Initial Approval

Initial approval is an early checkpoint in UAE company formation. After the trade name is reserved, the founder submits the proposed activities, shareholder details, and managers to the licensing authority (DET on the mainland, or the free-zone authority). The authority reviews them and, if there is no objection in principle, issues an initial approval certificate.

Critically, initial approval does not yet permit the company to start operating. It signals that the government has no preliminary objection and lets the founder move on to the steps that cost time and money — notarising the MOA, signing an office lease and registering Ejari, and obtaining any external approvals — with confidence the structure will be accepted.

Some activities require additional approvals from other government bodies before or alongside initial approval (for example, security approval for certain trading activities). Initial approval is usually valid for a limited window, within which the founder must complete the remaining steps. ZETUP PRO sequences the whole formation so initial approval does not lapse.