Guide
ADGM licence cost and the DIFC licence fee: what each publishes
Updated
Comparing setup cost between the two zones is harder than it looks, because the two authorities publish their fees in different places and neither schedule contains the largest line: premises.
Question 1
What will the business actually do?
Pick the closest description. If several apply, pick the one that would need the heaviest permission.
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What ADGM publishes
The ADGM Registration Authority publishes an Overview of Fees, in US dollars, covering initial registration and annual renewal for every entity and activity category. Licensing fees vary by the category of permitted business activities: financial (Category A), non-financial (Category B) and retail (Category C), with separate pricing for specialised entities and corporate service providers.
| Category | Initial registration | Annual renewal |
|---|---|---|
| A, financial business activities | US$17,000 | US$16,500 |
| B, non-financial business activities | US$5,800 | US$5,300 |
| C, retail business activities | US$2,800 | US$2,300 |
| Specialised entities | US$1,900 | US$1,400 |
| Corporate service provider | US$7,800 | US$7,300 |
| DLT Foundation | US$15,000 | US$14,500 |
| Foundation | US$1,000 | US$500 |
Each initial figure is built from five parts:
- a US$200 name reservation;
- a US$300 application for incorporation;
- a US$200 commercial licence fee;
- a business activity fee that varies by category;
- a US$300 data protection fee.
Renewal drops the name reservation and incorporation elements (ADGM Registration Authority, Overview of Fees).
The incentivised rates
- Tech start-ups: US$1,500, for a total duration of three years, covering registration and the two consecutive renewals after the licence issues.
- Venture capital fund managers: US$1,500 on the same three year basis, for eligible FSRA-approved applicants.
- Social enterprises: US$700, subject to holding a certificate confirming the classification from the competent authority.
- Carried interest vehicles: US$1,900 to register and US$1,000 to renew.
Incentivised fees apply only for their stated duration. When a tech start-up's three years end, a non-financial start-up reverts to Category B fees and one conducting at least one financial activity reverts to Category A.
What DIFC publishes, and why its full schedule is not here
DIFC publishes its Registrar of Companies fee schedule on difc.ae, with its client handbook. We have not read that full schedule at source, so this page sets no DIFC column beside ADGM's. A price we cannot verify is worse than no price.
DIFC does print two figures on its own pages: an SPV at US$100 to incorporate and US$1,000 a year, and the Innovation Licence at US$1,500 a year. Both are on DIFC and ADGM fund and SPV setup. For anything else, read the DIFC schedule on difc.ae.
What neither schedule includes
- Premises. Every ADGM entity must maintain a registered office address in ADGM and pay the associated lease registration fee. DIFC has an equivalent requirement. In both zones this normally exceeds the licence fee.
- Regulatory fees. A financial firm pays its regulator separately from its registrar, on application and annually.
- Capital. Base capital is not a fee, but it is money that has to be there and stay there.
- Restricted Scope Company status in ADGM, which carries an additional US$3,100.
- Data protection renewal, which ADGM requires to be submitted separately from the commercial licence renewal.
The ADGM figures above are from the Registration Authority schedule dated January 2025, the version published at our updated date. Confirm the current schedule before budgeting.