A general trading licence lets one company buy and sell a wide range of goods rather than a single named category. It is the broadest trading permission available and it is what most import, export and distribution businesses actually need.
Through SwiftHub the free zone route starts at AED 4,499 for a zero-visa licence and Dubai mainland at AED 10,999. General trading is usually priced above a single-activity licence in both, because breadth is what you are buying.
What general trading gets you that a specific activity does not
- One licence, many product categories. No amendment every time you add a line.
- Import and export under one permission rather than several.
- Room to pivot. A business that changes what it sells does not change its licence.
What it does not do is override category-specific approvals. Food still needs municipality clearance, medical goods still need their regulator, and a general trading licence does not substitute for either. It widens the commercial permission, not the regulatory one.
Free zone or mainland
| Free zone general trading | Mainland general trading | |
|---|---|---|
| Through SwiftHub, from | AED 4,499 | AED 10,999 |
| Sell to UAE mainland customers | Not directly, in most cases | Yes |
| Import and re-export | Strong fit | Yes |
| Premises | Desk, or warehouse where the zone offers one | Registered tenancy generally required |
| Customs registration | Required if importing | Required if importing |
For import and re-export the free zone route is usually the better one, and RAKEZ is the zone in our range with warehousing and light industrial units alongside the licence. For distribution into the UAE market itself, mainland business setup is the route that reaches the customers.
The costs beyond the licence
- Customs registration, if you import. Separate from the trade licence and required before your first shipment clears.
- Warehousing, if you hold stock. This is usually the largest recurring line and it is not in any licence price.
- Establishment card and visas. Our per-person visa fees are AED 200 typing, AED 300 unemployment insurance, AED 300 portal access and health cover from AED 500, with government immigration charges at cost on top.
- Bank account, AED 1,000 for a standard activity and AED 2,000 where the activity is treated as higher risk. General trading sometimes falls into the second category, and it is worth knowing before you apply rather than after a rejection.
- Corporate tax and VAT registration, AED 600.
VAT, which arrives early in trading
Taxable turnover, not profit, drives VAT registration, and a trading business hits AED 375,000 on a volume of goods that produces very little margin. Voluntary registration is available from AED 187,500 and is sometimes worth taking early if your customers are VAT-registered businesses. The Federal Tax Authority publishes the thresholds.
Do you actually need general trading?
Not always, and it costs more than a narrow licence. If you sell one clearly defined category and expect to keep doing so, a specific activity is cheaper and just as capable. The case for general trading is optionality, and optionality is worth paying for only if you are going to use it.
If you are still choosing between routes, mainland or free zone covers the decision, and the cost calculator prices ours either way. Every zone's own price and DET's fees by legal form are compared on business license cost.
General trading licence questions
A trade licence permitting the buying and selling of a wide range of goods under one permission, instead of naming a single product category. It is the broadest trading activity available.
Usually, in both free zones and on the mainland, because breadth is what you are paying for. If you sell one defined category and intend to keep doing so, a specific activity is cheaper and no less capable.
The commercial permission is there; the regulatory approval is not. Food requires municipality clearance regardless of how broad your trading licence is. The same is true of medical goods, cosmetics and several other categories.
Only if you hold stock. If you do, choose a zone that offers warehousing rather than renting off-zone, because that arrangement usually costs more than the licence difference.
It can. Some banks treat broad trading as higher risk because it is harder to underwrite. It does not prevent an account; it changes which banks are realistic and how much documentation they ask for.
Usually yes, as an amendment with its own fee and wait. If you know you will need it, it is cheaper to license it at the start than to add it in month eight.
Prices last reviewed 29 August 2026. SwiftHub figures are indicative rather than an offer, and your quote is confirmed in writing before anything is filed.
