fees and filings.

8
Key takeaway

Either way your shareholding stays off the public record.

Chapter 9

UAE company search questions, answered

?
How do I check if a UAE trade licence is real?
Search its number on the National Economic Register or the issuing emirate's lookup. For a free zone licence, confirm it with the zone directly.
Can I see who owns a company in the UAE?
Not from a public search. Shareholder and beneficial owner records are protected by Cabinet Decision 109 of 2023. Ask the company for a certificate of incumbency.
Is there a RAK ICC company search?
No public one. Its registers of members and directors are closed, and certificates go only to the company, its officers and its registered agent.
Is the National Economic Register free?
The basic licence lookup is reported free. Some features ask for a UAE PASS login.
Can a UAE document get an apostille?
No. The UAE isn't a member, so documents are attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, AED 2,000 for a commercial document.
Do you form UAE companies?
Yes: a free zone company at the zone's price plus AED 309, or a RAK ICC company for AED 7,709 a year.

Changelog

  • 13 November 2026: first published.
Your own company

Researching the UAE because you'd form there?

A free zone licence from AED 6,069 in year one, or a RAK ICC company at AED 7,709 a year. Neither puts your shareholding on a public search.

See the free zone company See RAK ICC