Digital marketing licence in Dubai
Digital marketing is a service. On the Dubai mainland it sits on a professional licence, the DET category for services based on intellectual or artistic ability. A free zone uses its own marketing or consultancy activity. If the business is a media organisation, the UAE government portal says the National Media Authority also governs media, and it names the Sharjah Media Council and the Fujairah Culture and Media Authority. A marketing consultancy is not automatically a media organisation, and a Sharjah Media City licence is not the default. No marketing-agency package is priced here.
Consultancy, media zone, or a regulated publisher
| What you do | Licence to look at | Extra check |
|---|---|---|
| Campaigns, ads, social management and consultancy for clients | DET professional licence, or a zone consultancy activity. See consultancy. | You are not a publisher. Do not file a media-zone company by habit. |
| A media business: production, a channel, publishing | A zone that licenses that media activity, such as Shams when the activity is in Sharjah’s media city | National Media Authority, and the local council the portal names for that emirate |
| One person taking client work | Freelance permit | It is not a company, and it is not the MOHRE permit a Green Visa may need |
| Selling ad space as goods, or running a shop | A commercial activity if you are buying and selling | A professional line that does not mention the goods |
Dubai Media City and Dubai Production City are names on the u.ae list. They do not have their own pages in this cluster. We confirm an activity with that authority when it is the right campus. We do not describe their packages. Sharjah Publishing City is for print and publishing, not for a performance-marketing retainer. It is on the SPC page.
THAJ’s fee is quoted in writing after the activity wording is accepted. Authority charges are extra and are not invented on this page. VAT & Corporate Tax Support is not included: Get connected with our licensed accounting and tax partners for VAT registration, Corporate Tax registration, return filing and bookkeeping.
Frequently asked questions
What licence do I need for a digital marketing agency in Dubai?
Usually a DET professional licence, or a free zone service activity that names marketing or consultancy. If you are a media organisation, the National Media Authority can also apply.
Should the agency be in Sharjah Media City?
Only if you have chosen that Sharjah free zone and Shams permits the activity. A Dubai client base often points back to a Dubai professional licence. Shams is not the default.
Is digital marketing a freelance permit?
It can be, for one person. An agency with staff is a company licence. Read the freelance page before you mix them.
What does the licence cost?
No package is published. DET’s professional registration fee on the cost page is not the total. A zone or a media authority charges its own fees. THAJ’s fee is quoted beside them.
Official sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on 5 November 2026. Rules and fees can change; the authority’s current page always prevails.
- Business licensing — licence types and set-up process — Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET)
- Starting a business in a free zone — The UAE Government portal (u.ae)
- Establishing business in the UAE (licence types, trade names, premises) — UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism
- About Shams — Sharjah Media City (Shams)
- Free zones in Dubai — Government of Dubai (dubai.ae)
Say whether you advise clients or run a media business
Those are different authorities. We will not put a consultancy into a media city to make the name sound larger.