Ajman Free Zone activity register
Services licence activities in Ajman Free Zone
Get my UAE setup planThe short answer
Ajman Free Zone (AFZ) files 609 of its 1,689 registered activities under Services, including accounting, bookkeeping, auditing and tax consultancy. The 536-activity Commercial family covers storing, importing, exporting and distributing goods. AFZ decides which activities one licence can combine, and its licence-types page lists a Business, an Industrial and a Sole Professional Licence, with no separate Services Licence.
AFZ's [types of business page](https://afz.gov.ae/en/start-your-business/type-of-business.html) lets a Free Zone Company (FZC) take industrial/manufacture, commercial or services activities. The Services family is built around advisory and professional work, and its register includes Accounting & Bookkeeping, Accounting Records and Books Keeping Organisation, "Accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy", and Accounts Auditing. The 536-activity Commercial family is built around trading goods. AFZ's [business licence types page](https://afz.gov.ae/en/start-your-business/business-license-types.html) names the Business Licence for that, an Industrial Licence for manufacturing and a Sole Professional Licence for freelancers. It lists no separate Services Licence, so ask AFZ which of those licences carries a services activity from the register.
On AFZ's [types of business page](https://afz.gov.ae/en/start-your-business/type-of-business.html), two structures are tied to services in so many words. A Free Zone Company (FZC) can run industrial/manufacture, commercial or services activities, and a branch of a foreign company can run commercial, industrial/manufacture or services activities. The Free Zone Establishment (FZE) and branch of a local company entries state no activity category. The Government of Ajman's own licence summary describes the service licence as the one issued "to those wishing to carry out service activities within the free zone", citing consultation, management studies, and information technology consultation as examples. Neither source says which named activities from the register can share one licence. AFZ settles that against its own list, case by case.
Take a founder applying mainly for Accounting & Bookkeeping, with Accounts Auditing as a second activity. Both names sit inside AFZ's Services family rather than Commercial, since neither involves storing, importing, exporting, or distributing goods. That placement does not by itself confirm the two activities can share one licence; AFZ still checks any combination, within or across families, against its own register at application stage. What it does confirm is the family the founder is applying into, and the broad obligations (renewal, an immigration file for any visas, and federal corporate tax registration) that come with an AFZ licence of any kind.
A Services licence is not tied to one workspace. AFZ's [products and facilities page](https://afz.gov.ae/en/start-your-business/product.html) lists executive offices, furnished offices, a Business Centre with shared co-working space and meeting rooms, and warehouses from 100 sq.mtrs. AFZ's online licence renewal service shows a starting price of AED 4,878.75. Any visas, establishment card or E-Channel linked to the company are renewed with it where they apply. Corporate tax registration and filing sit with the Federal Tax Authority, not AFZ.
Velarozone matches the activity names you need against the Services family in AFZ's register, then prepares the application and renewal paperwork for AFZ's own process, a division of work set out in [Why Velarozone](/why-velarozone). For an FZC, that includes a passport copy for each partner valid for at least 6 months. AFZ alone decides the licence. Velarozone does not issue it or stand in for AFZ.
What the Services classification covers
Register entries name a defined service line, for example Accounting & Bookkeeping, Accounts Auditing, or the combined "Accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy". They describe work sold as a service, not goods held or traded.
Some services need another body's sign-off. AFZ's licence renewal service says external approvals may be required for regulated activities, and it lists a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the relevant external authority among its documents where the activity needs one. Ask AFZ at application which authority applies to your activity.
What a services licence here is structured for
A Service licence suits a business that invoices for expertise, time or operational work rather than goods: consultancies, agencies, technical services and support operations. DMCC's guide names advisory and IT services as its examples. Revenue from goods belongs under another licence type.
The activity description should match the service you deliver. AFZ says the final renewal fee depends on the activities licensed, and external approvals attach to regulated activities. A broad activity picked for convenience can add an approval you did not plan for, and it is the wording a client or bank reads on your licence.
From the register
Named Professions on RAKEZ's Freelance List
A sample of the 609 activities Ajman Free Zone files under Services, 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.
- (without Repair) Towing and Transporting of Broken Down Cars
- Accounting & Bookkeeping
- Accounting Records and Books Keeping Organization
- Accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy
- Accounts Auditing.
- Acting and Related Arts Training
- Administrative Business Training
- Administrative Training Services
- Advertisement Designing & Producing
- Advertisement Material and Samples Distribution
- Advertising
- Advertising Researches & Consultancies
- Advertising services through websites
- Agents Care Centre
- Agents titling
- Agricultural Enterprises Investment, Institution and Management
- Agricultural Research & Consultancy
- Agriculture and Animal and Fisheries Wealth Engineering Consultancy
- Air Cargo Services
- Air Means of Transportation Inspection and Classification
- Air-Condition, Ventilations, Air Filtration Systems Installation & Maintenance
- Airline Travel Agency
- Alarm Systems Installation, Fitting and Repair
- Alternative Power and Researches Consultancy
- animals Pets Raising
- Antiquities and Precious Acquisitions Repairing
- Antiquities and Traditional Instruments and Ware Making
- Archeological Restoration & Conservation Engineering Services
- Architectural Engineering Consultancy
- Architectural Production and Drawing Technical Consultancy
What this page does not decide
Decision factors
How the Permit Differs from a Company Licence
This Services family sits inside AFZ's wider activity register, which the authority maintains and can revise independently of this page.
- The register snapshot behind this page was captured on 25 August 2026; AFZ can add, retire, or re-categorise activities after that date.
- Any activity name quoted here should be checked against AFZ's current list before it goes on an application.
- Facility products such as offices, business centre space, and warehouses are listed separately from the licence itself and can change independently of the activity register.
Where the Permit Is a Good Fit
- Your core activity is accounting, bookkeeping, auditing, tax consultancy, or a comparable professional or advisory service, rather than buying and selling physical goods.
- You are, or will be, a Free Zone Company (FZC) or a branch of a foreign company, the two structures AFZ's guide ties to services activities in so many words. An FZE or a branch of a local company may also work, but the guide gives no activity category for them, so confirm with AFZ first.
- You can work from one of AFZ's own facility products (an executive office, a furnished office, or shared business centre space) rather than needing a large warehouse footprint.
- You are comfortable having the exact activity names on your licence confirmed during the application against AFZ's register, rather than before it.
When to Choose a Company Licence Instead
- Your core activity is storing, importing, exporting, or distributing goods: that sits in AFZ's Commercial family, not Services.
- You need manufacturing or production capability: that sits in AFZ's industrial/manufacture category.
- You are a single freelancer working alone within one of the 40 categories AFZ lists for its Sole Professional Licence. That licence carries eligibility for one residence visa and family sponsorship, and it is a separate package from the Services family.
- You need a confirmed figure today for fees, visa allocation, or processing time before AFZ's own activity check has run; none of that is fixed by the activity list alone.
About this listing
Questions
Frequently asked
- What is Ajman Free Zone's Services licence family?
- It is the group of 609 activities, out of the zone's 1,689-activity register, that AFZ classes as services rather than commercial or industrial. It covers advisory and professional work such as accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing, rather than the storage, import, export, or distribution of goods.
- How does a Services licence differ from a Commercial licence at AFZ?
- AFZ's Commercial family runs to 536 activities built around trading and the buying and selling of goods, while the Services family covers consultancy and professional work. The Government of Ajman's own licence summary describes the service licence as covering activities such as consultation, management studies, and information technology consultation.
- How does a Services licence differ from AFZ's Industrial licence?
- AFZ's own licence-types page describes the Industrial Licence as providing manufacturing facilities within the free zone, covering the import of raw materials, the manufacture of listed goods, and the export of the finished product. The Services family sits apart from that altogether: it is built around advisory and professional work, such as accounting, bookkeeping, or consultancy, with no manufacturing or production step involved.
- Which company structures can hold a Services licence?
- AFZ's guide names two structures for services in so many words: a Free Zone Company (FZC), and a branch of a foreign company, whose activity "may be commercial, industrial/manufacture or services". It gives no activity category for a Free Zone Establishment (FZE) or a branch of a local company, so confirm those with AFZ. An FZC needs a passport copy for each partner valid for at least 6 months. A foreign branch also needs a trade licence copy, a MOA copy and a board resolution copy.
- Can a Services licence also cover Commercial activities?
- AFZ's pages set out Services and Commercial as separate categories and do not say whether one licence can combine activities from both. AFZ's own activity check decides, case by case, which named activities can sit together. Treat any mixed combination as unconfirmed until AFZ has approved it.
- What ongoing obligations come with an AFZ Services licence?
- AFZ renews the licence through its online renewal service, which lists 30 minutes as the estimated delivery time. The same request can raise linked renewals for the establishment card, E-Channel, residence visas and insurance where they apply. Outstanding licence, lease or late-fine amounts must be cleared first. Federal corporate tax registration and filing go through the Federal Tax Authority.
Check your job title against RAKEZ's freelancer list
Send Velarozone the activities you plan to put on the licence. It matches them to entries in AFZ's Services register, flags any that may need an outside approval, and carries the application through AFZ's own process.
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.