Contracting licence
Ajman NuVentures Centre Licence for Contracting
Contracting and maintenance is the category where a free zone licence most often turns out to be the wrong answer, because the work is performed on UAE mainland sites for UAE clients. It is worth reading this before you pay anybody.
In short
A free zone contracting licence is limited for work performed on UAE mainland sites. Most contracting work for UAE clients needs a mainland licence or a mainland partner, and an honest adviser will say so before quoting.
- Licence type
- Commercial or industrial, contracting activities
- Licence from
- AED 4,888
- With one visa
- AED 10,800
- Outside approval
- Yes, see below
Figures on this page were last checked on 2026-10-04. Government fees can change without notice.
What this licence covers
The activity list is what the licence actually permits. Everything else follows from it.
Included
- Supplying equipment and materials from the zone
- Technical consultancy on contracting projects
- Project management and supervision
- Maintenance services, subject to where the work is performed
Not included
- Executing construction work on mainland sites without a mainland licence
- Municipality permitted trades without the relevant classification
- Employing site labour under a free zone licence for mainland work
Licence type: Commercial or industrial, contracting activities. {'short': 'A free zone contracting licence is limited for work performed on UAE mainland sites. Most contracting work for UAE clients needs a mainland licence or a mainland partner, and an honest adviser will say so before quoting.', 'facts': [{'k': 'Licence type', 'v': 'Commercial or industrial, contracting activities'}, {'k': 'Licence from', 'v': 'AED 4,888'}, {'k': 'With one visa', 'v': 'AED 10,800'}, {'k': 'Outside approval', 'v': 'Yes, see below'}]}
Approvals and the customs position
The two things that move a timeline from weeks to months.
Outside approvals
Contracting classifications sit with the municipality and the relevant economic department rather than with a free zone. Electrical, mechanical and civil trades each carry their own classification requirements.
Customs
Materials held in the zone are outside customs territory. Moving them to a mainland site is a domestic import with duty and paperwork attached.
Banking this activity
Compliance teams assess activities differently. This is how yours reads to them.
Project based revenue with milestone payments documents well where contracts exist. Expect questions about who the ultimate client is and where the work is performed.
Where people go wrong
- Buying a free zone licence for work that legally needs a mainland one
- Assuming site labour can be sponsored on a free zone visa for mainland projects
- Missing the municipality classification entirely
Equipment suppliers, technical consultancies and project managers. If you are executing work on mainland sites, this is probably the wrong structure and we will say so.
Other activities in Ajman NuVentures Centre
The licence category changes what you can do, what it costs and who has to approve it.
One number, in writing
Tell us what you are setting up
Fill in the form and we pass your details to the right licensing partner for your case. They come back with one itemised price covering the licence, the visa, the government fees and VAT. If Ajman NuVentures Centre is the wrong answer for your business, you will be told that instead.
No call centre, no cold calling, and nothing shared with anybody until you press send.
Free written quote
Tell us what you need
Fill this in and we pass it to the right licensing partner. Your quote comes back in writing.