Company name requirements in Dubai

Company name requirements in Dubai - Makebiz

The company name is the first thing a potential customer encounters. In addition to being associated with your business and easy to remember, the name must also be subject to a number of requirements. In the United Arab Emirates, there is a long list of requirements for choosing a company name. The Dubai Department of Economic Development has the right to reject it in case of non-compliance with any rules and regulations, as well as if the chosen name is already in use. 

Let us list the main requirements for the name:

  • uniqueness — it is important to make sure that the chosen name does not repeat existing names;
  • abbreviations of words are inadmissible;
  • correspondence to the company’s activity, i.e., seeing the name, you should already get an impression of the main service;
  • the content of names of world brands, country or continents, districts and airports, the name of God or divine attributes is unacceptable; 
  • absence in the content of any designations of confessional religious groups, international political associations;
  • it should not begin with the words «international», «Middle East», «global»;
  • the content of punctuation marks and special symbols other than «&» is inadmissible;
  • a subsidiary company must be named identically to the parent company, and a branch must repeat the name of the parent organization.

Some words are allowed only for organizations engaged in certain activities. A full list of requirements can be requested from the state body where the company is planned to be registered. In some cases, it is allowed to use a prohibited word in the license line «working name», but for this purpose it is necessary to obtain permission with the appropriate justification. 

It is worth being prepared for the fact that in the end to the name you have chosen will be added abbreviations denoting the organizational and legal form of the company. These may be: FZ, LLC, etc. Some FEZs have their own rules about this: the name of the freezone will be spelled out at the end, not the legal organizational structure. 

Due to the fact that the name undergoes a thorough review, a requirement has been introduced to submit at least three options to the Department, starting with the more preferred one. If the name is approved, it may be reserved for the company for a specified period of time. This may be a chargeable service with some registration authorities. But only then can the company registration process continue.

Strict requirements of the UAE legislation to the name of organizations are aimed at ensuring the transparency of business. To minimize risks, it is worth contacting Makebiz specialists who will help you go through the whole process of company registration: from reserving the name to opening a corporate account.

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