Activity guide / Accounting, Tax & Corporate Services
Corporate Services Provider business setup in the UAE
A corporate services provider maintains the administrative life of legal entities: formation files, governance records, renewal calendars and changes to directors or ownership.
Plan this activityBy Two Pillars Advisory. Sources last checked 2026-10-27. Independent guidance, not authority advice.
Understanding corporate services provider
A corporate services provider maintains the administrative life of legal entities: formation files, governance records, renewal calendars and changes to directors or ownership. This is more specific than general reception or office administration because the records concern a company’s legal existence and control. The inspected Meydan page includes formation, corporate secretarial and registered-office support and explicitly flags AML compliance. It does not prove permission to serve as a nominee, administer regulated investment vehicles, provide legal opinions or hold client funds. The exact agency arrangements, registered-office acceptance and applicable current AML obligations have not been independently reconciled. This guide remains held while those responsibilities are verified for the intended issuer and clients. Cabinet Resolution 134/2025, effective 14 December 2025, Article 3(5) expressly identifies formation agency, director or secretary roles, address provision, trusteeship and nominee shareholding for customers within the DNFBP perimeter. That classification is not a licence or confirmation that an address satisfies a particular company registry.
Primary-source boundary review: Current Article 3(5) AML DNFBP boundary verified; exact issuer service permission, supervision arrangements, client mandates and registered-office acceptance remain unresolved. AML classification is not licence permission. A free-zone activity listing does not authorise mainland/off-zone operations. Two Pillars Advisory is an independent consultancy, not the issuer or regulator.
At a glance
- What the activity covers: A corporate services provider maintains the administrative life of legal entities: formation files, governance records, renewal calendars and changes to directors or ownership.
- Activity type: Specialist services
- Likely jurisdiction context: Depends
- Possible external approvals: Cabinet Resolution 134/2025 Article 3(5) identifies customer formation, office/address and specified corporate/trust roles within the AML DNFBP scope. That classification does not license nominees, trustees, agency services or prove registered-office acceptance. Exact issuer and client-registry permissions remain held.
What you offer matters.
What this activity covers
A corporate services provider maintains the administrative life of legal entities: formation files, governance records, renewal calendars and changes to directors or ownership.
A plain-English label, not an official activity name or code.
Boundaries & approvals to check
Cabinet Resolution 134/2025 Article 3(5) identifies customer formation, office/address and specified corporate/trust roles within the AML DNFBP scope. That classification does not license nominees, trustees, agency services or prove registered-office acceptance. Exact issuer and client-registry permissions remain held.
Supplying a registered-office address before the client’s company registrar accepts the address and provider model.
Your independent consultant: Two Pillars Advisory
Two Pillars helps you define the business model, compare routes and prepare an application. We are an independent consultancy, not a licensing authority.
The licence issuer / regulator: the competent authority
The competent licensing authority decides the permitted activity scope and issues the licence. A sector regulator may separately assess and authorise regulated services. Neither decision is made by TPA.
Choose around your operations.
Tax agency requires FTA registration of the agent; audit requires the competent audit regulator. General bookkeeping needs only the licensing authority.
For corporate services provider: Cabinet Resolution 134/2025 Article 3(5) identifies customer formation, office/address and specified corporate/trust roles within the AML DNFBP scope. That classification does not license nominees, trustees, agency services or prove registered-office acceptance. Exact issuer and client-registry permissions remain held.
Confirm the local operating route
Describe where customers, staff, premises and goods will be located. Ask the mainland issuer and any proposed free zone to confirm the exact scope and any permissions for operating outside the zone.
Map delivery across borders
Describe where the service is delivered or goods move. Confirm entity scope, destination requirements and any UAE local operations separately; international customers do not establish free zone eligibility.
Check the sector perimeter first
Describe the actual service, product and client type to the competent regulator. A commercial registration alone does not establish authorisation to deliver regulated services.
| Decision point | Mainland | Free Zone | Sectoral approvals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who decides? | Competent emirate licensing authority | Proposed free zone licensing authority | Competent regulator, where applicable |
| Permitted operating scope | Requires case-by-case confirmation | Requires case-by-case confirmation | Cabinet Resolution 134/2025 Article 3(5) identifies customer formation, office/address and specified corporate/trust roles within the AML DNFBP scope. That classification does not license nominees, trustees, agency services or prove registered-office acceptance. Exact issuer and client-registry permissions remain held. |
| Premises, people & documents | Confirm for the selected activity | Confirm for the selected activity and zone | Confirm against the regulated service or product |
| Fees & timing | Obtain a current itemised quotation | Obtain a current itemised quotation | Confirm if a separate application applies |
From scope to application.
- Identify entity types, formation support, governance tasks and any registered-office role.
- Confirm the precise agency and office-service scope with each relevant issuer rather than assuming one zone authorises every jurisdiction.
- Assess the actual customer services against Cabinet Resolution 134/2025 Article 3(5), then obtain current supervision, due-diligence, beneficial-owner and reporting requirements; do not use a legacy checklist as licence permission.
- Agree client mandates, document custody, renewal approvals and escalation boundaries; exclude unverified nominee and financial roles.
Illustrative planning sequence; the authority may require a different application order or additional steps.
Common mistakes worth avoiding.
- Supplying a registered-office address before the client’s company registrar accepts the address and provider model.
- Interpreting AML coverage of nominee or trustee services as authority to undertake those roles under an administrative licence.
Authority information, independently explained.
Published by Two Pillars Advisory. References last checked 2026-10-27; each source’s check date and jurisdiction are shown below. Review is limited to the cited activity scope, not an approval or universal licensing assessment. Confirm current requirements directly before applying.
No affiliation, partnership or endorsement by the authorities listed.
- Meydan Free Zone: Corporate Services Provider — inspected scope. Zone source describes formation, registered-office and corporate secretarial administration, governance records and compliance support; explicitly states AML compliance applies. Nominee, regulated-fund, legal and client-money powers are not established. (Meydan Free Zone published scope only; not UAE-wide permission, checked 2026-10-27)
- Central Bank of the UAE: Cabinet Resolution 134/2025 — Article 3(5). Effective 14 December 2025. Article 3(5)(a–e) includes company/trust service providers acting for customers in formation agency, director/secretary roles, registered or administrative addresses, trusteeship and nominee shareholding. DNFBP classification imposes a compliance perimeter, not permission to provide those services or registry acceptance of an address. (UAE AML DNFBP scope; issuer and company-registry permission separate, checked 2026-10-27)
- Invest in Dubai: Search business activities. Official Dubai activity search. Final activity wording and code must be confirmed here or with the licensing authority before filing. (Dubai, checked 2026-09-12)
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET): Business licensing. Official Dubai business licensing information, including licence types and permit requirements. (Dubai, checked 2026-09-12)
Before you take the next step.
Is a CSP activity the same as a holding company?
No. A provider administers clients’ entities; a holding company owns its own investments. Neither activity automatically authorises the other model.
Can a provider ignore AML obligations?
No exemption is claimed. The inspected source expressly flags AML compliance; verify the current obligations and supervision applicable to the actual services.
Can the provider supply nominees or manage a fund?
No such permission follows from administrative support. Nominee, trust, fund and client-money roles need a separate competent-authority assessment.