The Dubai Department of Economic Development, or Dubai DED, is the licensing and registration authority that approves and processes all mainland licenses.
It has certain trade name guidelines that have to be followed in order to obtain trade name approvals.
While there is no universal naming rules convention followed, these guidelines would be applicable in most Emirates and free zones in the UAE.
For tips on how to name a company, do read through our article on naming your company in the UAE.
General Guidelines
The name should not contain obscenities or words that convey obscenity. Also, the trade name should not be offensive to the general public. This also holds good for a personal name.
The name should not include Allah’s name, or “God”, or His divine attributes, for example (al wader, al alee).
Only a partner’s name can be included in the license. For instance, a license issued to John Doe cannot include the name of John Simpson.
Family names cannot be used as a trade name unless the trade name includes the first name. For instance, Mohamed Al Shams cannot have a trade name ‘Al Shams Trading’. This would have to be changed to ‘Mohamed Al Shams Trading’.
Names should be written literally. Translations are not allowed.
The trade name cannot include the name of any country or government entity.
The business name must reflect the business activity. For instance, ‘Carac Café LLC’, or ‘Pioneer Gate Business Centre’.
The name cannot include names of political organisations, religious organisations, or any other such globally restricted names.
The name should not include any punctuation marks.
Special Features
If the name contains special features, you will have to pay an additional fee between AED 1,000 and AED 2,000.
Trade name that contain foreign words which cannot be translated into Arabic, for instance, “Silver” – Fee: AED 1,000
Trade Name that include regional references, for example “East”, “West”, “International”, “American”, “European” – Fee: AED 1,000
If part of the trade name is a trade mark – Fee: AED 1,000
Trade name including numerical digits, for example “Pioneer 2,000 Trading”. This does not include names where the numbers are written as letters, for example “Pioneer One” – Fee: AED 2,000
Trade name including foreign (non-Arabic) words – Fee: AED 2,000
Trade name including the word “Gulf” – Fee: AED 2,000
Trade name including an abbreviation, for example P.G.B.C Trading – Fee: AED 2,000.
You can download our comprehensive guide to DED Trade Name Guidelines here.
Get in touch with us to complete your trade name reservation and set up your company in Dubai!