ADGM Company Formation

Methodology

Where every figure on this site comes from

Anyone can publish a number about ADGM. The only thing that makes one worth reading is being able to check it. This page lists every authority we cite and the rules we follow when they disagree.

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Quick answer

How is this site sourced?

Every fact published here is traced to a document issued by a primary authority — ADGM and its Registration Authority, the FSRA, ADGM Courts, or the relevant UAE federal body. There are currently 104 verified facts drawn from 53 sources, each carrying the date it was last checked.

We never cite a competitor, an aggregator or a law-firm client alert as authority. If a figure is not published by an authority, this site says so rather than estimating it — an admitted unknown is worth more than a plausible guess, because a reader cannot tell a guess from a fact.

The rules we follow

1. Primary sources only

ADGM publishes its real source material — the Registration Authority’s fee schedule, its guidance notes, its incorporation checklists — as documents on assets.adgm.com. Those are what we read. ADGM’s legislation itself is published in its official rulebook, and where a page names a Regulation and a year, that is where the text lives.

2. Figures carry the version they came from

Fees are point-in-time facts, not evergreen ones. Every ADGM fee on this site comes from the ADGM Schedule of Fees, version dated January 2025 and is labelled as such. This matters more than it usually would: ADGM cut its non-financial commercial licence fee from USD 10,000 to USD 5,000 and its retail fee from USD 6,000 to USD 2,000 with effect from 1 January 2025. An undated figure from before that change is not merely stale — it is roughly double the truth.

3. Government charges are published; totals are not

ADGM’s own charges are facts you can verify in one click, so we state them. A total setup cost is not a published figure — it depends on your structure, your registered office, whether a company service provider is required and what that provider charges. A headline number that later differs from a real quotation is worse than no number, so we do not publish one, in prose or in structured data.

4. When two official sources disagree, we say so

It happens. ADGM’s SPV web page and its Schedule of Fees both give a total of USD 1,900 to register an SPV, but they break that total down differently — the web page as name reservation, company registration and commercial licence, the schedule as name reservation, incorporation, licence, business activity and data protection. Our practice is to cite the schedule, because it is the controlling document, and to note the discrepancy rather than quietly pick the one we prefer.

5. Older documents are read for their date

ADGM’s SPV guidance note was published in March 2020 and still describes ADGM as covering Al Maryah Island alone. The jurisdiction expanded to Al Reem Island under UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 41 of 2023. Both statements were true when written; only one is true now. We do not quote a pre-2023 document for anything geographic.

6. Links are checked, not assumed

A dead citation is worse than none, because it looks verified. Every source URL on this site is fetched automatically and reported as live, moved or gone. Building this site found and corrected seven official URLs that had silently moved — including several UAE federal ones.

7. What this site is not

We are not a licensed corporate service provider, and nothing here is legal, tax, financial or regulatory advice. This is an independent information and referral service. Verify everything against the sources below before acting, and take professional advice.

Every authority we cite

Grouped by the body that issues them. The grouping is derived from each source’s own web address rather than typed by hand, so it cannot drift out of step with the list.

Abu Dhabi Global Market

The Centre and its three independent authorities — the Registration Authority, the FSRA and ADGM Courts — under Abu Dhabi Law No. 4 of 2013. Authoritative for entity types, licensing, fees, financial regulation and jurisdiction. `assets.adgm.com` hosts ADGM's own fee schedules and guidance notes.

  1. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) — ADGM's own description of its authorities, legal framework and district
  2. ADGM — Annual Accounts filing requirements — Who must file annual accounts in ADGM, the audit requirement, the small-company exemption and filing deadlines
  3. ADGM — Digital Assets — ADGM's framework for virtual assets, fiat-referenced tokens, digital securities and funds
  4. ADGM — Employment Affairs Office FAQs — ADGM's own answers on employment obligations and end-of-service entitlements
  5. ADGM — Guidance on the Application of English Law in ADGM — The 47 modified English statutes, the fixed-date approach to statute and the evergreen basis of common law
  6. ADGM — Legal Obligations of a Registered Business Entity — What an ADGM entity must do after registration — filings, accounts and renewals
  7. ADGM — Our Jurisdiction — ADGM's geographic extent across Al Maryah and Al Reem Islands, and its status as an independent common-law jurisdiction
  8. ADGM — Permitted Activities — The searchable register of activities ADGM licenses, and the category each falls into
  9. ADGM — Reduces Commercial Licence Fees from January 2025 — The January 2025 reduction of non-financial and retail commercial licence fees
  10. ADGM — Setting up with ADGM: Frequently Asked Questions — ADGM's own answers on remote registration, expected timeframes, name reservation validity and data protection renewal
  11. ADGM — Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) — What an ADGM SPV is, the nexus and CSP requirements, and the published registration fees
  12. ADGM — Tech Start-up Licence (brochure) — ADGM's description of the Tech Start-up Licence and that it is sector agnostic
  13. ADGM — The company service provider (CSP) regime — When an ADGM entity must appoint a licensed CSP and what that CSP is responsible for
  14. ADGM Courts — The Courts of First Instance and Appeal, their jurisdiction and their procedural rules
  15. ADGM Courts — Frequently Asked Questions — Opt-in jurisdiction, the language of proceedings and rights of audience before ADGM Courts
  16. ADGM Courts — The English Common Law System — The Application of English Law Regulations 2015 and the direct application of English common law
  17. ADGM Courts Forms and Fees Reference Table (effective 8 February 2025) — Filing fees for claims, applications and appeals in ADGM Courts
  18. ADGM Divisions and Jurisdiction (Court of First Instance) Rules 2015 — The four divisions of the Court of First Instance and the exclusive jurisdiction of each, including the US$100,000 small-claims threshold
  19. ADGM Employment Affairs Office — Guidance on the ADGM Employment Regulations 2024 (18 February 2025) — The ADGM Employment Regulations 2024 — gratuity, pensions, working time, leave, probation and termination
  20. ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) — Financial services regulation in ADGM under the Financial Services and Markets Regulations (FSMR)
  21. ADGM Foundations Regulations 2017 — The statutory framework for ADGM Foundations — Charter, By-Laws, Council, Guardian and objects
  22. ADGM Registration Authority — Foundations Regime (brochure) — How an ADGM Foundation works: the Council, the Guardian, firewall provisions, initial assets and public-register disclosure
  23. ADGM Registration Authority — Guidance Note for Applicants from Al Reem Island — Cabinet Resolution No. 41 of 2023, the transitional arrangements and the 31 December 2024 deadline
  24. ADGM Registration Authority — Guidance Note for Special Purpose Vehicles — The Nexus Requirement in full, the SPV controlled activities and the Registrar's discretion
  25. ADGM Registration Authority — Guidance on Legal Entity Types (VER1.1, September 2017) — Per-entity minimums for directors, shareholders, secretaries and share capital, and how the cell company structures work
  26. ADGM Registration Authority — Overview of Fees (version dated January 2025) — Every published RA fee: registration, licensing, renewal, incentivised structures and post-incorporation filings
  27. ADGM Registration Authority — Registration and Incorporation — The entity types the RA registers, the Online Registry Solution and the application process
  28. ADGM Registration Authority — Special Purpose Vehicles (brochure) — Restricted Scope Company categories, the exempt vs non-exempt applicant test, registered office options and SPV document requirements
  29. ADGM Registration Authority (RA) — The RA's remit: registration, incorporation, commercial licensing, data protection and employment
  30. FSRA Guidance — Regulation of Virtual Asset Activities in ADGM — The COBS Chapter 17 framework, the seven Accepted Virtual Asset criteria, regulatory capital under MIR 3.2.1, and the FSRA's virtual asset application and supervision fees

ADGM legislation

ADGM's official rulebook: the text of every Regulation and enactment as made. Where a page names a Regulation and a year, this is where that text lives.

  1. ADGM Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Rulebook (AML), VER11.210526 — Who the AML Rulebook applies to, customer due diligence, the MLRO requirement, suspicious activity reporting and UAE sanctions obligations
  2. ADGM Commercial Licensing Regulations 2025 (consolidated version, June 2026) — The licensing of controlled activities in ADGM, the general prohibition, exemption orders, and the repeal of the Commercial Licensing Regulations 2015
  3. ADGM Companies Regulations 2020 (consolidated version, June 2026) — The primary company law: formation, share capital, directors' duties, accounts and audit, and the small company exemptions
  4. ADGM FSRA Fund Rulebook (FUNDS), VER12.290426 — What constitutes a Fund, the Exempt and Qualified Investor Fund classes, and authorisation and marketing of domestic and foreign funds
  5. ADGM Insolvency Regulations 2022 (consolidated version, October 2025) — Company voluntary arrangements, administration, receivership, winding up both voluntary and by the Court, and dissolution
  6. ADGM Legislation (official rulebook) — The text of every ADGM Regulation, Rule and enactment by name and year
  7. Commercial Licensing Regulations (Exemptions) Order 2025, published 10 April 2025 — Who is an exempt person for the purposes of section 8 of the Commercial Licensing Regulations 2015, and so needs no ADGM commercial licence

UAE federal government

Corporate tax, VAT, economic substance, visas, residency and banking are federal matters and apply inside ADGM too. The Centre's own rules never override them.

  1. Central Bank of the UAE — Banking regulation in the UAE
  2. The Official Platform of the UAE Government — Corporate Tax — The UAE corporate tax rate, the AED 375,000 threshold and the Free Zone Person position
  3. The Official Platform of the UAE Government — Golden Visa — Golden Visa durations, eligible categories and stated investment thresholds
  4. The Official Portal of the UAE Government (u.ae) — Mainland company rules, licensing and foreign ownership
  5. UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP) — UAE residence visas and Golden Visa eligibility
  6. UAE Federal Tax Authority — Registration for VAT — The 5% VAT rate and the mandatory and voluntary registration thresholds
  7. UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) — VAT and corporate tax registration, thresholds and filing
  8. UAE Federal Tax Authority, Corporate Tax Guide on Free Zone Persons (CTGFZP1), May 2024 — The eight conditions for Qualifying Free Zone Person status, the de minimis test, and the consequences of losing QFZP status
  9. UAE Federal Tax Authority, Designated Zones VAT Guide (VATGDZ1), Issue 1, July 2018 — What a VAT Designated Zone is, the control criteria, and why the special treatment reaches goods but not services
  10. UAE Government — Full foreign ownership of commercial companies — 100% foreign ownership on the UAE mainland and the strategic-impact exceptions
  11. UAE Government — Starting a business in a free zone — Free zone entity types, licensing through the free zone authority and typical timelines
  12. UAE Government — Work and residency permits — Residence visa types and eligibility, medical fitness testing and Emirates ID
  13. UAE Ministry of Finance — Corporate Tax — UAE Corporate Tax law, rates and Qualifying Free Zone Person rules
  14. UAE Ministry of Finance — Economic Substance Regulations — The UAE Economic Substance Regulations, Relevant Activities and who they applied to

Other jurisdictions

Cited only on comparison pages, and only from each jurisdiction's own website. We do not describe a competing centre using someone else's summary of it.

  1. Cabinet Resolution No. 65 of 2022 issuing the Executive Regulation of Federal Decree-Law No. 29 of 2021 on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners, via the UAE Legislation portal — Residence permit types and durations, the general conditions for a residence permit, the Green Residence categories, and the Golden Residence delegation
  2. Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) — DIFC's own description of its entity types and framework, cited only on comparison pages

Who writes and reviews this

Every guide on this site is written by Mirza Seraj Baig, Founder, HenryClub Advisory. There is one author and there are no ghostwritten bylines.

Pages are reviewed before publishing, by topic, by:

Both are real, independently verifiable people with published profiles, and each is assigned only to the topics they can actually speak to. A reviewer credit is a factual statement about who checked a page, not a trust badge — on this kind of content a false credential claim is worse than no claim at all.

Mirza Seraj Baig

Written by

Mirza Seraj Baig

Founder & Advisory Strategist

Mirza is the founder of HenryClub Advisory and an independent UAE company-formation and structuring advisor. He has guided founders and investors from 40+ countries and writes every ADGM guide here from ADGM's own published regulations and fee schedules — advisory-first, clarity before commitment.

Reviewed by Jashvantkumar Prajapati· CSP-licensed corporate advisorAuthor profile

A specialist service by HenryClub Advisory.

Found something here that looks wrong?

Tell us, with the source. Corrections to this site are made the same day they are verified — that is the whole basis on which it is worth reading.

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