How to Start a Logistics Company in Dubai?

To start a logistics company in Dubai you need a commercial trade licence covering the specific logistics activities you intend to carry out. That licence comes either from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) if you set up on the mainland, or from a free zone such as JAFZA or DAFZA if your work is import, export and re-export. If goods cross the UAE border you also need a customs client code, which links your licence to Dubai Customs so shipments can be cleared in your name. Mainland government fees start from AED 13,900 for a zero-visa licence, or about AED 18,750 with one investor visa. The lowest-cost free-zone routes start from around AED 6,010 in RAKEZ and AED 6,875 in SHAMS.

The choice between mainland and free zone is the decision that shapes everything else, and it follows from one question: who pays your invoices? This guide covers the activities you can licence, how to choose the jurisdiction, the steps and documents, the customs registration, and what the whole thing actually costs.

What a logistics company does in Dubai

Logistics covers the movement and storage of goods between the point of origin and the point of delivery. In practice that splits into several distinct businesses, and the one you pick determines the activities on your licence.

• Freight forwarding — arranging carriage on behalf of a shipper, usually without owning the vessels or aircraft involved. This is the most common route for a new entrant because it needs no fleet.
• Customs broking — clearing goods through Dubai Customs for other companies. It is a licensed specialism rather than something every forwarder can do.
• Warehousing and distribution — holding stock and releasing it against orders, including bonded storage inside a free zone.
• Land transport — operating trucks and delivery vehicles, which carries its own vehicle and driver requirements.
• Shipping and cargo agency — acting for a carrier in the local market.
• Third-party logistics — taking over a client’s whole supply chain, typically combining several of the above.

Most operators start with one or two of these and add activities to the licence later. Adding an activity is an amendment rather than a new company, so it is better to start narrow than to pay for a wide activity list you do not use.

Why operators base themselves in Dubai

Dubai sits within a few hours’ flying time of a large share of the world’s population, and its ports and airports were built around that position. Jebel Ali is one of the largest container ports outside Asia and anchors the surrounding free zone. Dubai International and Al Maktoum handle the air-cargo side. For a logistics business the practical advantages are straightforward: goods can be brought in, held, consolidated and sent out again without entering the local market, and the customs machinery for doing that is well established.

The commercial terms matter too. Foreign founders can own 100% of the company in a free zone and, since the 2021 reform, across most mainland activities as well. There is no personal income tax. Corporate Tax applies at 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that threshold.

Mainland or free zone: how to decide

This is where new operators most often choose wrongly, and it is an expensive mistake to unwind.

A mainland licence from DET lets you contract directly with customers anywhere in the UAE, including government and semi-government bodies. If your clients are UAE companies who want a local supplier to invoice them, and particularly if you want to bid for public-sector work, mainland is the route. You can also open branches and depots across the emirates without restriction.

A free-zone licence is built for cross-border trade. It gives 100% foreign ownership, customs advantages on goods held inside the zone, and a straightforward path for import, export and re-export. The limitation is the domestic market: selling directly to mainland customers from a free-zone entity normally requires a distributor or a mainland branch, which adds cost and a layer of paperwork.

A reasonable rule of thumb: if most of your revenue comes from moving other people’s goods through the UAE, start in a free zone. If most of it comes from UAE-based clients paying you locally, start on the mainland. Where the split is genuinely even, some groups run both — a free-zone entity for the cargo and a mainland entity for the domestic contracts.

Choosing a free zone

The zones are not interchangeable, and the right one follows your cargo rather than the headline licence fee.

• JAFZA sits alongside Jebel Ali port. It suits sea freight, re-export at volume, and anyone who needs warehousing or yard space close to the quay.
• DAFZA sits next to Dubai International Airport and suits air freight, high-value goods and time-sensitive cargo.
• RAKEZ and SHAMS are materially cheaper to enter and work well for lighter operations — freight forwarding and agency work that does not need port-side facilities.

Proximity is worth paying for when you are handling containers, and worth very little when you are arranging carriage on paper. Be honest about which of those you are before you commit to a location.

Steps to set up

1. Fix the activities. Decide exactly which logistics activities you will carry out, because this drives the licence type, the fee and any additional approvals.
2. Choose the jurisdiction. Mainland through DET, or a specific free zone, on the basis set out above.
3. Reserve the trade name. Names must follow UAE naming rules and cannot conflict with an existing registration.
4. Apply for initial approval. The authority confirms it has no objection to you carrying out the activity.
5. Secure premises. An office, warehouse or yard, with a registered tenancy. Space also determines how many visas you can sponsor.
6. Complete licensing. Submit the final documents, pay the government fees and collect the trade licence.
7. Register with Dubai Customs. Apply for the customs client code so you can clear shipments.
8. Open the bank account and process visas. Both follow licence issuance rather than running alongside it.

A straightforward setup usually completes in about five to ten working days once the documents are in order. Warehousing, vehicle registration and any activity needing extra regulator approval will extend that.

Documents you will need

• Passport copies for every shareholder and the appointed manager, with visa and entry-stamp pages where applicable.
• Passport-format photographs.
• The reserved trade name and initial approval certificate.
• A tenancy contract for the office, warehouse or yard, registered as required by the jurisdiction.
• Memorandum of Association or the free zone’s equivalent constitutional documents.
• For a corporate shareholder: attested incorporation documents, a board resolution and a power of attorney.

Documents issued outside the UAE generally need attestation and, where they are not in Arabic or English, legal translation. Getting that started early is usually what separates a five-day setup from a three-week one.

Customs registration and approvals

A trade licence alone does not let you move goods across the border. You need a customs client code from Dubai Customs, applied for once the licence is issued and renewed alongside it. The code ties declarations to your company, and without it shipments cannot be cleared in your name.

Beyond that, requirements depend on what you carry. Regulated categories — food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and anything restricted — carry their own approvals from the relevant authority, and operating your own vehicles brings vehicle and driver requirements. Because these vary by activity and are updated periodically, confirm the current position for your exact cargo with DET, the free zone or Dubai Customs before you commit to a model.

What it costs

Cost depends on the route, the activity list, whether you need warehousing, and how many visas you sponsor. As a starting point, Dubai mainland government fees begin at AED 13,900 for a zero-visa licence and about AED 18,750 with one investor visa — the itemised breakdown is on our Dubai mainland cost page. Free-zone entry is lower: RAKEZ from around AED 6,010 and SHAMS from around AED 6,875, though a port-side or airport-side zone will price above those.

Three costs sit outside the licence fee and are the ones most often underestimated:

• Warehousing or yard space — usually the largest ongoing line for anyone holding stock, and it sets your visa quota.
• Vehicles and equipment — trucks, forklifts, racking and tracking systems are capital you need before the first delivery.
• Customs registration — the client code is what actually lets you trade, and it renews with the licence.

On tax, Corporate Tax applies at 0% up to AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above it, and VAT registration becomes mandatory once taxable turnover passes AED 375,000 in a rolling twelve months. Government fees and activity lists are set by the authorities and change from time to time, so confirm the current figure for your exact activity mix before you budget.

How Avyanco helps

We handle the parts that stall: matching your activity list to the right licence so you are not paying for activities you never use, choosing between mainland and free zone on the basis of who your customers actually are, and running the licence, customs registration, corporate bank account and visas as one sequence rather than four separate errands. If you are weighing a specific zone against the mainland, we will put the numbers side by side before you commit.