Ajman Free Zone activity register
Commercial licence activities in Ajman Free Zone
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Ajman Free Zone issues the Commercial licence for buying, selling, importing, exporting, storing and distributing goods, drawn from a register of 536 activities kept apart from its Industrial, Services and Freelancer families. Each activity names a product line, and a business that makes or processes goods needs the Industrial licence instead. Ajman Free Zone decides which activities your licence carries and what it costs; Velarozone prepares and submits the application.
Ajman Free Zone organises its activity register into four families: Commercial, Industrial, Services and Freelancer. Its licence-types page uses different names, listing a Business License, an Industrial License and a Sole Professional License limited to 40 categories. Commercial is the Business License: it covers 536 trading activities, while consultancy and support work sits under Services. For manufacturing, processing and packaging, [the Industrial licence register](/zones/ajman-free-zone/industrial-licence) lists the named activities.
A Commercial licence can be held by a Free Zone Establishment (FZE, single shareholder), a Free Zone Company (FZC, multiple shareholders) or a branch of a local or foreign company. An FZE applicant files a passport copy valid for at least 6 months, a coloured photograph, a visa copy or UID and, if resident in the UAE, a no objection letter from their sponsor. A branch of a foreign company is 100% foreign owned but can sell only through a UAE registered agent or distributor, which limits a trader selling inside the UAE. Stock can sit in a Business Centre or office address at first, in pre-built warehouses from 100 sq.mtrs with access to the port, or on leasehold land on a lease of 20+ years for a self-built facility.
Take a business that deals in Acids & Alkalines Trading, a named entry on Ajman Free Zone's Commercial list. It imports the stock, holds it in a warehouse and sells it on. It does not transform the chemicals, which is what would move the activity to the Industrial family. Ajman Free Zone describes its Business License as covering storage, import, export and distribution throughout the UAE, though whether a given warehouse can hold chemical stock is for the authority to confirm. If the group also resells signage under Advertising Requisites Trading, Velarozone checks both entries against the list before confirming whether they can share one licence and which facility suits the stock.
Velarozone prepares the application and Ajman Free Zone remains the licensing authority. Velarozone gathers the documents the authority asks for, such as passport copies valid for at least 6 months and, for a branch, the trade licence, MOA and board resolution. It also matches your trade against the activity list before submitting, as set out in [Why work with Velarozone](/why-velarozone).
What the Commercial classification covers
Activities in this family describe trade in physical goods. Each register entry names a product line, such as "(G.P.S) Retail sale of Global Positioning System" or Acids & Alkalines Trading, and the licence covers that named line, not goods in general.
A licence that names one product line does not quietly cover another. If you also want to sell a second line, such as signage alongside chemicals, it needs its own activity on the licence, and Ajman Free Zone decides whether the two can sit together.
What a commercial licence here is structured for
A licence built from this family suits a business whose revenue comes from goods changing hands between businesses: import and re-export, wholesale and distribution. RAKEZ's rules bar a free-zone entity from retail trading inside the free zone, and online selling falls under its separate E-Commerce licence.
The activity wording should match what you will actually invoice for. Where your product range spans several register categories, the licence should carry several activities. Leaving one off to simplify the application is the mistake that surfaces later at the bank or at renewal.
From the register
Named Professions on RAKEZ's Freelance List
A sample of the 536 activities Ajman Free Zone files under Commercial, exactly as the register names them. Activity names are the authority's own wording and are shown in English in every language; register codes are not published.
- (G.P.S) Retai sale of Global Positioning System
- Acids & Alkalines Trading
- Activity Flavours & fragrances trading - Import & Export
- Advertising Requisites Trading
- Air Freight & Passengers Charters
- Air water generators Trading Import & Export
- Air-Condition, Refrigeration Spare Parts & Components Trading
- Aircraft Scrap & Used Spare Parts Trading
- Aircraft Spare Parts & Components Trading Import & Export
- Aluminium Installation Works
- Animal & Poultry Farms Equipment Trading
- Arab Wear Trading
- Artificial Flowers and Plants Trading
- Auction Hall
- Auction Hall-Import & Export
- Audio Recordings Wholesale
- Authentic Antiques, Artefacts & Artworks Trading - Import & Export
- Auto Spare Parts & Components Trading - Import & Export
- Baby Food Trading - Import & Export
- Baby Wear Trading
- Beauty & Personal Care Requisites Trading - Import & Export
- Blankets, Towels & Linens Trading - Import & Export
- Building & Construction Materials Trading
- Building & Construction Materials Trading Import & Export
- Building Hardware & Tools Trading - Import & Export
- Building Metal Products Trading
- Buses and Trucks Trading - Import & Export
- Carbon Control Systems Trading
- Cars Accessories Trading - Import & Export
- Cars Additional Parts Trading - Import & Export
What this page does not decide
Decision factors
How the Permit Differs from a Company Licence
Velarozone's most recent read of Ajman Free Zone's own Commercial activity list, captured on 25 August 2026, shows the following.
- 536 activities sit under the Commercial family, separate from Ajman Free Zone's Industrial, Services, and Freelancer families.
- Listed activity names range from narrow retail lines, such as "(G.P.S) Retail sale of Global Positioning System" and Acids & Alkalines Trading, to freight and logistics trading, such as Air Freight & Passengers Charters.
- Import-export pairings appear as their own named entries, for example Activity Flavours & Fragrances Trading: Import & Export and Advertising Requisites Trading, rather than being treated as a single generic trading activity.
- The family is defined around trading in goods; businesses offering consultancy or professional services instead fall under Ajman Free Zone's separate Services family.
- Ajman Free Zone lists these facilities as suited to the Business License: Business Centre, offices and executive offices, warehouses, eco-friendly warehouses, land and onsite accommodation. Pre-built warehouses start from 100 sq.mtrs, eco-friendly warehouses near Ajman Port and Customs start at 100M2, and land is leased for 20+ years. They matter to a business that will hold stock or build its own facility rather than only administer a trade.
Where the Permit Is a Good Fit
- A small or mid-sized trading business importing, exporting, or distributing a defined range of goods.
- An operation that wants a UAE base for buying and selling physical products, rather than providing services or professional advice.
- A business that can start from a Business Centre desk or office for administration and move to a warehouse of 100 sq.mtrs or more once it needs to hold stock.
- A trader whose intended activities match named entries on Ajman Free Zone's own Commercial list, confirmed activity by activity rather than assumed from a general description.
When to Choose a Company Licence Instead
- A single freelancer or sole consultant with no physical goods. Ajman Free Zone's Sole Professional licence, the Freelancer line in the register, covers 40 categories and is the one built for that case.
- A manufacturing or processing business that transforms raw materials into finished goods. Ajman Free Zone's Industrial licence covers importing the raw materials, manufacturing listed goods and exporting them.
- A business whose core activity is professional, advisory, or support services rather than trading goods: that falls under the Services family.
- An applicant who needs exact activity names, combination rules, or renewal and visa costs fixed before agreeing to proceed. Ajman Free Zone sets those activity by activity, so no adviser can quote them in advance.
About this listing
Questions
Frequently asked
- What does a Commercial licence from Ajman Free Zone cover?
- It covers buying, selling, importing, exporting, storing and distributing goods, drawn from a register of 536 named activities. Ajman Free Zone keeps that register apart from its Industrial, Services and Freelancer families, and each entry names a product line rather than goods in general.
- Can more than one trading activity sit on a single Commercial licence?
- Ajman Free Zone decides which activities can be combined on one licence and what each combination costs. Acids & Alkalines Trading and Advertising Requisites Trading are separate register entries, so a group selling both would ask for both to be listed. Velarozone checks the intended activities against the authority's list before confirming what is possible.
- What premises can a Commercial licence holder use in Ajman Free Zone?
- Ajman Free Zone lists the Business Centre, offices and executive offices, warehouses, eco-friendly warehouses, land and onsite accommodation as suited to this licence. Pre-built warehouses start from 100 sq.mtrs, and land is leased for 20+ years to businesses building their own facility. The authority sets which premises suit the activities carried.
- Does a Commercial licence come with visas, and what does it cost?
- Ajman Free Zone lists investor and employee visas among its services, but its licence-types page states a visa entitlement only for the Sole Professional licence: one residence visa with family sponsorship. For a Commercial licence, visa entitlement, licence fees and renewal costs depend on the activities and facility chosen. Velarozone obtains these figures from the authority during the application.
- How does a Commercial licence differ from Ajman Free Zone's Services and Industrial licences?
- Commercial covers trading in goods: buying, selling, importing, exporting, storing and distributing, with nothing manufactured or transformed. Services is a separate family for consultancy, support and professional activities where no goods change hands. Industrial covers importing raw materials, manufacturing listed goods and exporting the finished product. A business combining trading with manufacturing or services should ask Ajman Free Zone whether it needs a licence from more than one family.
- What ongoing obligations apply once a Commercial licence is issued?
- Three obligations run once the licence is active: annual renewal with Ajman Free Zone, an immigration file for any visas sponsored, and corporate tax with the UAE Federal Tax Authority. A free zone company is not outside corporate tax by default. The Federal Tax Authority's rules decide whether a trading company's income qualifies for any free zone treatment, so the filing details are confirmed there.
Check your job title against RAKEZ's freelancer list
Velarozone can check your intended trading activities against Ajman Free Zone's own Commercial licence list and confirm what applies to your business before you apply.
General information drawn from the CBUAE Rulebook, including the Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes Regulation (C 15/2021), and Cabinet Resolution No. (134) of 2025 as published, not legal or tax advice. Rules and guidance change, so confirm the current text and each institution's own requirements before you submit.