Closing a company should be as clean as opening one. SKM manages your liquidation end to end — the final liquidation audit, creditor and authority clearances, and FTA deregistration — coordinating the licensed liquidator the law requires, so your licence is cancelled properly and you walk away with no loose ends behind you.
A UAE company does not disappear when you stop operating. Until it is formally liquidated and deregistered, the licence, the tax registrations and the obligations stay live — and so do the penalties. SKM manages the full closure as chartered accountants: the final liquidation audit, the clearances, the FTA side, and the licensed-liquidator step the law requires — so the company is properly wound up and the file is closed clean.
A clear, managed sequence so you always know where the closure stands.
We handle the entire closure end to end — and because we are chartered accountants, we can also take care of your VAT and Corporate Tax deregistration with the FTA if you do not have a tax consultant. We know each free zone's procedure first-hand, and we have done this many times.
There is no single UAE liquidation process. A mainland company, a free-zone company and an offshore company are each wound up under a different authority and a different procedure. We handle all three and confirm your exact path once we know your set-up.
The core of a free-zone closure is the same everywhere — resolution, liquidator, the statutory notice period, clearances, tax deregistration and the final certificate. What changes from zone to zone is the clearance forms and the authority's own desk. We handle closures across the UAE's free zones and confirm your zone's exact requirements before we begin.
We manage company liquidation and deregistration for free-zone entities including DMCC, JAFZA, DAFZA, DWC (Dubai South), Hamriyah, SAIF Zone, RAKEZ and KEZAD, among others. Each free-zone authority runs its own winding-up procedure — its own resolution attestation rules, its own clearance checklist (compliance, finance, facility and utilities), and its own document set for the liquidator's report — but the legal backbone is common across all of them.
In practice a free-zone closure means coordinating that zone's specific clearances alongside the federal steps: the creditor-notice advertisements, immigration and labour cancellations, the FTA's VAT and Corporate Tax deregistration, and the final audited accounts. Because we prepare the final liquidation audit in-house as chartered accountants and coordinate the licensed liquidator the law requires, you deal with one firm across the whole free-zone process rather than stitching together an auditor, a liquidator and a PRO yourself.
Tell us which free zone your company is licensed in and we will confirm that zone's current requirements, the documents it asks for, and a clear scope and fixed fee.
The legal regime depends on where your company is registered — the federal Commercial Companies Law for the mainland, and each free zone's own regulations for free-zone companies. Tap your jurisdiction below for what its closure involves.
Mainland companies are wound up under the federal Commercial Companies Law, through the Department of Economy & Tourism, in two phases. For companies, the application is submitted by the liquidator.
Phase 1: notarised minutes of the general assembly confirming liquidation and naming the liquidator; the liquidator's acceptance letter with their documents; the dissolution & liquidator-appointment certificate; and the announcement in two Arabic newspapers, giving creditors 45 days to submit claims.
Phase 2: submission of the original newspaper and the final report; the liquidator's and partners' declaration that no objections were received in the 45 days; labour-card cancellation; and copies of the minutes and dissolution certificate.
DMCC runs the whole winding-up through its member portal as a Company Termination request. There are four modes — summary (solvent, within 6 months), solvent (within 12 months), insolvent voluntary, and involuntary by court. A licensed liquidator is mandatory for companies.
JAFZA termination runs through the Dubai Trade portal, with a processing time of around 21 working days. A liquidator licensed with JAFZA is required for FZE/FZCO companies.
DAFZA winding-up runs under its own Implementing Regulations. The resolution must be attested, and for the attested route both shareholders join a video call with their original passports for e-signing.
A DSO closure requires a DSO-approved liquidator, an official liquidation notice to the authority, and a newspaper advertisement — typically two papers, one English and one Arabic, with a notice period of around 45 days for creditor claims.
We also handle closures across the other UAE free zones — including IFZA, the Dubai Development Authority zones (Internet City, Media City, Knowledge Park and others), Hamriyah, SAIF Zone and RAKEZ. Each runs its own procedure, and the requirements genuinely differ — for example, some zones require a newspaper notice while others, for a solvent closure with no liabilities, do not.
Tell us which zone your company is licensed in and we will confirm that zone's exact current requirements before we begin — no guesswork.
A typical closure starts with the documents below — but the exact set depends on the company, and more may be needed as the case progresses. You can begin gathering these and send them to us one by one.
The detail that catches most owners out. None of it changes our job — it is just useful to understand going in.
An inactive company still has a live licence and live tax registrations. Until it is formally liquidated and deregistered, renewal obligations and FTA deadlines keep running — and penalties accrue whether you trade or not.
VAT deregistration must be applied for within 20 business days of the triggering event; late application carries a penalty of AED 1,000 for the first month and AED 1,000 per month after, capped at AED 10,000. Corporate Tax deregistration and the final return are due within three months of cessation. We keep both on time.
LLCs, partnerships and joint-stock companies require a licensed liquidator by law. Sole establishments and civil companies usually follow a simpler cancellation. We confirm which applies and coordinate the appointment where it is needed.
Dubai allows a licence to be frozen for up to three years (with a MOHRE letter confirming no sponsored staff) as an alternative to closing — but it cannot be extended beyond that, and the obligations resume. We can talk you through whether freezing or full closure fits your plans.
Most closures are voluntary — the shareholders decide to wind up a solvent company. Compulsory liquidation is court- or creditor-driven, usually where a company cannot pay its debts. The two follow different routes; we confirm which applies to your situation before anything begins.
Closure needs sign-off from the bodies the company touched — typically customs, immigration and labour, utilities (DEWA, telecoms), the landlord (Ejari) and the FTA, plus an RTA clearance for any company-registered vehicles. Free zones add their own compliance and finance clearances. We gather the full stack so the final application is not bounced back.
All visas under the company must be cancelled before the licence can close, and in the right order — labour (MOHRE) first, then immigration (ICP/GDRFA). Done the other way round it gets rejected. Visa cancellation is often the slowest part of a closure, so we start it early.
It feels natural to close the bank account early — but you still need it to pay final salaries, gratuity, suppliers, taxes and government fees. Close it last, once everything is settled, and obtain a zero-balance closure letter — most authorities require it as part of the clearance pack.
Separate from a professional fee, you will pay government and authority charges — the liquidation or cancellation fee, newspaper-notice costs where required, visa-cancellation fees, and any outstanding renewals or fines. These vary by authority, entity type and visa count; we set out the expected components when we scope your closure.
The one fixed element is the statutory creditor-notice period (around 45 days for a mainland LLC; free zones vary), which sets the floor. On top of that sit the variable parts — clearances, tax deregistration and how clean the books are. That is why we give a realistic timeline only after scoping, not a one-size figure.
| FTA compliance task | Deadline | Late penalty |
|---|---|---|
| VAT deregistration | Within 20 business days of cessation | AED 1,000 per month, capped at AED 10,000 |
| Corporate Tax deregistration & final return | Within 3 months of cessation | Penalties apply for late filing |
Working out your fee is the easy part for you — a quick call and we handle the rest. There is no flat rate, because no two closures are the same: the entity type, where it is licensed, whether VAT or Corporate Tax registrations are open, the state of the books, and whether a licensed liquidator must be appointed all shape the work.
The fee reflects that work — the final audit, the liquidator coordination, the FTA close-out and the clearances — not a count of transactions. We scope it quickly, then quote a clear, fixed fee up front: no surprises, no open meter. Fair for what's involved, and confirmed before anything begins.
Tell us about the company — we will map the path and quote a clear, fixed fee.