DMCC hasn't published a fee for its new foundation yet. DMCC's schedule says unlisted charges are available on request, so ask DMCC directly and get the answer in writing. What you can do is list every cost line the foundation will create, see what the two published comparators charge, and build a budget with blanks where DMCC's figures will go.
That's what this guide does. A foundation is a legal entity with no owners that holds assets for people you choose, under rules you write. If you're new to the idea, read our DMCC foundation guide first. This article is the detailed budget companion to it.
Key TakeawaysAs of 28 September 2026, DMCC hasn't published any foundation fee. The USD 100 figure you'll see is the minimum starting assets, not a fee.The rules create clear cost lines: a registration fee, a yearly licence and annual fees, a registered office, accounts and an audit unless DMCC waives it, plus fees for changes and for closing down.For comparison only, a DIFC foundation pays USD 350 in year one and USD 650 each later year. An ADGM foundation pays USD 1,000 and then USD 500. These aren't DMCC prices.Every figure here is a government fee only. Legal drafting, the registered agent or service provider, administration, accounting and audit fees come on top and usually cost more.Late or missing filings can cost more than the fees themselves. After a first written warning, the main federal beneficial ownership fines run from AED 15,000 to AED 100,000.
In this article:
- What we know and what we don't (as of 28 September 2026)
- Every cost line a DMCC foundation creates
- What do DIFC and ADGM charge?
- Worked example: how to build a budget now
- If the foundation will hold Dubai property
- How to keep costs down
- Frequently asked questions
- Next steps
- Sources and legal references
What we know and what we don't (as of 28 September 2026)
We know which costs exist. We don't know a single DMCC amount.
We checked DMCC's schedule of charges, its foundations page and its press release. The schedule of charges has no foundation line, and its foundations page gives only one figure: starting assets from USD 100.
Its press release of 23 September 2026 says guidance and digital onboarding will follow "in the coming weeks". The release gives no price.
The USD 100 is the least the foundation must own when it starts, called the endowment. You put it in, and it stays with the foundation. It isn't paid to DMCC.
The rules themselves leave the registration fee to DMCC's registrar, "as determined by the Registrar from time to time". They also mention annual fees, a stipulated fee on dissolution and fines, all without amounts. If anyone quotes you a DMCC government fee today, ask where it comes from.
One more point from DMCC's existing schedule. It prices everything in dirhams and adds an AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee to each charge. It also says charges can change without notice.
If foundation fees join that schedule, expect the same pattern. That's our reading, not something DMCC has confirmed for foundations. Any such charge is a government fee only. Legal drafting, the registered agent or service provider, administration, accounting and audit fees come on top and usually cost more.
Every cost line a DMCC foundation creates
The rules create a full set of government cost lines, and DMCC has priced none of them. Around them sit professional fees you'll pay whatever DMCC decides.
The table groups them by when you pay. The comparator column shows what DIFC charges for the same step, or ADGM where that's clearer. These are other registrars' prices, never DMCC's.
| Cost line | Who charges | DMCC amount published? | Comparator (government fee only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set-up | |||
| Registration fee | DMCC registrar | No | DIFC: nil. ADGM: USD 1,000 in total for name, incorporation, licence and data protection |
| Licence, first year | DMCC | No | DIFC: USD 350 |
| Charter and by-laws drafting | Your lawyer | Not a government fee | None |
| Registered office and registered agent | Service provider, or DMCC if you lease from it | Depends on who provides it | ADGM: lease registration charged extra |
| Every year | |||
| Annual fees and licence renewal | DMCC | No | DIFC: USD 650 (licence 350 plus confirmation statement 300, a yearly filing confirming the register details). ADGM: USD 500 |
| Registered office | Service provider, or DMCC if you lease from it | Depends on who provides it | None |
| Accounts, plus audit unless DMCC waives it | Accountant and DMCC-approved auditor | Not a government fee | None |
| Council members' fees, if paid | Professional council members | Set by your charter | None |
| Events | |||
| Charter or by-law change | DMCC | No | DIFC: USD 100 |
| Name change | DMCC | No | DIFC: USD 200 |
| Registered office change | DMCC | No | DIFC: USD 100 |
| Certificates of good standing or incumbency | DMCC | No | Not compared here |
| Exit | |||
| Dissolution filing | DMCC | No | DIFC: closing down nil; voluntary removal from the register USD 200 |
| Liquidator | Qualified professional | Not a government fee | None |
| Penalties and tax | |||
| DMCC fines and sanctions | DMCC | No | None |
| Beneficial ownership failures | Registrar (DMCC), under federal rules | Yes, federal fines | Same federal rules apply |
| Corporate tax registration | Federal Tax Authority | Free; AED 10,000 if late | Same across the UAE |
| Professional fees (legal, registered agent or service provider, administration, accounting, audit) | Private firms | Not government fees | Extra everywhere, and usually more than the government fees |
Set-up
You pay DMCC a registration fee and hold a valid licence from day one. You also need a registered office in the DMCC free zone. That can be a registered agent's address, and using an agent is optional under the rules.
The bigger set-up cost is usually legal. Your charter (the founding document) and by-laws (the private rules on who benefits) need drafting. That's a professional fee, not a government one.
Every year
DMCC's register records "payment of annual fees", so expect a yearly charge. It may be the licence renewal itself or a separate fee; DMCC hasn't said. You'll also keep paying for the registered office.
Then come accounts. The rules apply DMCC's company accounting chapter to foundations. That points to accounts under international accounting standards (IFRS) and an annual audit by a DMCC-approved auditor, unless DMCC waives it. DMCC can waive this, but hasn't said whether it will for passive family foundations.
A foundation needs at least two council members (the council is the board that runs it). Whether they're paid is set in your charter. Family members often serve unpaid; professionals charge.
Events and exit
Changes to the charter, the name or the office each need a filing with DMCC, and DMCC hasn't priced them. The same goes for certificates of good standing or incumbency, which confirm the foundation exists and who runs it.
Closing the foundation means appointing a qualified liquidator and paying DMCC a "stipulated fee". If DMCC removes a foundation from the register and you later want it back, you pay all outstanding fees and penalties first.
Penalties
This is the line most budgets forget. The rules give short deadlines to file changes. Missing them can bring a sanction, from a fine up to licence suspension or removal from the register.
DMCC can fine "up to the amount specified by DMCCA (DMCC's authority) from time to time", and hasn't specified it yet. Federal rules are clearer.
Every foundation files a beneficial ownership statement at registration, and on our reading the federal penalty table applies to it. The table covers legal persons, including those in free zones. Each failure starts with a written warning, then fines:
- not registering the real owners' details properly: AED 20,000, then AED 40,000;
- not setting up the register of real owners: AED 50,000, then AED 100,000;
- not updating that register: AED 15,000, then AED 30,000.
Corporate tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority is free. Registering late costs AED 10,000, though the FTA waives it if the first return is filed within seven months of the end of the first tax period. Whether your foundation owes tax is a separate question, covered in our UAE corporate tax guide.
What do DIFC and ADGM charge?
DIFC is cheaper in year one; ADGM is cheaper each year after. Over five years their government fees land almost level, at USD 2,950 and USD 3,000.
These are the two UAE registrars with published foundation fees. We show them to give a sense of scale, not to predict DMCC's price.
DIFC. Registration is free. The licence costs USD 350 at set-up and USD 350 on renewal. The confirmation statement (a yearly filing confirming the register details) adds USD 300. That makes USD 350 in year one and USD 650 each year after, plus AED 20 per filing.
Moving a foundation into or out of DIFC costs USD 500. A no-objection certificate to register property with the Dubai Land Department also costs USD 500.
DIFC also charges USD 750 if a non-financial foundation tells the regulator it processes personal data. If it doesn't process any, that notice costs nothing. Our DIFC figures assume that nil option.
ADGM. Set-up costs USD 1,000: name 200, incorporation 300, licence 200 and data protection 300. Each renewal costs USD 500, which is the licence plus data protection. Registering the office lease is extra.
Over five years, DIFC totals USD 2,950 and ADGM USD 3,000. These are our own sums from the published schedules. They leave out DIFC's AED 20 filing fee, any event fees and all professional fees.
These are government fees only. In both centres, legal drafting, the registered agent or service provider, administration, accounting and audit fees come on top and usually cost more. Our DIFC foundation guide and ADGM foundation guide explain how each works.
Worked example: how to build a budget now
Build a five-year sheet with a blank for each DMCC fee, then fill in professional quotes around it. You can plan now and drop in DMCC's figures the day they appear.
Say you own a trading company in DMCC. You want a foundation to hold its shares for your children, with you and your sister on the council, unpaid. You won't hold property in it. Here's how your sheet might look.
| Line | Year one | Each later year |
|---|---|---|
| DMCC registration fee | DMCC fee once published | None |
| DMCC licence and annual fees | DMCC fee once published | DMCC fee once published |
| AED 20 per DMCC charge (if the usual schedule applies) | Per filing | Per filing |
| Corporate tax registration | Free | None |
| Charter and by-laws drafting | Quote from your lawyer | Only if you amend |
| Registered office and registered agent | Quote from your provider | Quote from your provider |
| Accounts | Quote from your accountant | Quote from your accountant |
| Audit | Assume yes unless DMCC waives it | Assume yes unless DMCC waives it |
| Council members | Nil (family, unpaid) | Nil |
| Reserve for changes and certificates | DMCC fee once published | DMCC fee once published |
| Share transfer in DMCC (moving the company's shares into the foundation) | DMCC share transfer charge (Registration Services in the schedule), plus legal fees | None |
| Bank account | No government fee published; bank and adviser fees | Bank fees |
Three habits make this sheet useful. First, ask every provider to split government fees from professional fees in writing. Then you can tell which part will change once DMCC publishes.
Second, keep the audit line in until DMCC says otherwise. It's easy to drop a cost that hasn't been confirmed, and this one recurs every year.
Third, use the comparators only as a sense check. DIFC and ADGM total about USD 3,000 each in government fees over five years.
That tells you the scale that financial-centre registrars charge, not what DMCC will charge. Professional fees usually sit well above it in all three. For how a foundation fits alongside a family office, see our guide to the DMCC single family office.
If the foundation will hold Dubai property
Budget for Dubai Land Department fees, but first confirm the foundation can hold the title at all. Nobody has confirmed that yet.
DMCC hasn't said whether a DMCC foundation can own Dubai freehold property. There's also no known DMCC equivalent of the DIFC certificate for registering property. Check both with the Land Department and DMCC before you plan around them.
If it can, the Land Department's published fees apply. Gifting a property costs 0.125% of its valuation, with a minimum of AED 2,000. Title deed and map fees come on top, including AED 250 for the title deed.
Gifts are allowed to first-degree relatives or to companies. Whether a foundation counts as a company for that rate isn't confirmed. A sale is priced differently: 2% of the price from the seller and 2% from the buyer, plus fees.
The gap between the two rates is large. On a property worth AED 4 million, the gift rate works out at AED 5,000. The Land Department also lists a service partner fee of AED 4,000 plus VAT at this value. At sale rates, the two sides together pay AED 160,000.
Which rate would apply to a transfer into a DMCC foundation is an open question, so ask the Land Department before you commit. Both figures are Land Department fees. Conveyancing and legal fees come on top and usually cost more.
How to keep costs down
Most savings come from asking the right questions early and filing on time. None of them depends on DMCC's fee level.
- Ask about the audit waiver. DMCC can waive the audit. If your foundation only holds shares, ask whether it will, and get the answer in writing.
- Use one provider for agent and office. A registered agent can also supply the registered office address, so you pay one firm instead of two.
- Claim the dormant exemption only if it's true. DMCC's company rules exempt a company that was dormant all year from the audit. That's a narrow test. Rely on it only if the foundation truly did nothing all year, and check with your auditor first.
- File changes on time. The deadlines are short, and late filings can bring fines or worse. Federal beneficial ownership fines, after a first warning, can be many times any published registrar fee.
- Decide on council pay in the charter. Unpaid family members cost nothing. If you use professionals, agree the fee before you name them.
Each of these trims professional or penalty costs. The government fee itself you can't negotiate. For the wider picture, see our overview of UAE wealth structuring in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What should I budget for a DMCC foundation before DMCC publishes its fees?
DMCC hasn't published a fee yet, as of 28 September 2026. For comparison only, a DIFC foundation pays USD 350 in year one and USD 650 each later year, and an ADGM foundation USD 1,000 and then USD 500. These are government fees only. Legal drafting, the registered agent or service provider, administration, accounting and audit fees come on top and usually cost more.
For a DMCC foundation, budget for a registration fee, a yearly licence and annual fees, a registered office, accounts and an audit unless DMCC waives it. Fill in DMCC's amounts once it publishes them.
Is the USD 100 a fee?
No. It's the minimum value of assets the foundation must start with. You transfer it to the foundation, which keeps it. It isn't paid to DMCC.
Will my DMCC foundation need an audit?
The rules point to an annual audit by a DMCC-approved auditor unless DMCC waives it. DMCC has the power to waive but hasn't said whether it will for family foundations. Budget for one until you're told otherwise.
When will DMCC publish its fees?
It hasn't said. On 23 September 2026 DMCC said guidance and digital onboarding would follow in the coming weeks. We'll update this guide when a fee appears. Meanwhile, see our DMCC foundation guide for how the structure works.
Next steps
Start with your own list. Write down what the foundation will hold, who sits on the council and whether property is involved. That decides which lines in this guide apply to you.
Then ask DMCC and any provider three questions in writing: what the government fee is, whether the audit applies, and which part of a quote is professional fees. Ancova structures and administers UAE foundations, holding companies and SPVs. If you'd like a budget built around your own assets, book a structuring consultation.
Sources and legal references
- DMCCA Foundations Regulations 2026, version dated 11 September 2026. Sanctions: Article 1 (definition of "Sanction"). Registration fee and beneficial ownership statement: Articles 4.2(d) and 4.3. Record of annual fees: Article 5.2(d). Certificates: Article 5.5. Licence, registered office and registered agent: Articles 7.1, 7.7, 7.9 and 7.10. Filing deadlines and sanctions: Articles 7.8, 7.12 to 7.14 and 10.5. Councillor pay: Article 8.3. Minimum initial assets: Article 11.1. Council of at least two: Article 14.1. Accounts: Article 21.1. Liquidator and dissolution fee: Articles 26.3 and 26.6. Reinstatement: Article 27.9. Fines: Article 28.2. Waiver: Article 29.1.
- DMCCA Company Regulations 2024, updated 2 January 2025. Accounts and audit: Articles 73.2, 73.6 and 78.1. Dormant exemption: Articles 73.4 and 78.11. Waiver: Article 77.1.
- DMCC schedule of charges, checked 28 September 2026. No foundation line; charges in AED, each subject to the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation fee and to change without notice.
- DMCC Foundations page, checked 28 September 2026 (initial assets from USD 100; no fee stated).
- DMCC press releases: 12 June 2026 and 23 September 2026.
- DIFC Registrar of Companies table of fees, DIFC-CS-GL-03 Rev. 16, 30 July 2026. Foundation licence, renewal, confirmation statement, charter and by-law amendment, name change, registered address update, continuation, strike-off, winding up, data protection notification and property registration certificate.
- ADGM Registration Authority Overview of Fees 2025. Foundation name reservation, incorporation, licence and data protection; renewal.
- Cabinet Resolution No. 132 of 2023 on administrative penalties under Cabinet Resolution No. 109 of 2023 on beneficial ownership procedures. Penalty table items 1, 3 and 4.
- Federal Tax Authority, Corporate Tax registration. Free registration; AED 10,000 late registration penalty and waiver initiative.
- Dubai Land Department service pages "Request for grant registration" and "Property sale registration", retrieved 28 September 2026.
- Five-year totals: Ancova calculation from the DIFC and ADGM schedules above.
All sources retrieved 28 September 2026 unless stated otherwise. Cover photo: Chatax902, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Fees change, and DMCC may publish its own at any time. Take advice from a qualified practitioner before acting.
Written by
Amine Derag
Director of Strategy, Ancova Associates
Amine Derag is Director of Strategy at Ancova Associates, the Dubai advisory firm for company formation, residency, citizenship by investment, and cross-border tax structuring. He advises founders and private clients relocating to the UAE on how a UAE structure interacts with their home-country tax and reporting obligations.
Connect on LinkedInThis article is general information for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, financial, or immigration advice. Investment thresholds, processing times, and program terms change — speak with a qualified Ancova adviser before acting.
