DMCC Activity List: How to Choose the Right Licence Activity

Choosing a business activity sounds like a small part of setting up a company. In DMCC, it can shape your licence type, fees, office requirements, approvals and what you are legally allowed to sell or provide.

DMCC currently says it supports more than 1,000 approved activities across 20 sectors. These cover trading, consulting, technology, commodities, logistics, healthcare, AI, Web3 and many other business models.

That wide choice is useful, but it creates another problem. Which activity should you actually put on your licence? The answer should come from what your company will really do, how it will earn revenue and what your contracts and invoices will say. 

This guide explains how to read the DMCC activity list and choose an activity without adding unnecessary cost or creating problems later.

What Is the DMCC Activity List?

The DMCC activity list is the official catalogue of activities that businesses registered with Dubai Multi Commodities Centre can carry out. Each approved activity describes a particular type of commercial work. Your licence then records the activity or activities DMCC has authorised your company to conduct.

You can find the official List of Approved Activities through DMCC's business setup document section.

DMCC's licensing rules make the principle clear: a licence permits a company to carry out the activities specified on that licence.

So if your company is licensed for management consultancy, you should not assume that the same licence automatically allows you to trade electronics, operate a restaurant or provide a regulated financial service.

If you are still comparing jurisdictions, our guide to DMCC company setup in Dubai explains the wider setup process, costs, offices and company structures.

Main DMCC Licence Types

Your business activity needs to fit the correct licence category.

DMCC's rules also provide a separate freelance licensing route for approved freelance activities. The activity comes first. You should not choose a licence category simply because its name sounds suitable.

For example, an IT consultancy and a company trading computer hardware are both technology businesses, but their actual activities are different. One may need a service activity while the other needs a trading activity.

What Types of Activities Are Available in DMCC?

The DMCC business activity list covers a wide range of sectors. Common examples include:

Trading and general commerce: electronics, textiles, consumer goods, food products and other approved products.

Professional services: management consultancy, marketing, recruitment, business advisory and other professional services.

Technology: software development, IT services, cybersecurity, cloud-related activities and artificial intelligence.

Commodities: precious metals, diamonds, agricultural commodities, energy-related businesses and other commodity sectors.

Logistics: freight, shipping and supply-chain-related activities.

Web3 and blockchain: blockchain development, Web3 consultancy, distributed ledger technology services and selected crypto-related activities.

DMCC has also developed specialist business ecosystems. Its AI Licence currently covers seven core AI activities, including AI development, AI language-model development and training, autonomous AI agents and systems and AI research and consultancy.

Its Gaming Licence covers 23 activities such as gaming development, gaming studios, publishing, esports and virtual or augmented reality development.

How to Choose the Right Activity From the DMCC Activity List

Do not start by searching for the activity name you think sounds best. Start with your actual business model.

1. Identify What Customers Will Pay You For

   Ask a simple question: What will appear on your customer invoice?

   Suppose you plan to build websites, sell software subscriptions and offer digital marketing. Those could involve different activities. Calling the company a "technology business" does not answer the licensing question. Write down every service or product you expect to generate revenue from during the first 12 to 24 months.

   Then match those revenue streams against the DMCC-approved activities.

2. Separate Trading From Services

   This is one of the easiest places to make a mistake. If you buy physical products and resell them, you generally need an appropriate trading activity. If you charge clients for expertise or work, you are usually looking at a service activity. Some companies do both.

   For instance, an IT company might provide cybersecurity consulting while also selling networking equipment. Those activities may fall under different licence types, which can affect the licence structure and cost.

   DMCC states that an activity from a different licence type may require an additional licence rather than simply being added to the existing one.

3. Check Whether Your Activities Can Sit Together

   DMCC allows multiple activities, but the way those activities are classified affects pricing. Its current schedule of charges groups activities using their activity codes. For standard trading and service licences:

   • More than six activities sharing the same first two code digits can currently be added for AED 1,500 per additional activity annually.

   • Activities entering another division under the same first code digit can cost AED 10,000 annually for up to six activities in that new division.

   • Activities with completely different first two digits can cost AED 20,265 annually for up to six activities in that new division.

   • An activity belonging to another licence type can require an additional licence.

   Fees can change, so confirm the current DMCC Schedule of Charges before applying.

4. Check for Standalone Activities

   Some activities cannot simply be bundled with the rest of your business. DMCC specifically notes that certain activities such as Single Family Office, real estate, DGCX and professional trader activities can be standalone.

   Check this before structuring a company around several unrelated revenue streams.

5. Check External Approvals

   DMCC approval may not be the only approval you need. Regulated activities can require a No Objection Certificate or approval from another authority. DMCC identifies areas such as financial services, healthcare, virtual assets and some energy-related activities as examples where additional regulatory requirements may apply.

   DMCC Licence Amendment Guidelines also state that regulated activities may require a third-party NOC. 

   Check this before paying incorporation fees. An external approval can affect your documents, timeline, premises and total setup budget.

6. Match the Activity to Your Premises

   Your office or business premises also need to suit the activity.

   DMCC specifically states that a retail activity cannot be carried out from an office or flexi desk if that property type does not permit the activity.

   A consultancy with a small team may work with a flexible office arrangement. Retail, industrial and operational businesses can have very different space requirements.

Should You Choose a DMCC General Trading Licence?

General Trading can make sense when your company genuinely intends to trade a broad range of products.

DMCC currently lists the General Trading Licence at AED 50,265 per year. Its schedule states that General Trading can access activities except oil and gas activities and regulated activities requiring third-party approvals.

That does not mean every trading business needs General Trading.

If you sell one clearly defined product category, a specific trading activity may be simpler and less expensive. General Trading becomes more useful when your planned product range is genuinely broad.

Can You Add a DMCC Activity Later?

Yes. You are not permanently locked into the activities selected when the company is formed.

DMCC allows companies to add or remove activities through a licence amendment. Its current published charge for a licence activity amendment or addition is AED 1,515 per request, before any extra annual activity or licence charges that may apply.

For eligible cases, DMCC states a standard processing time of two business days, excluding any Operational Fitness Certificate process.

Does Your DMCC Activity Affect Corporate Tax?

Potentially, yes. Being registered in DMCC does not automatically mean all company income receives the UAE free-zone 0% Corporate Tax treatment.

A Qualifying Free Zone Person can receive the 0% rate on Qualifying Income only when the relevant conditions are satisfied. Other taxable income can fall under the standard 9% rate.

The Ministry of Finance updated the rules for Qualifying Activities through Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025.

So licensing and tax classification should be reviewed separately.

Common DMCC Activity Selection Mistakes

One common mistake is choosing an activity because the wording sounds close enough to the business. Another is selecting too many unrelated activities without checking how DMCC groups them. That can turn what looked like a simple licence into an additional annual cost.

Other problems include starting regulated work before obtaining approval, selecting a flexi desk for an activity that needs suitable premises and offering a new service before adding it to the licence.

If your business model changes after incorporation, amend the licence first. Nexture's guide to UAE trade licence amendments covers the process and related company updates.

Conclusion

The DMCC activity list gives businesses plenty of choice, but activity selection should be based on what your company will actually do.

Start with your products, services and expected invoices. Then check the relevant activity codes, licence category, combination rules, external approvals and premises requirements. Doing this before registration can save you from paying for activities you do not need or restructuring the licence a few months later.

Frequently Asked Questions