The order
Four gates, in the same order, in every zone.
Every office fitout in Dubai passes four gates in the same order: the landlord’s NOC, a permit from the authority for your zone, Civil Defence, and completion certificates before anyone moves in. The authority changes with the building. The order does not, and a step taken out of order is usually a step taken twice.
- Landlord · building management
Landlord NOC
The building confirms the works suit its rules, its services and its fitout manual. Every authority submission assumes it.
First, for every scope - DM · DDA · DIFC · DMCC · JAFZA
Authority permit
The authority for your zone permits the works against the drawings: layout, partitions, ceilings and services.
By zone - Dubai Civil Defence
Fire and life safety
Drawings for alarm, firefighting and voice evacuation are approved before they are built, in every zone of the emirate.
Every zone - DEWA
Power connection
Joins the route when the fitout changes distribution boards or electrical load.
Where boards or load change - Civil Defence, then the authority
Completion
Civil Defence inspects and issues its completion certificate; the zone authority issues its own on the back of it.
Before move-in - Landlord · building management
Move-in
A joint final inspection, the handover pack and the building’s approval to occupy.
Last
The tenancy law puts the first gate in writing. A tenant may not change the premises without the landlord’s permission and the licences the work needs1. For non-structural works, the landlord must obtain the official approvals, provided the tenant holds the documents those approvals require.
Who applies: you, or the contractor
In most cases the contractor. Dubai Municipality takes decoration permit applications from a DM-approved contractor through its electronic self-service2. DDA lists the contractor as the requester for its fitout permit3, and DEWA accepts fitout connection requests only from enrolled contractors and consultants4. As the tenant, you supply what only you hold: the trade licence, the registered lease (Ejari), the landlord NOC and, in some zones, the owner’s consent.
Fajr Interiors holds trade licence 648890, is a G+1 approved contractor with Dubai Municipality, and is registered with Emaar, Nakheel, DDA, Trakhees and Dubai Civil Defence, and in the DMCC, DIFC and JAFZA free zones. We prepare and submit the packages as part of the one contract.
Which authority
Which authority signs depends on where the building sits.
On the mainland, Dubai Municipality issues the permit. In a free zone, the zone’s own body does: DDA for its twelve communities, DIFC, DMCC through Concordia, or JAFZA. Civil Defence sits over all of them. The building’s affection plan settles the zone before a programme is written, because the zone sets the documents, the fees and the wait.
| Zone | Permit | Published fee | Published time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland Business Bay, Sheikh Zayed Road, Downtown | Dubai Municipality decoration works permit, for units over 100 m²2 | Not published — confirmed at submission | Not published |
| DDA communities Internet City, Media City, d3, Knowledge Park and others | DDA fitout permit3 | AED 0.90 / sqft Min AED 200, max AED 10,000, plus AED 20 | 2 working days |
| DIFC | DIFC Property Development NOC, then DDA5 | AED 3,150 AED 3,000 + VAT | Up to 5 working days |
| DMCC JLT, Uptown | DMCC NOC to Concordia, then Concordia’s fitout approval6 | AED 265 + AED 20 Concordia: varies by fitout | Not published |
| JAFZA | JAFZA Modifications NOC7 | No charge | 5 working days |
| Every zone | Dubai Civil Defence drawing approval and completion8 | Set by resolution; confirmed at submission | Not published |
Fees and times as each body publishes them, read in October 2026. They are per application, not per project, and they change: we confirm each at submission.
Business Bay is not one of DDA’s communities9. Towers there, such as Opus Tower and Vision Tower, follow the mainland route: building management, Dubai Municipality and Civil Defence. DDA’s twelve communities include Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Park, Dubai Science Park, Dubai Design District and DQuarters.
Read the affection plan, not the address
Two towers on the same road can sit in different zones. The affection plan names the plot’s authority, and that name decides which permit is applied for, who must sign the drawings and which completion certificate closes the job. We read it at the site survey, before the approvals window in the programme is set.
Civil Defence
Civil Defence approves every office fitout, mainland or free zone.
Dubai’s Law No. 4 of 2025 gives Civil Defence jurisdiction over every area of the emirate, including special development zones and free zones such as DIFC8. No licensing authority may issue a licence, permit or approval without a valid Civil Defence compliance certificate. A free-zone address changes the first permit, not this one.
- Drawings first. Civil Defence reviews decoration drawings, and its projects must show fire alarm, firefighting and voice evacuation systems10.
- The fire code is a document fee. Proof of purchase of the UAE Fire and Life Safety Code, sold at AED 3,010, is required; without it, Civil Defence states that projects will not be reviewed or approved.
- Changes to fire systems need approval. Owners must notify Civil Defence of changes that may affect safety requirements and obtain its approval8. Moving a sprinkler head or a detector for a new partition is such a change.
- Completion closes it. Civil Defence inspects the built works and issues its completion certificate. Zone authorities rely on it: DDA will not issue its own completion without it.
What a breach costs
Penalties under the 2025 law run from AED 1,000 to AED 1,000,000, doubled for a repeat within a year and capped at AED 2,000,0008. Civil Defence fees themselves are set by an Executive Council resolution, which is why we confirm them at submission rather than quote them here.
Dubai Municipality
On the mainland: the decoration works permit.
Dubai Municipality requires a decoration works permit for an office, commercial or professional unit larger than 100 m²2. A DM-approved contractor applies through the electronic system with the decoration plans, the owner’s written consent and Civil Defence requirements met. When the works are done, a completion certificate is issued the same way.
- Inside the unit only. The permit covers works within the unit’s boundaries on the approved plans. It does not stretch to areas being added, removed, merged or separated.
- Small units and malls. Units of 100 m² or less, and units of any size inside a mall, need no permit or completion certificate, but still need a DM-approved contractor, Civil Defence compliance and the owner’s consent.
- Fee. Payable under the legislation in force. A 2022 resolution waived a decoration permit fee; its current scope is not published in a form we can quote, so we confirm it at submission.
Merging two units is not decoration. It is a modification, with its own drawings and approvals11; the steps are on our office expansion page.
Service names are changing
On 20 August 2026 Dubai Municipality merged 20 services into fewer, broader ones12. The decoration permit sits on the municipality’s building permits platform, and its name on screen may differ from the name in the 2019 resolution. The rules above are the resolution’s; the screen you apply through is the municipality’s current one.
Free zones
In the free zones: DDA, DIFC, DMCC and JAFZA.
Each free zone publishes its own route. DDA permits in two working days at AED 0.90 per sqft. DIFC issues its NOC within five working days for AED 3,150, then the contractor goes to DDA. DMCC issues a NOC to Concordia for AED 265 before Concordia approves the fitout. JAFZA’s modifications NOC carries no charge and takes five working days.
DDA
The contractor requests the fitout permit through DDA’s zoning e-services with the tenant’s appointment letter, the Ejari, the building owner’s NOC and the drawings3. The permit costs AED 0.90 per sqft, with a minimum of AED 200 and a maximum of AED 10,000, plus AED 10 Knowledge Dirham and AED 10 Innovation Dirham. It is valid for six months and renews at AED 200 for three months, up to a year from issue13.
A change to the design after approval is a revision: AED 1,000 plus AED 1.0 per sqft of any added built-up area, three working days14. Adding structure, changing use or adding floor area is a building modification, not a fitout, and DDA does not refund the fitout fee if it decides that applies. The completion certificate is online, carries no fee, takes two working days and needs the Civil Defence completion certificate15.
DIFC
DIFC Property Development issues the fitout NOC for AED 3,000 plus VAT, within a maximum of five working days5. The pack includes the DIFC licence, the title deed, A3 existing and proposed drawings stamped by the building’s FM or owner, the strata plan, NOC letters from tenant, owner and building management, and proof that the contractor is registered with DDA. The NOC comes first; DDA follows.
DMCC
The DMCC company applies for a NOC to Concordia through the member portal, with the owner’s undertaking and the lease or title deed16. The NOC is AED 265 plus a AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation Dirham6. Concordia then approves the fitout itself; DMCC lists that fee as varying with the type of fitout, and the time is not published.
JAFZA and Trakhees
JAFZA’s modifications NOC is requested on the Dubai Trade portal with the licence, the permit, the approved drawings and site photographs: no charge, five working days7. In Trakhees areas, a modification permit is issued with stamped drawings17, and the premises may not be occupied, used or used for storage until the Modification Completion Certificate is issued, with a target of three working days after inspection18.
Small units and simple works in DDA areas
DDA’s 2019 circulars list works that need only the landlord’s or FM’s permit to work, such as painting, non-structural demolition and replacing ceilings without moving fire systems19, and exempt units of 100 m² or less from the fitout permit unless units are merged or separated, structure changes or a mezzanine is added20. We confirm with DDA that a circular still applies before relying on it for a programme.
DEWA
DEWA, when the boards or the load change.
DEWA’s fitout connection applies when the fitout changes distribution boards or electrical load4. An enrolled contractor or consultant applies with the board schedules, a load schedule for the final board, a landlord NOC in DEWA’s format, the lighting and power layouts and a site photograph. The service is free; a security deposit is invoiced separately.
- Design approval: 1 working day.
- Low-voltage inspection: 1 working day from the request.
- Invoice: 3 working days.
Not every office needs it. A layout that reuses the existing boards and load stays off DEWA’s route; one that adds load, such as a server room or a full kitchen, joins it. The electrical design settles which.
How long
Published times are days. The chain takes weeks.
Authority times are short on paper: two working days at DDA, up to five at DIFC and JAFZA, one at DEWA for design approval. The chain around them takes longer, because each step waits for the one before it: landlord NOC, authority permit, Civil Defence drawings, then DEWA where needed. Our programmes allow 2–4 weeks for the whole chain, inside the 6–7 months, not after it.
| Project | Area | Approvals | Whole programme |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMI at One Za’abeel | 5,000 sqft | 4 weeks | 28 weeks |
| Opus by Omniyat, Business Bay | 6,200 sqft | 2 weeks | 24 weeks |
Fajr project records21. IMI at One Za’abeel went through Dubai Municipality, after the drawings were approved by the consultant, WSP. Opus by Omniyat is in its final weeks before handover; its 24 weeks is the contracted programme.
What to have ready before submission
- Trade licence for the business that will occupy the unit.
- Registered lease (Ejari) — DDA lists it among its documents.
- Landlord or building management NOC, and the owner’s written consent where the zone asks for it.
- The building’s fitout manual, which sets its own drawings, deposits, insurances and working hours.
- A drawing set that will not change. A design changed after approval is a revision, with its own fee and its own wait.
What actually slows approvals
Rarely the authority. More often a missing document, a landlord NOC in the wrong format, or drawings that keep moving after they are lodged. That is why the space planning stage closes the layout before the approvals window opens: an approved plan is only useful if it is the plan that gets built.
Sources
Sources, and when we read them.
Every rule, fee and time on this page is as published by the body named, on the date shown. Rules and fees change: confirm each at application. Fajr figures come from our own delivered projects.
- Law No. (26) of 2007 Regulating the Relationship between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai, Dubai Legislation Portal, 2007.
- Administrative Resolution No. (85) of 2019 Concerning the Licensing of Decoration Works, Dubai Legislation Portal, 17 March 2019.
- Fit-Out Permit, Dubai Development Authority, accessed Oct 2026.
- Getting Electricity Fit-Out Connections, DEWA, accessed Oct 2026.
- Third-Party Buildings (NOCs), DIFC, accessed Oct 2026.
- DMCC Schedule of Charges, DMCC, accessed Oct 2026.
- Modifications – No Objection Certificate Request, JAFZA, 3 April 2024.
- Law No. (4) of 2025 Establishing the Dubai Civil Defence General Command, Dubai Legislation Portal, 7 April 2025.
- Free Zone (communities list), Dubai Development Authority, accessed Oct 2026.
- Approval of Drawings, Dubai Civil Defence, accessed Oct 2026.
- Building and Planning Circulars, Dubai Municipality, accessed Oct 2026.
- 20 services restructured for simpler, seamless customer experience, Dubai Municipality, 20 August 2026.
- Renewal of Fit-Out Permit, Dubai Development Authority, accessed Oct 2026.
- Fit-out Services' ID Cards, Issue No. 5, Dubai Development Authority, December 2021.
- Fit-Out Completion Certificate, Dubai Development Authority, accessed Oct 2026.
- Application Guideline 2.1.2 – Request for NOC to Concordia – Fit-Out, DMCC, undated, accessed Oct 2026.
- Civil Engineering Division – Modifications, Trakhees, accessed Oct 2026.
- PCFC-TRK-CED-MF-CP-02 Rev 02, Client Procedure for requesting a Modification Completion Certificate, PCFC / Trakhees, December 2022.
- Circular 318, Amendments in Fit out Permit Process, Dubai Development Authority, 5 May 2019.
- Circular 338, Amendments in Fit out Permit Process, Dubai Development Authority, 11 December 2019.
- Fajr Interiors project records: IMI at One Za’abeel and Opus by Omniyat, Fajr Interiors, 2024–2026.
