Free downloads
DIFC cost fact sheets, straight from the official fee tables
Most DIFC price lists are somebody's estimate. These are not: every figure is lifted from DIFC's own client handbooks, with the document control number and approval date printed on the sheet so you can check it yourself.
Quick answer
What is in a DIFC cost fact sheet?
No form required
Here are the fees. You do not have to give us anything for them.
Gating a price behind a form is a way of making people talk to sales. We would rather you had the numbers and came back because they were right. The fact sheet adds the detail — deadlines, exclusions, the compliance calendar — in a form you can hand to a CFO.
| Structure | Can it trade? | Can it employ? | Where the cost really sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private company (Ltd) Operating businesses, advisory firms, holding companies with staff | Yes | Yes | Office space or a co-working desk — leased at market rates, not a registrar fee |
| Innovation Licence Technology and innovation firms — AI, FinTech, gaming, climate, e-commerce | Yes | Yes | Co-working or office space — the licence gives access to premium co-working, priced separately |
| AI Licence AI developers and entrepreneurs building within the Dubai AI Campus | Yes | Yes | Visas beyond the four the first desk carries — discounted, but not free |
| Prescribed Company (SPV) Passive holding, asset ring-fencing, structuring — no trading, no employees | No | No | Corporate service provider — mandatory unless the company is an Exempt Prescribed Company, and usually the largest annual cost |
| Foundation Succession, asset protection, family governance, philanthropy | No | No | Registered agent — required unless the Foundation has a DIFC registered office, and the main ongoing cost |
| Variable Capital Company Investment structures needing capital that flexes with net asset value | Yes | Yes | Corporate service provider — mandatory for all VCCs unless exempt |
| Branch (Recognised Company) Established businesses extending into DIFC without a new legal entity | Yes | Yes | Office space or a co-working desk — leased at market rates, not a registrar fee |
| Fund vehicle Fund promoters establishing a domestic fund in DIFC | Investment only | Via the manager | The registrar charges nothing annually on the vehicle — the running cost sits with the DFSA licence and the service providers. |
We do not publish fee amounts. DIFC’s charges are a fraction of a real all-in budget — office space and people are usually larger than every government charge combined — so a headline figure would be wrong for almost everyone reading it. Tell us your requirements and you get an itemised quotation instead.
Want this broken down per structure, with what each excludes? See the full cost breakdown.
Download
Pick the sheet that matches your decision
Choose a structure, verify your email with a six-digit code, and the document opens. It takes about thirty seconds and there is no account to create.
DIFC Cost & Structure Handbook 2026
Most completeEvery DIFC structure priced side by side, from the registrar's own fee tables — what you pay in year one, what you pay every year after, and the costs DIFC does not charge you for.
For: Anyone comparing DIFC structures before committing · ~8 pages
DIFC Private Company — Cost & Setup Fact Sheet
The full fee schedule for an operating company, the retail and innovation alternatives, and the compliance calendar for year one.
For: Operating businesses, advisory firms, regional headquarters · ~4 pages
DIFC Prescribed Company (SPV) — Cost & Setup Fact Sheet
What an SPV costs to establish and run, who qualifies to own one, and the two restrictions that disqualify most applicants.
For: Holding, ring-fencing and structuring · ~4 pages
DIFC Foundation — Cost & Setup Fact Sheet
Registration is free and the licence is USD 350 a year — plus an honest account of the professional costs that dwarf both.
For: Succession, asset protection and family governance · ~4 pages
DIFC Funds & VCC — Cost & Setup Fact Sheet
Registrar fees for every fund vehicle, the DFSA fund manager and per-fund fees, and where a Variable Capital Company fits.
For: Fund promoters and managers · ~5 pages
Anyone comparing DIFC structures before committing
- 1Your details
- 2Verify email
Common questions
Before you download
- Are the DIFC fact sheets really free?
- Yes. There is no charge and no subscription. We ask for your name, email and phone number, and we verify the email with a six-digit code before the document opens — that is the whole gate. We do it so the figures reach a real inbox we can correct if DIFC changes a fee.
- Where do the figures come from?
- From DIFC's own client handbooks — controlled documents that carry a document control number, a revision number and an approval date, and whose closing section is a fee table. Every sheet lists the exact handbook and revision it drew from. Nothing is estimated or averaged from the market.
- Is a fact sheet the same as a quote?
- No, and the sheets say so on the first page. They cover what DIFC charges. They cannot cover office space or visas, because those are not registrar fees and are not fixed — and those two lines are usually larger than everything DIFC charges put together. For a total, tell us what you are setting up and we will introduce you to a licensed provider who can quote it.
- Which fact sheet should I download?
- If you know your structure, take the sheet for it. If you are still choosing, take the DIFC Cost & Structure Handbook — it prices every structure side by side, which is the comparison that actually decides the question.
- Will I be added to a mailing list?
- No. Verifying your email gets you the document. We may follow up once about your enquiry, because that is why the form exists, but you are not subscribed to anything and there is nothing to unsubscribe from.
Sources
The figures and rules on this page are taken from the primary authorities below and were last checked on 2 August 2026. Fees and regulations change — always confirm against the source before acting.
- DIFC Client Handbook — Private Company (Non-Financial and Retail), DIFC-CS-HB-03 Rev. 02, approved 24 March 2026 — Private company incorporation and annual licence fees, establishment card, sponsorship deposit, data protection fees and the compliance calendar
- DIFC Client Handbook — Public Company (Non-Financial and Retail), DIFC-CS-GL-15 Rev. 05, approved 7 April 2026 — Public company incorporation and annual licence fees
- DIFC Client Handbook — Recognised Company (Non-Financial and Retail), DIFC-CS-GL-14 Rev. 04, approved 28 March 2026 — Branch (Recognised Company) registration and annual licence fees
- DIFC Client Handbook — Foundations, DIFC-CS-GL-18 Rev. 03, approved 30 March 2026 — Foundation registration fee (nil) and the annual operating licence fee, plus the Foundation compliance calendar
- DIFC Client Handbook — Variable Capital Company, DIFC-CS-GL-38 Rev. 02, approved 30 March 2026 — VCC formation and licence fees, and the fees for incorporated and segregated cells
- DIFC Client Handbook — Setting up a Fund, DIFC-CS-HB-01 Rev. 04, updated 8 October 2024 — Registrar fees for fund vehicles — investment companies, protected cell companies, fund limited partnerships, general partners and incorporated cells
- DIFC Client Handbook — Setting up a Non-Financial Entity, DIFC-CS-HB-06 Rev. 09, updated 8 October 2024 — Registered address, lease registration deadlines and the penalty for late registration
- DIFC — Innovation Licence — The subsidised Innovation Licence fee, its duration and what it includes
- DIFC — Venture Studio Licence — The Venture Studio Licence fee and what the price includes
- DIFC — Special Purpose Vehicles (Prescribed Companies) — SPV/Prescribed Company fees, qualifying applicants and restrictions
Every source on this site is listed, with the rules we follow when two of them disagree, on the sources & methodology page.
Need the number for your specific case?
A fact sheet tells you what DIFC charges. A quote tells you what your setup costs — office, visas, service providers and all. Tell us the plan and we will itemise it.