Published: 2026-09-03
Dubai issued 58,337 new business licences across the mainland and its free zones in the first half of 2026 and renewed 173,652 more, over 230,000 licence transactions in six months, according to the Dubai Business Registration and Licensing Corporation (DBLC). In an interview published by Gulf News on 2026-09-03, DBLC chief executive Ahmad Khalifa Al Qaizi Al Falasi described the three tools behind those numbers: the Invest in Dubai platform as a single digital channel for licences and approvals, the Dubai Unified Licence (DUL) as one commercial identity for mainland and free zone companies, and a Dubai Investor Register now in development, under which an investor submits data once and reuses it across authorities. The most tangible result so far is in banking: with unified corporate data linked to banks, opening a corporate bank account takes around three days instead of about 90, Al Falasi said. This article sets out the figures, what each tool does today, and what a founder should prepare in order to use them.
The figures DBLC reported for H1 2026
DBLC is the arm of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) that registers and licenses businesses in the emirate. It was established by Law No. (6) of 2023, issued on 2023-02-06, and its mandate covers licensing policy, the trade name and commercial registers, the Unified Business Number system and the investor journey from application to the start of activity. In the interview Al Falasi said the corporation’s role has expanded from issuing licences to regulating and developing the whole registration and licensing ecosystem, including legislation and the links between government entities and the private sector. Its half-year figures for 2026, as quoted in the interview:
| Indicator | Figure | Period or source |
|---|---|---|
| New licences issued, mainland and free zones | 58,337 | H1 2026 |
| Licences renewed | 173,652 | H1 2026 |
| Issuance and renewal transactions in total | over 230,000 | H1 2026 |
| Licences issued in 2023-2025 versus 2020-2022 | 84% more | DBLC |
| Corporate bank account opening with DUL data, per Al Falasi | from about 90 days to around 3 | interview of 2026-09-03 |
| Corporate bank account opening with DUL data, per DET | from 65 days to 5, a 90% cut | DET release of 2025-11-12 |
Two points stand out. Renewals outnumber new licences three to one, which DBLC reads as existing companies keeping and expanding their Dubai presence rather than closing. And the growth is concentrated, in Al Falasi’s words, in future-focused sectors such as fintech and artificial intelligence, supported by the regulatory environment and digital infrastructure. The figures cover licences issued through DET and the free zone authorities together; DBLC did not publish a mainland versus free zone split.
Invest in Dubai: one channel for licences and approvals
Invest in Dubai is the digital platform developed and operated by DET for setting up and running a business in the emirate. DBLC describes it as a unified channel through which an investor completes the stages of a business set-up in one environment: obtaining the licence, securing the approvals that particular activities require, and accessing the government and private-sector services linked to the company. The stated aim is to replace a chain of disconnected services with a single flow built, in Al Falasi’s phrase, around the investor rather than the process.
Two developments are planned. The platform is to be extended to free-zone businesses so that a wider range of their transactions can be completed on it, and artificial intelligence is to be added so that Invest in Dubai recommends the relevant services and information according to where the company is in its life cycle, from the first licence to expansion. DBLC gave no dates for either step in the interview.
Dubai Unified Licence: one identity for mainland and free zone companies
The Dubai Unified Licence was launched by DET together with the Dubai Free Zones Council on 2023-12-11 as a single commercial identifier for every business in Dubai, whether licensed by DET on the mainland or by one of the free zone authorities. Before the DUL, a company was known by identification numbers tied to each licensing authority, so a group with a mainland entity and a free zone entity had no single corporate identity and no straightforward way to share its data between bodies. The DUL consolidates company records into one registry with a QR code for verification, reduces duplicated submissions and gives government entities and private organisations one source of corporate information. According to DET, more than 900,000 DULs had been issued to mainland and free zone businesses by 2025-11-12.
The banking effect
The clearest gain from the DUL is in corporate banking. Since October 2024 the unified corporate data has been digitally linked to banks, so a bank retrieves verified licence and ownership data from the registry instead of collecting and re-checking paper. DET reported on 2025-11-12 that the average time to open a business bank account had fallen by 90%, from 65 days to five, with more than 3,000 new accounts opened and over 134,000 business banking profiles updated through the system. In the 2026-09-03 interview Al Falasi put the change at about 90 days before the link and around three days now. Banks integrated with the DUL at the time of the DET release were Emirates Islamic, Mashreq, Commercial Bank of Dubai, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates NBD, Emirates Development Bank and Ruya; beyond banking, the DUL is connected to the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, DEWA, Dubai Trade, RTA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Arab Financial Services.
In practice the days are counted from a complete, consistent file. The DUL removes the re-keying of licence data; the bank’s own compliance review of the shareholders, the business model and the source of funds still applies, and it is where most delays now originate. Our guide to corporate bank account opening in the UAE lists what the banks ask for.
Dubai Investor Register: submit data once
The third tool is still being built. The Dubai Investor Register is intended to be a unified digital record for every individual and corporate investor in the emirate. Today an investor who expands re-registers with each authority involved; under the register the information is provided once and reused when the investor opens a branch, acquires a stake in another company, moves a company between licensing zones or invests in areas such as financial markets and real estate. A change of data, say a new passport or a new address, is updated once and reflected across the relevant entities. Al Falasi framed the benefits as fewer administrative requirements, better data integration and better protection of investor information, since data is no longer shared repeatedly.
The register was first announced as part of the AED 18 billion package that Dubai’s Executive Council approved on 2026-07-02; our earlier note on Dubai’s AED 18 billion package and the Unified Investor Register covers that decision and its link to the D33 target of AED 650 billion in foreign direct investment by 2033. The interview adds the operating detail but no launch date.
What changes for a founder, and what does not
For someone setting up in Dubai in late 2026, the practical picture is this:
- The choice between a mainland licence from DET and a free zone licence remains, and it still determines where you may trade, which activities are available and what the office requirement is; see our comparison of mainland and free zone companies in the UAE.
- Whichever route you take, the company receives a DUL alongside its licence. Keep the DUL number and QR code with the licence, because banks and government portals now read the company’s data through it.
- Bank account timing depends on the file behind the DUL: licence, memorandum, passports and Emirates IDs of shareholders and signatories, proof of address, a description of the business and the expected flows. The three to five day figures assume the file is complete and consistent with the registry.
- Amendments, renewals and additional approvals for mainland companies run through Invest in Dubai; free zone companies still work in their authority’s portal until the planned extension is live.
- Group structures with entities in several zones will gain most from the Investor Register when it launches; for now each authority keeps its own registration and know-your-customer file.
How Atlant Capital can help
Atlant Capital sets up and supports companies in Dubai and across the UAE. We handle company formation on the mainland and in free zones: choosing the jurisdiction and the activity codes, preparing the documents, obtaining the licence and the DUL, and then residence visas for the owners and staff. We prepare the bank file to the standard the integrated banks expect and manage the account opening from application to activation, and we handle renewals, amendments and additional approvals through Invest in Dubai and the free zone portals as the company grows. Accounting and tax filings are done by licensed firms from our partner network; our part is the company side, so that the registry data, the licence and the bank file say the same thing.
Conclusion
DBLC’s half-year numbers describe an emirate where new licences and renewals together exceeded 230,000 transactions in six months, and its three initiatives describe how that volume is being handled: one platform for licences and approvals, one corporate identity across mainland and free zones and, once launched, one investor record for the whole emirate. The measurable effect today is in banking, where a corporate account that once took weeks or months opens in days when the DUL data and the bank file line up. For a founder the work has moved from queuing at counters to preparing one clean, consistent set of documents. That is where the time is now saved or lost.
FAQ
How many business licences did Dubai issue in the first half of 2026?
According to the Dubai Business Registration and Licensing Corporation (DBLC), 58,337 new business licences were issued across Dubai’s mainland and free zones in H1 2026 and 173,652 licences were renewed, over 230,000 issuance and renewal transactions in total. DBLC also reported that licences issued in 2023-2025 were 84% higher than in 2020-2022. The figures were given by DBLC CEO Ahmad Khalifa Al Qaizi Al Falasi in an interview published on 2026-09-03.
What is the Dubai Unified Licence (DUL)?
The Dubai Unified Licence is a single commercial identifier issued to every business in Dubai, mainland or free zone, in addition to its ordinary licence. It was launched by the Department of Economy and Tourism with the Dubai Free Zones Council on 2023-12-11 and consolidates a company’s licence and ownership data in one registry with a QR code, so that banks and government bodies read verified data instead of asking for the same documents again. By 2025-11-12 more than 900,000 DULs had been issued.
How long does it take to open a corporate bank account in Dubai in 2026?
For companies whose DUL data is linked to a bank, DET reported in November 2025 that the average opening time had fallen from 65 days to five; in September 2026 the DBLC CEO cited about 90 days before the link and around three days now. Banks integrated with the DUL include Emirates Islamic, Mashreq, Commercial Bank of Dubai, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates NBD, Emirates Development Bank and Ruya. The short timelines assume a complete and consistent file; the bank’s compliance review of shareholders and source of funds still applies.
What is the Dubai Investor Register and when will it start?
The Dubai Investor Register is a unified digital record for individual and corporate investors that DBLC is developing. An investor provides data once and reuses it when opening a branch, acquiring a stake, moving a company between licensing zones or investing in financial markets and real estate, and updates it once for all entities. It was announced within the AED 18 billion package approved by Dubai’s Executive Council on 2026-07-02; no launch date has been published.
