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Guides for home businesses in the UAE
Licences, pricing, delivery and growing a home business in the UAE. Checked against the official sources, updated when the rules change.
- DeliveryHome food businessPricing
Home business delivery UAE: 4 options, AED 17 to 35
Four ways a UAE home business can deliver, compared on real courier rates from AED 17.36 to AED 35, cash on delivery, and the food temperature rules.
· 13 min read
- DubaiHome food businessHome business licence
Sell food from home in Dubai: who actually qualifies
Who can run a food business from home in Dubai, which licence it takes, what Dubai Municipality requires, and the honest position for expat residents.
· 11 min read
- Home business licenceAbu DhabiHome food business
Abu Dhabi home food licence: 2 approvals, AED 1,425
Selling food from home in Abu Dhabi takes two approvals: an ADDED licence and an ADAFSA certificate. The fees, the order to apply in, and the Al Ain rules.
· 11 min read
- PricingHome food businessDubai
Pricing cakes and food from a home business in the UAE
Work out what to charge for cakes and food from a home business in the UAE using real ingredient prices, packaging, your time, commission and margin.
· 12 min read
Start here
What a home business in the UAE actually takes, end to end.
Start a home business in the UAE: licence and TDRA
What it takes to start a home business in the UAE: the licence your emirate issues, the TDRA approval most people miss, published costs, and taking orders.
Home business licence UAE: 7 emirates and the fees
The home business licence in all 7 emirates: what each one is called, who qualifies, published fees from AED 100 to AED 5,500, and who issues it.
Freelance permit or home business licence?
Every UAE authority we could read defines freelance work as providing a service, never as selling goods. What the activity lists mean for a product business.
Where to sell online in the UAE: 4 routes compared
Four ways a UAE home business can sell food online, compared on cost, who brings the buyers, who holds the money, and what you still own after a year.
Getting first customers for a UAE home business
How to get customers for a home business in the UAE: the first ten orders, WhatsApp and community groups, market season, gifting, and repeat buyers.
The licence, emirate by emirate
Who qualifies, what it costs, and where the official pages contradict each other.
Home business licence in Dubai: Intelaq or eTrader
The two home business licences Dubai issues, who each one is open to, what they cost, and what the Department of Economy and Tourism still has not clarified.
Intelaq licence in Dubai: fees, rules, food (2026)
What the Intelaq licence costs in 2026, who qualifies, which food activities it covers, how to apply and renew it, and how it compares with eTrader.
eTrader licence Dubai: is it still issued in 2026?
Dubai's eTrader licence: who qualified, what it cost, and why the official portal went offline with no notice that the licence had been retired.
Mubdiah licence Abu Dhabi: fees and activities
Mubdiah licence fees in Abu Dhabi line by line from TAMM, the Council's list of 43 activities, food and non-food, and how to apply on TAMM in 2026.
Tajer Abu Dhabi licence: who qualifies and fees
What a Tajer Abu Dhabi licence costs on TAMM in 2026, who can actually hold one, the 3 year rule on premises, and how it compares with Mubdiah.
Home business licence in Sharjah: Eitimad guide (2026)
How to get a home business licence in Sharjah: who qualifies for Eitimad, allowed activities, fees, documents, food rules and the route for residents.
Home business licence in Sharjah for expats (2026)
Can an expat get a home business licence in Sharjah? Who Eitimad is for, SEDD's e-commerce licence, free zone options, published prices and the food rules.
Home business licence in Ajman: Reyada guide (2026)
Who qualifies for the Reyada home business licence in Ajman, what it costs, the documents you need, how food activities are approved and how renewals work.
Al Ghad licence in Ras Al Khaimah: fees, rules (2026)
Who can hold RAK's Al Ghad home licence in 2026, what it costs, how to apply, the food approvals, and the Forsa licence for residents who are not Emirati.
Mashroui licence Fujairah: fee, rules, how to apply
Fujairah's Mashroui licence: the AED 100 fee at Dibba, who qualifies when the Arabic and English cards disagree, the health card, and the Ramadan permit.
Home business licence: RAK, Fujairah and UAQ fees
Home business licence fees in Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain: what each one published, who can hold one, and where the official pages went.
How to renew a UAE home business licence
Renewal fees, documents and deadlines for Intelaq, eTrader, Mubdiah and Sharjah's Eitimad licences, and what happens if a licence in the UAE lapses.
Cancel a home business licence in the UAE (2026)
No authority publishes one closing sequence. Chaining the cards gives one: the MOHRE letter, the newspaper notice, the economic department, then the FTA.
Can a UAE home business hire staff?
Five of six emirates ban staff on at least one home licence; Fujairah publishes nothing. What Intelaq allows, to whom, and the federal quota of three.
Food: rules, safety and labels
What you may prepare at home, and what the municipality requires of you.
Sell food from home in Dubai: who actually qualifies
Who can run a food business from home in Dubai, which licence it takes, what Dubai Municipality requires, and the honest position for expat residents.
Abu Dhabi home food licence: 2 approvals, AED 1,425
Selling food from home in Abu Dhabi takes two approvals: an ADDED licence and an ADAFSA certificate. The fees, the order to apply in, and the Al Ain rules.
Home food licence cost in Dubai: the full 2026 bill
Every official fee for running a food business from home in Dubai in 2026: Intelaq, the municipality permit, training, health screening, VAT and renewals.
Food labelling rules for UAE home businesses
What must actually appear on the packaging of food sold by a licensed home business in the UAE, from allergens and dates to what the rules leave open.
Is home business food safe to order in the UAE?
What the UAE rules actually require of a licensed home food business, how to check one is licensed, and who to call in each emirate when an order goes wrong.
Pricing, tax and getting paid
What to charge, what the market charges, and what you owe.
Pricing cakes and food from a home business in the UAE
Work out what to charge for cakes and food from a home business in the UAE using real ingredient prices, packaging, your time, commission and margin.
What home businesses charge in the UAE: 2026 data
Median prices across around 600 items listed by UAE home businesses in September 2026: cakes, sweets, bakes, drinks, hot meals and gathering boxes, by category.
VAT registration for UAE home businesses
The FTA's mandatory and voluntary VAT thresholds for a UAE home business, how EmaraTax registration works, and what to do below AED 375,000.
Corporate tax on a UAE home business
The AED 1,000,000 turnover gate that decides whether a UAE home business pays corporate tax, why AED 375,000 is a different number, and the 2029 extension.
Bank account for a UAE home business
Can a UAE home business use a personal bank account, or does it need a business one? What Emirates NBD, ADCB, Mashreq, RAKBANK and Wio ask for, compared.
Selling, promoting and delivering
Reaching buyers, and getting the order to them.
Advertiser permit UAE: does a home business need one?
Posting your own products on Instagram in the UAE needs no advertiser permit. Paying a creator does. The fees, fines, food ad approvals and who to ask.
Home business delivery UAE: 4 options, AED 17 to 35
Four ways a UAE home business can deliver, compared on real courier rates from AED 17.36 to AED 35, cash on delivery, and the food temperature rules.
Selling beauty and craft goods from home in the UAE
Candles, resin, soap, skincare and jewellery use the same home business licence as food, but not the food safety approval. What applies to each, and who to ask.
For buyers
Ordering from a home business, and what to check first.
How to order from a home business in the UAE
Ordering from a UAE home business in four steps: find it, read the menu, pick a delivery day and two hour window, and pay by card, Apple Pay or cash.
Is it safe to order from a Dubai home business?
How to check a Dubai home business licence yourself, which of three Dubai authorities handles a bad order, and what Dubai does not regulate about delivery.
Is it safe to order from an Abu Dhabi home business?
How to check an Abu Dhabi home business licence on TAMM, what ADAFSA asks of a food business, and the one number behind all three kinds of complaint.
Order from a Sharjah home business: check it first
SEDD publishes eight binding terms a Sharjah home business accepts, plus a licence search that needs no sign-in and takes a trade name. Check before you pay.
How to order a celebration cake in Dubai
What a whole cake costs from a Dubai home business, how much notice to give, how to brief a custom cake, and what to do if it turns up wrong.
Gift boxes and occasion orders in the UAE
What a boxed food gift must carry in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where the two allergen lists disagree, and which invoice a corporate gift order needs.