Abu Dhabi gives founders another year without an office.
The Tajer licence lets a company trade without renting premises. Holders whose office-free period runs out in 2026 just got twelve more months, and 7,823 businesses had late renewal fines waived.
Abu Dhabi's Department of Economic Development has extended the period a Tajer Abu Dhabi licence holder can operate without physical premises by one year. The extension, announced on 24 September, applies to holders whose current office-free period expires during 2026. The stated aim is to cut the cost of getting established and make it easier to keep trading.
Tajer Abu Dhabi launched in 2017 with 30 permitted activities. It now covers more than 1,200, from selling clothes and perfume online to office equipment, and the licence has become one of the emirate's most used routes into business. New Tajer licences grew 24% in 2025 and another 8% in the first half of 2026, according to the department.
The licence is built for people who do not need a shop or an office to earn. It allows a holder to import and export, open a business bank account and deal with government entities from home. Applications go through the TAMM portal with a UAE Pass login. When Gulf News explained the process in 2022, it reported a base fee of AED 790 with up to six activities included and AED 100 per extra activity, and an office-free period of three years. TAMM still lists AED 790 as the main licence fee, with registration and establishment card charges on top, and still states three years without premises. This month's extension adds a year to that clock for anyone whose period ends in 2026. Check the current fee and your own expiry date on TAMM before relying on either figure.
The same announcement covered two more measures. Industrial licences under the Rowad programme now stay valid for three years before construction starts, up from two, and for four years while a plant is under construction, up from three. The department also said 7,823 commercial and industrial establishments have already been exempted from outstanding fines for late licence renewals or cancellations, a waiver that will matter to anyone who let a licence lapse in a difficult year.
Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, the department's undersecretary, said the measures reflect a commitment to supporting entrepreneurship as a pillar of the emirate's innovation-driven economy.
For a founder, the practical reading is about fixed costs. Rent is the largest expense most new companies carry before they have revenue, and the Tajer model removes it for the first years. It is an Abu Dhabi mainland licence, not a free zone one, which changes the tax and ownership picture, so it suits a resident selling into the UAE market more than an exporter looking for a 0% rate. If your office-free period ends this year, the announcement does not describe an application step, so check your licence record on TAMM. If you have been paying for a desk you do not use, this is the week to ask why.