How to renew a UAE home business licence

How do you renew an Intelaq licence, and what does it cost?

An Intelaq renewal is not something you finish online yourself. Dubai SME's own renewal service page says the request goes by email, to info@sme.ae, rather than a self-service portal, with four documents attached: your National ID, your passport or an original decree addressed to the Department of Economic and Tourism, your current Intelaq licence, and a report on your project's progress over the past year.

The fee on that page is AED 1,050. Dubai SME states the request itself is processed in one working day, with a stated service delivery time of 10 minutes, but that is only half the process. Once approved, you receive a letter valid for six months, and within that window you still have to go to an external, outsourced service centre to complete the renewal. What happens if that window closes first is not spelled out, so ask Dubai SME directly. Intelaq stays restricted to UAE nationals and GCC nationals living in Dubai at renewal time, the same as at first issue.

One separate product is worth knowing about. Dubai SME also lets an Intelaq licence be converted into what it calls an exempted trade licence, a nominal fee paid annually for five years from the date of conversion, instead of the AED 1,050 above; the fee field for this conversion service is listed as not applicable. A 2021 report on a related fee schedule put the numbers at AED 1,000 a year for the first three years and AED 2,000 for the fourth and fifth, later extended from five years to seven for existing Emirati members (Gulf News). That report names only Emirati members; it does not say whether GCC members get the same seven year extension. Whether that figure and term still apply in 2026, and whether most Intelaq holders take this route instead of the standard annual fee, is not something Dubai SME's current pages settle. Confirm which path applies to you, and its cost, with Dubai SME before budgeting. For getting the licence in the first place, see the Intelaq licence guide for Dubai.

What happens when an eTrader licence needs renewing?

Officially, not much is written down. The u.ae page for eTrader explains who can hold one, that it is registered to a single named owner, and that the owner cannot open a shop, cannot issue visas, and carries sole personal liability in a dispute. None of that page touches renewal.

Figures for an eTrader renewal fee, usually quoted somewhere around AED 1,070 to AED 1,370 a year, with a claimed 30 day window to renew after expiry, come up repeatedly on business setup consultancy websites. None of them could be traced back to u.ae, a Dubai Economy and Tourism page, or the DED Trader portal itself. Treat those numbers as a loose expectation, not a fact to budget on, and check the current fee and renewal window with Dubai Economy and Tourism, or the DED Trader portal, before your own date comes up.

How does Mubdiah renewal work in Abu Dhabi?

Mubdiah's own terms confirm the licence runs for one renewable year, is confined to a single activity, and no more than one is issued to the same woman. To hold one you need to be a UAE national resident in Abu Dhabi, at least 21, with preliminary approval from the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council, your husband or guardian's approval, and Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry membership; the licence is issued through the Department of Planning and Economy in Abu Dhabi or Al Ain.

The page setting this out is titled as an issuing page, not a renewal one, and stops short of a separate step by step renewal procedure. It is genuinely unclear whether renewal means resubmitting the same guardian approval and council paperwork, or a lighter check. Ask the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council directly which conditions carry over.

On cost, there is a real positive to report, with a catch. In August 2020, Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development, working with the General Directorate of Civil Defence and the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council, exempted Emirati women from paying both the Mubdiah issuance fee and the renewal fee, specifically to encourage women into business (Khaleej Times). Whether that exemption still holds in 2026 has not turned up in any dated official announcement either way; a 2026 report on rising Mubdiah numbers does not mention the fee policy at all. Confirm the current position with the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council or Added rather than assume renewal is still free. More on the licence itself is in the Mubdiah licence guide for Abu Dhabi.

What about Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain?

Sharjah's Eitimad licence, granted by the Sharjah Economic Development Department for a business run from home or through social media, is open to UAE nationals resident in Sharjah aged 18 and over, and does not allow the holder to take on staff. Neither u.ae nor SEDD's own site states an Eitimad-specific issuance or renewal fee, validity period, or grace period. SEDD's FAQ does describe a general late-renewal penalty for commercial licences, starting at AED 200 a month and rising to AED 5,000 or more, without stating whether that schedule applies to Eitimad specifically; SEDD points fee questions to its digital services portal, its fees calculator, or its call centre.

There has been a temporary exception. From 16 June 2026, for three months, SEDD exempted micro licences, named explicitly as e-commerce and Eitimad domestic licences, from late payment penalties, and cut issuance and renewal fees for those licences by half (Khaleej Times). That window will have closed or be close to it by the time you read this, so check with SEDD whether it was extended.

For the remaining four emirates, none of the official sources checked publishes a renewal process for a home business licence comparable to Intelaq, Mubdiah or Eitimad, with one lead worth flagging rather than a settled scheme. Ajman's Department of Economic Development site shows only the standard commercial trade licence and a link to its SME programmes, with no further detail published there. The Ajman Business Women Council, a subsidiary of Ajman Chamber, names something closer to what this guide is looking for: a "Bedayat Certificate," a fee exemption running three years, aimed specifically at women starting a project from home such as a beauty salon, a home restaurant or event planning. The council's page does not state an issuance or renewal fee, a validity period beyond that three year exemption, or what happens once it ends, so treat this as a lead, not a confirmed renewal route, and check current terms with the Ajman Business Women Council directly. Ras Al Khaimah's government site carries a general licence renewal page for standard trade licences, nothing specific to a home business scheme. Fujairah's municipality site does not describe one either. Umm Al Quwain's own department of economic development site is a working government portal, listing services such as billboard and discount permits, but it likewise does not list anything comparable. If you hold a licence in any of these four emirates, ask your local department of economic development, chamber or municipality what your renewal process, fee and deadline actually are, rather than assuming it mirrors Dubai or Abu Dhabi, or that a scheme like Ajman's Bedayat Certificate works the same way a home business licence does. A wider comparison of northern emirates schemes is in the home business licence guide for the northern emirates.

What happens if a home business licence is left to lapse?

Abu Dhabi is the one place with a documented answer, and even there it is partial. Official reporting confirms that licences left unrenewed are moved into an expired registry and become open to revocation once expired for three years or more. In November 2025, the Abu Dhabi Registration and Licensing Authority ran a one month window in which holders of licences that had expired before 2010, well over the three year mark, could renew with full exemption from late renewal penalties; a timeline for licences expired more recently, after 2010, was described at the time as still to be announced. Separately, Gulf Today and Arabian Business both report a broader initiative running until 15 August 2026, attributed directly to the Abu Dhabi Registration Authority: an exemption from late renewal fines on economic licences during that window, alongside a 50 percent discount on separate ADRA-issued permits, with normal late fines resuming from 16 August 2026. That window will have closed by the time you read this. Neither report names Mubdiah specifically, only "economic licences" generally, so whether it covered Mubdiah renewals is still worth confirming with the authority or its digital services platform.

For the other schemes and emirates, none of the official sources checked states a grace period, a late fee, or what practically happens the day after a home business licence expires. That gap is worth taking seriously rather than assuming the best case. Ask the issuing authority, Dubai SME for Intelaq, Dubai Economy and Tourism for eTrader, the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council for Mubdiah, SEDD for Eitimad, what their own lapse policy is before your renewal date, not after it.

Scheme	Emirate	What is confirmed on renewal fee	Where to check
Intelaq	Dubai	AED 1,050 a year, requested by email to info@sme.ae	Dubai SME (info@sme.ae)
eTrader	Dubai	Not published on any official page found	Dubai Economy and Tourism, DED Trader portal
Mubdiah	Abu Dhabi	Exempted for Emirati women since August 2020, current status unconfirmed	Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council
Eitimad	Sharjah	Not published; a 50% discount and penalty waiver ran from 16 June 2026 for three months	SEDD digital services
Ajman	Northern Emirates	Standard trade licence; separately, a "Bedayat Certificate" 3-year fee exemption for home-based businesswomen, terms not detailed	Ajman Business Women Council
Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain	Northern Emirates	No dedicated home business scheme found on any official source	Your local DED or municipality

None of that changes what you need once the licence itself is settled. KLU is a marketplace for home businesses across the UAE: joining is free, with no listing, subscription or setup fees, a 5% commission on completed orders plus 2% card processing, weekly payouts to a UAE bank account, and a storefront link you can share, with orders through the iOS app, the Android app or the web. Buyers choose pickup or delivery and pay the delivery fee themselves, and onboarding runs in English and Arabic. Holding and renewing the correct licence stays entirely your own responsibility.

Frequently asked questions

Is renewing a home business licence the same process as applying for one?

Not always. Intelaq's renewal goes through a specific email request to Dubai SME with its own document list, separate in shape from first time issuance, while Mubdiah's official page describes issuance terms without a distinct renewal procedure. eTrader and Eitimad have no published renewal process at all, first time or otherwise.

How much does it cost to renew an Intelaq licence?

AED 1,050 a year, per Dubai SME's renewal service page. A separate conversion route into an exempted trade licence exists at a different, currently unclear cost over a five year term; confirm both figures with Dubai SME before choosing.

Is the Mubdiah renewal fee free?

It was, for Emirati women, under an August 2020 exemption covering both issuance and renewal fees. No 2026 dated official source confirms the exemption is still in force, so check current status with the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council.

What happens if my home business licence has already expired?

In Abu Dhabi, expired licences move into an expired registry and risk revocation after three years or more, with occasional penalty relief windows. For every other scheme here, no official source states a grace period or a specific penalty, so contact the issuing authority directly.

Sources

Last verified: 6 September 2026.