RAKEZ activity register
Services licence activities in RAKEZ
Get my UAE setup planThe short answer
RAKEZ, the Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone, issues its Services licence to a company conducting services or consultancies across any industry. A free zone Services licence holds two activities from any group, chosen from the 447 Services entries among the 3,618 on RAKEZ's register as captured on 25 August 2026. Professional is a separate licence for individuals, and Commercial trading activities cannot share a Services licence.
RAKEZ is a licensing authority in Ras Al Khaimah, running [its own multi-purpose free zone](/setup/free-zones/rakez). Its Services licence is for a company conducting services or consultancies across any industry, which is RAKEZ's own definition of the category. A free zone company needs no local partner and can be 100% foreign owned.
RAKEZ's other licence families differ in what the company does. Commercial covers trading in services and goods. Industrial covers manufacturing, importing, packaging and exporting. Professional is for individuals who provide professional services, and RAKEZ requires the owner of a professional individual establishment to carry out the activity in person, which means living in the UAE. Services is for a company delivering the work itself. The Services list has 447 entries and the Professional list 459.
The register shows how specific an entry can be. Lifestyle Development Consultancy sits in the consultancy group for management, information and marketing, and covers coaching clients from a sedentary lifestyle towards healthier, more active routines. Restaurants Management sits in Facility management and covers running the operations of several restaurants, including staff, finances and consistent food quality. Both are Services entries, so one free zone licence can hold both.
Every RAKEZ company must lease a facility, and a free zone entity cannot conduct business activities outside the RAKEZ free zone area. A flexi-desk is limited to one visa, so a Services company planning several employees needs an office. Licence renewal, the immigration file and corporate tax registration each run on their own schedule, and corporate tax sits with the Federal Tax Authority, not RAKEZ.
Velarozone advises on which RAKEZ entries describe the business and prepares the application. RAKEZ reviews it, issues the licence and renews it. Licences run for one year, and after the first year a free zone Services licensee may opt for three years at discounted rates. [How Velarozone works](/why-velarozone) sets out that division, and [office or flexi-desk space](/solutions/office-space-and-flexi-desk) is arranged inside the same engagement when the licence needs it.
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 447 activities RAKEZ 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.
- Accounting & Bookkeeping
- Adaptive Learning & Skills Platforms
- Administrative Consultancy and Studies
- Advanced Agriculture For the grains crop and oilseeds
- Advanced Agriculture for vegetables and the melons and the roots and the tubers
- Advertisement Designing & Producing
- Advertising Researches & Consultancies
- Aerial Advertising Services
- Aerial photography by drones
- Aerial shows by drones
- Affective Computing (Vibe Coding) Lab
- Agent Safety Evaluation-as-a-Service
- Agentic CRM Automations
- Agricultural Projects Management
- Agricultural Research & Consultancy
- AI Agent Orchestration & Automation Services
- AI Content Studio (Responsible GenAI)
- AI Copilots for Back-Office
- AI in Human Resources (HR) Integration Services
- AI Safety & Red-Teaming Lab
- AI-Powered Cybersecurity Solutions
- AI-Powered Diagnostic Tools Development
- Air Cargo Services
- Air-conditioning, Cooling, Heating and Ventilation Engineering Consultancy
- Aluminium Installation Works
- Animal Etiquette & Behaviour Consultant
- API Platform & Integration Hub
- Application Security Program Office
- Applied Generative AI Studio
- Archeological Restoration & Conservation Engineering Consultancy
What this page does not decide
Decision factors
How the Permit Differs from a Company Licence
Three RAKEZ rules decide most Services cases: which outside regulator must approve the activity first, whether the company sits in the free zone or the non-free zone, and how many activities one licence can hold.
- Where another authority regulates an activity, RAKEZ asks for that authority's NOC before adding it to the licence. A clinic needs the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention, for example. Check the specific activity, not the Services family as a whole.
- RAKEZ's FAQ lists Service among its free zone licences, while its non-free zone licences are Industrial, Commercial and Professional. A free zone company can be 100% foreign owned but cannot conduct business outside the RAKEZ free zone area. Confirm with RAKEZ before planning mainland work under a Services licence.
- A free zone Services licence holds two activities, from any group. A Commercial activity cannot join it, because RAKEZ requires a separate licence for any activity from a different licence type.
- A flexi-desk is limited to one visa. A company that downgrades from a physical office to a shared workstation must cancel any extra visas, so settle the workspace and the visa count together.
- Licence renewal with RAKEZ, the immigration file and corporate tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority are three separate obligations on three separate schedules. None is bundled into the original licence fee.
Where the Permit Is a Good Fit
- Accounting and administrative consultancy practices based in Ras Al Khaimah. Auditing of Accounts is a DNFBP activity, so it adds a DNFBP form signed by all shareholders.
- Training and edtech operators whose activity is a service on the Services list. RAKEZ licenses an education institution or education consultancy company under Educational, with AED 50,000 minimum share capital for categories such as Educations Support Services, so check which list the activity sits on first.
- Agricultural advisory and consultancy businesses working against entries such as Advanced Agriculture (grains/oilseeds) or Advanced Agriculture (vegetables/melons/roots/tubers) without farming the land themselves.
- Management, information and marketing consultancies, the group that holds Lifestyle Development Consultancy, whose entry covers coaching clients towards healthier, more active routines.
- A company with one visa holder, where a flexi-desk is enough because it is limited to one visa. A larger team needs an office.
When to Choose a Company Licence Instead
- Businesses that manufacture, import, package or export products. RAKEZ licenses that under Industrial, which also carries a higher minimum share capital of AED 150,000.
- An individual who wants to provide professional services personally. RAKEZ licenses that as Professional, against its own 459-activity list, to one owner with one activity.
- Businesses whose main activity is trading: buying and reselling goods, or acting as an agent or distributor. RAKEZ licenses that as Commercial, and a Commercial activity cannot share a licence with a Services activity.
- Media production, broadcast or publishing businesses, which RAKEZ licenses separately under its Media classification. Minimum share capital differs too: AED 1,000,000 for TV/Radio Broadcasting and AED 50,000 for Publishing.
About this listing
Questions
Frequently asked
- What is the difference between RAKEZ's Services licence and its Professional licence?
- Services is for a company conducting services or consultancies across any industry, and a free zone Services licence holds two activities from any group. Professional is for individuals who provide professional services, and RAKEZ describes the free zone version as one owner with one activity in a specific specialty. The lists differ in size too: 447 Services entries against 459 Professional.
- How does a Services licence differ from a Commercial licence?
- RAKEZ describes Commercial as covering trading in services and goods, including acting as an agent or distributor. Services covers a company performing the work itself, such as consultancy or advisory activity. The two cannot share a licence, so a business that needs both holds two, and adding a Services activity to a Commercial licence means applying for a new Services licence.
- Does a RAKEZ Services licence come with office space?
- The licence and the workspace are separate items, but every RAKEZ company must lease a facility to open, and some activities need a specific type such as a physical office. RAKEZ offers coworking space, serviced, standard and executive offices, shell and core space and warehouses. A flexi-desk allows one visa only.
- Does every Services activity need approval from another authority?
- No. RAKEZ asks for a NOC only for activities that a third-party authority regulates, and its example is a clinic, which needs the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention. Activities on RAKEZ's DNFBP list, such as Legal Consultancy, Investment Consultancy and Auditing of Accounts, instead need a DNFBP form signed by all shareholders.
- Is RAKEZ a free zone authority or a mainland one?
- Both, but a Services licence sits on the free zone side. RAKEZ's FAQ lists Service among free zone licences, and lists Industrial, Commercial and Professional as non-free zone ones, which also need a RAK Department of Economic Development licence. A free zone entity can be 100% foreign owned but cannot trade on the UAE mainland except through an agent, representative, distributor or parent company holding the relevant licence.
- What happens when a RAKEZ Services licence comes up for renewal?
- A RAKEZ licence is generally valid for one year, and a free zone Services licence can be issued and renewed for three years at discounted rates. RAKEZ emails the renewal quotation 60 days before expiry, and late renewal costs AED 50 per day. Corporate tax registration sits with the Federal Tax Authority, and audited financial statements from a RAKEZ approved auditor fall due within six months of the financial year end, not at renewal.
Sources
Official sources
Check your job title against RAKEZ's freelancer list
Tell us what the business actually does and an adviser checks it against RAKEZ's live Services list, flags anything that needs another authority's approval, and confirms whether Services, Professional or another classification fits.
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.