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DLD · MEDIAN 12M TO JUL 2026

fit-out & approvals

Commercial Fit-Out & Building Permits in Dubai: Which Authority Approves Your Project?

Dubai has no single building-permit authority. This guide maps which regulator — Dubai Municipality, Trakhees, DDA, DIFC or DMCC — controls your commercial fit-out, and the landlord NOC layered on top.

Browse the 8 guidesBook a One-to-One
fit-out & approvals

Key Takeaways

Fit-out delays are one of the most common causes of lost rent-free periods and pushed-back opening dates in Dubai commercial real estate. Before a single partition goes up, an investor or business owner needs to know one thing above all else: which authority actually approves the work. This guide sets out the framework — the rest of this cluster covers each authority's process in detail.

  • Dubai has no single building-permit authority — which regulator approves your commercial fit-out depends entirely on who owns and administers the land your unit sits on, not on your business type.
  • Three broad jurisdiction categories exist: Dubai Municipality (mainland), Trakhees (Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation land including JAFZA and Palm Jumeirah), and DDA/TECOM or special free zones (DIFC, DMCC/JLT).
  • On the mainland, two defined categories of fit-out need no permit at all. Administrative Resolution No. (85) of 2019 requires a decoration works permit only where a unit's area exceeds 100 square metres, and exempts units of any area inside a shopping mall or commercial complex. Five technical conditions survive the exemption, so exempt does not mean unregulated.
  • Almost every project needs two approvals, not one — a statutory government permit, plus a separate landlord or building-management NOC required by your lease.
  • The landlord/community NOC very often gates the government submission — meaning delays at the landlord-approval stage push straight through into the statutory-permit stage.
  • DEWA and Dubai Civil Defence sit outside all of the above — these utility and life-safety approvals apply Dubai-wide, regardless of which planning authority governs your plot, and Civil Defence compliance now gates licence issuance and renewal by statute.
  • Getting the jurisdiction wrong is a common, costly mistake — misdirected applications, missed approval layers, or unregistered consultants can trigger stop-work orders and delay trade licence renewal.
In this cluster

fit-out & approvals

The 8 guides this hub introduces, in full — each one covering a single decision or approval end to end.

Access, Loading Bay & Delivery Rules for Commercial Fit-Out in Dubai

How access passes, loading-bay hours, goods-lift use and material deliveries are actually controlled during commercial fit-out in Dubai, with five worked examples from published manuals.

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DEWA, Dubai Civil Defence & Other NOCs Required for Commercial Fit-Out in Dubai

DEWA and Dubai Civil Defence NOCs apply to every commercial fit-out in Dubai. See the documents, the published turnaround days and how to sequence them.

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Dubai Commercial Fit-Out Approvals: Typical Timelines and Who's Responsible for What

Compare published Dubai fit-out approval timelines from DDA, DEWA, JAFZA and Dubai Municipality, and see who is responsible for each stage of the works.

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Dubai Municipality Building Permit Process for Commercial Fit-Out (Mainland Dubai)

How the Dubai Municipality fit-out permit process works on mainland Dubai: who may submit, DM's three published steps, Al Sa'fat rules and inspections.

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Fit-Out Approvals in DDA/TECOM, DIFC and DMCC (JLT): Free-Zone Rules Compared

Compare free-zone fit-out approvals in Dubai: DDA's published permit fees and documents, DIFC's NOC categories and the DMCC-to-Concordia route in JLT.

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Master-Developer Fit-Out Standards in Dubai: Landlord & Building Management NOCs Explained

Why Dubai commercial tenants need a landlord or master-developer NOC on top of the government permit — how mall operators and building managers structure approval.

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Snagging, Handover and Completion Certificates for Commercial Fit-Out in Dubai

How snagging, handover and the completion certificate work for Dubai commercial fit-out: which authority signs off, what it costs, and what gates occupation.

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Trakhees Fit-Out Approval: The Process for JAFZA, Palm Jumeirah & Dubai World-Owned Zones

Trakhees fit-out approval, step by step: the JAFZA Modification NOC route on Dubai Trade, BMC and Civil Defence sign-off, documents, and Palm Jumeirah.

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Why Does Jurisdiction Depend on Location, Not Business Type?

Dubai runs multiple parallel planning and building-control regimes over different geographic areas simultaneously. Unlike many cities with one municipal building department, Dubai's regulatory map was built up alongside its free-zone economic model, so different master developers and free-zone authorities administer their own land.

There are three broad categories to place your unit in:

Mainland Dubai. Areas not carved out to a free zone or master developer fall under Dubai Municipality (DM). This is the default authority for most standalone commercial buildings in areas like Deira, Bur Dubai, and Business Bay. One housekeeping point matters if you are searching for the portal: the old Dubai Building Permit System address, dubaibps.dm.gov.ae, now redirects to DM's wider Build in Dubai platform at buildindubai.gov.ae, confirmed on 17 August 2026, so the front door has moved. What that platform now offers is not confirmed as at the same date, so nothing here describes its current service list — ask your consultant to open the live service page in front of you rather than planning around a portal name. Our Dubai Municipality fit-out permit process guide covers what DM's own published procedure says.

Trakhees-governed zones. The legal footing here is Decree No. (22) of 2009 Concerning Special Development Zones, issued on 31 May 2009. Article 1 defines a Special Development Zone as land, compounds and areas owned by the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) or Dubai World, by their affiliated entities and companies, or falling within areas the PCFC or the Ruler determines — naming Nakheel, Limitless, Dubai Maritime City, Estithmar and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre "without limitation". Article 2 makes the corporation exclusively responsible inside those zones for supervising infrastructure and public utilities, for issuing all types of licences, and for setting and collecting the associated fees. Two consequences follow. First, your regulator is decided by who owns the land, which is why two units a few kilometres apart can sit under different authorities. Second, the decree does not name Trakhees anywhere: Trakhees is the operating arm PCFC uses to discharge these functions, not a body the decree creates. No PCFC-published description of Trakhees' departments or covered areas is confirmed as at 17 August 2026, so this guide reproduces neither — if your plot's status under PCFC bears on your programme, ask Trakhees to confirm in writing which department will handle your file. For fit-out purposes the arms that matter are the Civil Engineering Department and Environment, Health & Safety, both named as the relevant authorities in JAFZA's own Fit-Out Manual.

DDA/TECOM and special free zones. Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Design District (d3), Dubai Knowledge Park, and similar TECOM-managed clusters fall under the Dubai Development Authority (DDA). DIFC and DMCC/JLT are further special cases, each with their own layered planning process. In DIFC the planning function sits with DIFC's Property Development Department — but read that name with care: it is not confirmed by DIFC's own published pages on 17 August 2026, so it is worth confirming with DIFC before you address correspondence to it. In JLT, DMCC issues a No Objection Certificate addressed to Concordia through its member portal, and the fit-out permit stage follows; Concordia is the building and facilities manager operating under that route, not a government planning authority. Note the tension in DMCC's case: it appears in Decree 22's illustrative list of Special Development Zone entities, yet in practice DMCC publishes its own fit-out NOC route through Concordia. If your unit is in JLT, get the applicable route confirmed in writing rather than reasoning from the decree.

On top of whichever government authority applies, a "master-developer community" — a Nakheel or Emaar-managed building, for instance — usually adds an additional layer: the building or community management NOC. This sits on top of the statutory authority approval, not instead of it.

Quick-Reference Table: Authority by Area

Area / Community Government Planning Authority Community/Building Management Layer
Dubai mainland (Deira, Bur Dubai, Business Bay, Downtown outside DDA plots) Dubai Municipality (DM) — via the Build in Dubai platform Building owner/owners' association, if applicable
Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Islands, Jumeirah Park, JAFZA, Dubai Maritime City Trakhees (Civil Engineering + EHS) Nakheel Community Management (Palm Jumeirah) / Building Maintenance Contractor (JAFZA — DP World)
Dubai Internet City, Media City, Knowledge Park, Science Park, d3, Production City Dubai Development Authority (DDA) TECOM Facilities Management
DIFC DIFC's own Property Development Department (departmental name unconfirmed as at 17 August 2026 — confirm it) Building FM/management
JLT towers DMCC — NOC issued to Concordia through the DMCC member portal Concordia, as JLT building and facilities management
Master-developer-managed towers and malls DM (mainland) for the statutory permit Master developer / mall operator management NOC

Does Every Mainland Fit-Out Actually Need a Permit?

No — and this is the single most commonly misunderstood point on the mainland side of the map. Administrative Resolution No. (85) of 2019, issued by DM's Director General on 17 March 2019, governs the licensing of decoration works. Article (2) states that decoration works of a structural unit whose area exceeds one hundred square metres may not be implemented without first obtaining a permit, applied for with the plans by a DM-approved contractor through the self-service on the electronic system.

Article (4) then carves out two exemptions from both the permit and the completion certificate: a structural unit of any area which exists within a Trade Centre, and a structural unit whose area does not exceed 100 m². The resolution defines a Trade Centre as "a commercial complex, shopping mall, or similar buildings", and a structural unit as any area of a building designated for commercial, professional, industrial or office use, or for providing consultations or services, and licensed as an independent business unit within that building.

Read those two limbs together and two whole categories sit outside the government permit entirely: any unit inside a mall or commercial complex, whatever its area, and any unit of 100 m² or less. The resolution does not say what share of Dubai's fit-out activity those categories represent, and neither does this guide. What the exemption does not do is make the works unregulated. Article (4)(b) preserves five conditions that survive the exemption in full:

  • the works must be carried out by a contractor approved by Dubai Municipality;
  • the technical specifications, conditions and procedures in Dubai's planning and construction legislation must be observed;
  • the works must stay within the unit's approved boundaries and must not extend to any built-up area that is added, removed, amalgamated or isolated;
  • Directorate General of Civil Defence requirements must be met; and
  • the written consent of the unit's owner or their legal representative must be obtained.

Article (5) then reserves to DM an express power of control and audit over decoration works in the emirate, expressly including at the exempt units, and to act on violations. So the practical effect of exemption is that the landlord's or mall operator's own process becomes the binding gate on your programme, while the technical obligations stay where they were. One caution before you act on any of this: because the reading above decides whether you apply for a permit at all, confirm your unit's classification with Dubai Municipality in writing before deciding not to apply. This guide summarises the resolution rather than substituting for advice on it, and a wrong call surfaces at completion-certificate stage, when it is most expensive to correct. Our retail premises approvals guide works through what that inversion means for a shop unit, and the master-developer and landlord fit-out standards guide covers the layer that replaces the permit.

What Are the Two Approval Tracks Every Project Needs?

Most Dubai commercial fit-outs run on two parallel tracks, and conflating them is one of the most common planning mistakes.

Track 1 — Statutory government permit. This is the legal permission to alter a building: a DM building/fit-out permit, a Trakhees Civil Engineering NOC, a DDA finishing permit, or the DIFC/DMCC equivalent.

Track 2 — Landlord or community NOC. This is contractual permission required by your lease, issued by the building owner, master developer, or mall operator, and layered on top of Track 1.

Both are required in almost every case, and sequence matters. In documented processes such as JAFZA's, the community NOC is a precondition the statutory authority requires before it will accept the government application at all — not a parallel, independent step.

What Separates a Minor Fit-Out From a Major One?

The distinction decides how many authorities you meet, and it is drawn in words rather than measurements. JAFZA's Fit-Out Manual defines minor fit-out as modification with low-height wall partitions plus minor modifications of floors, MEP services and civil works, and major fit-out as modification with full-height wall partitions along with major modifications of civil and MEP services — adding that in the major case, approvals are required from Dubai Civil Defence, Trakhees and DEWA for all facilities.

Note what that definition does not contain: a partition height in metres at which one becomes the other. Anyone quoting you a specific threshold figure should be asked to show you where it comes from. Settle the classification with your building management in writing at concept stage, because misclassifying at that point is the most expensive self-inflicted delay in the whole process.

There is a second, harder boundary that applies on the mainland whichever route you are on. Under Administrative Resolution 85 of 2019, decoration works must stay inside the unit's approved boundaries and must not add, remove, amalgamate or isolate built-up area. The moment a scheme merges two units, carves one in half, or changes the envelope, it stops being decoration works and becomes a building matter. Our Trakhees fit-out approval guide sets out the minor and major checklists in full.

Which External NOCs Apply Regardless of Authority?

Two regulators sit outside the DM/Trakhees/DDA/DIFC/DMCC track entirely, because they apply across the whole of Dubai regardless of which planning authority governs the plot:

  • DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority) — required for any fit-out involving power or water changes.
  • Dubai Civil Defence (DCD) — fire and life safety approval, required for all commercial premises.

The Civil Defence limb has statutory teeth that reach past the fit-out itself. Law No. (4) of 2025 Establishing the Dubai Civil Defence General Command, issued 7 April 2025, requires at Article 16(a) that all competent licensing authorities in the emirate ensure no licence, permit or approval is issued or renewed to any person unless the applicant provides a valid official certificate from the CDGC confirming compliance with the Preventive Safety Requirements. Article 6(b)(14) tasks the CDGC with regulating early detection fire alarm systems and ensuring that establishments, public facilities, critical infrastructure and buildings are connected to its approved electronic systems.

A word on Hassantuk, DCD's smart fire-monitoring system. Suppliers and building managers routinely present a Hassantuk subscription as a legal obligation and attribute it to a named instrument, most often "Law No. 24 of 2012". That attribution is not repeated here, because no primary text supports it: no Dubai Civil Defence publication confirming that instrument number is available as at 17 August 2026, and the only sources asserting it are contractor, marketing and news pages. The connection obligation set out above, read in the official Dubai text of Law No. (4) of 2025, is the statutory basis this guide relies on. If a supplier or building manager cites a legal basis for a monitoring subscription, ask for the instrument number in writing and check it before you sign.

Telecom providers (Etisalat/du) for data and voice connectivity are a practical dependency too, though not a government NOC. Our DEWA, Civil Defence and other NOCs guide covers all three in detail, and the Civil Defence fire and life safety guide covers the standing compliance regime a premises must hold to stay licensed.

What Does a Typical Project Sequence Look Like?

At a high level, most commercial fit-out projects move through this sequence: lease signed → landlord/building-management NOC → design consultant appointed (registered with the relevant authority) → drawings submitted to the statutory authority → authority NOC/permit issued → DEWA/DCD approvals run in parallel → Permit to Work issued by building management → construction and fit-out → snagging → completion certificate → trade licence activation.

The DDA route gives the clearest published anchor for what one link in that chain actually costs and takes. DDA states a 2-working-day processing time for a Fit-Out Permit, a fee of AED 0.90 per square foot subject to a minimum of AED 200 and a maximum of AED 10,000 plus AED 10 Knowledge Dirham and AED 10 Innovation Dirham per transaction, and a permit valid for six months. It names the contractor — not the tenant — as the requester, and requires a fit-out permit request form where the application is made through a customer service centre, a contractor appointment letter from the tenant, a copy of the Ejari, an NOC from the building owner, NOCs from relevant authorities, and both approved stamped and proposed drawings, the drawings as per DDA's Circular no. 400.

Treat that 2-day figure for what it is: a review clock, not a project clock. It measures how long the authority takes to answer a complete, compliant submission — not how long you take to produce one, get the landlord to sign it, and correct it after comments. Our timelines and responsibilities guide sets out every officially confirmed processing time found across this cluster, and flags clearly where no verified timeline exists.

Who Is Responsible for What — Landlord, Tenant, or Contractor?

Dubai mainland tenancies are governed by Law No. (26) of 2007 (as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008). At a headline level:

  • The landlord must hand over the property in good condition (Art. 15) and must provide the tenant with approvals needed from official entities for decoration works not affecting the structure (Art. 18).
  • The tenant may not alter or restore the property without landlord permission and must obtain any required licences (Art. 19), and must generally reinstate the property to its original condition at lease end, fair wear and tear excepted (Art. 21), without removing leasehold improvements unless otherwise agreed (Art. 23).

This allocation can and often does vary by lease clause. Our responsibility matrix guide sets this out in full, our Dubai commercial landlord–tenant law guide covers the wider statutory framework, and any question about how this law applies to your specific lease should go to a UAE-qualified lawyer.

Which Guide Should You Read, and in What Order?

This pillar page is the map. Each spoke below covers one part of the process in depth, and the order you read them in should follow the decision you are actually facing.

If you are… Read these, in this order The decision it supports
Signing a mainland office or warehouse lease DM permit process → timelines and responsibilities → snagging and completion Whether the rent-free period genuinely covers your approval chain
Taking space in JAFZA, Palm Jumeirah or other Dubai World land Trakhees approval → access and loading rules → snagging and completion Whether your scheme is minor or major fit-out, and what that adds
Taking space in a TECOM zone, DIFC or JLT DDA, DIFC and DMCC compared → timelines and responsibilities Which of the three regimes' clocks and fees you are buying into
Fitting out a mall or high-street retail unit Retail premises approvals → master-developer standards → access and loading rules Who actually gates your opening date once the permit falls away
Opening a restaurant, cafe or cloud kitchen F&B premises approvals → DEWA and Civil Defence NOCs Whether the shell can physically take the kitchen you intend
Comparing two buildings under different regulators Timelines and responsibilities → master-developer standards Which building carries the shorter, more predictable approval chain
Already on site and running behind Access and loading rules → snagging and completion How to protect the completion certificate and the opening date

What This Cluster Cannot Tell You

Being straight about the gaps is more useful than filling them with plausible numbers, so here is where the published record runs out.

Dubai Municipality does not publish a processing time for the two permit services a mainland fit-out actually runs through. DM's services catalogue, as it stood on 17 August 2026, carried no stated duration against either "Permit to Make Modifications or Additions to Buildings" or "Issue Building Completion Certificate", while the same catalogue does publish "within 3 working days" for a new building permit and "instantly" for the decorative-works self-permit. Do not assume the new-building figure transfers — ask DM for a written estimate.

Dubai Civil Defence publishes no service standard confirmed in this cluster. No DCD turnaround or day count is confirmed from a primary source as at 17 August 2026. Day-count figures for DCD circulate widely, but they come from marketing pages rather than from DCD, so none is repeated anywhere in this cluster.

DIFC and DMCC largely publish requirements without clocks. No DIFC figure is confirmed as at 17 August 2026, so none is asserted here; our free-zone comparison guide records that DIFC's external works NOC page publishes no service standard at all, while the only standard it carries for the third-party buildings route is not confirmed against DIFC's own pages. DMCC's Concordia fit-out NOC guideline sets out the portal path, document list and output without stating a processing time.

Nothing that Build in Dubai publishes is confirmed here. Nothing about the platform's current service list or service standards is confirmed as at 17 August 2026, so this guide states neither which announced features are live nor whether it publishes any service standard.

Where a figure matters to your programme and no authority publishes it, get it in writing from the authority or the building manager before you commit to an opening date. A number from a consultant's website is not a service standard.

Where Fit-Out Meets Licensing and Sector Approvals

Fit-out does not sit on its own. It is one link in a chain that starts with a business activity and ends with a licence you can renew.

Upstream, your chosen activity and premises have to be compatible before a fit-out design is worth commissioning — our licensing and utilities hub explains how activity approval, premises and power interlock, and the trade licence process guide sets out the government sequence the fit-out has to slot into. Power is its own gate: the DEWA load and connection requirements guide covers the document set, the slab rates and the substation threshold that can turn a straightforward unit into a capital project.

Sideways, regulated uses add a sector regulator on top of the planning authority. The sector-specific premises approvals hub maps who assesses the premises itself for food and beverage, retail, healthcare and education uses — an assessment of the unit, not just of the business.

Downstream, the completion certificate is what converts a finished space into a trading one, and a slipped opening is rent paid on a unit earning nothing. Model that carrying cost with the rental yield calculator before you commit to a term, and read the whole guides library if you are new to the Dubai commercial market.

How Mitchell's Can Help

Mitchell's Realty works with commercial investors and business owners across Dubai's mainland and free-zone markets, and can help you identify the right jurisdiction for a prospective unit before you commit to a lease — reducing the risk of fit-out delays derailing your opening date. Where two shortlisted buildings sit under different regulators, we will set the two approval chains side by side, and flag which steps in each have no published standard and therefore need a written estimate before you fix an opening date.

This guide is provided for general information only and is not professional, legal, or regulatory advice. Always confirm current requirements directly with the relevant authority or a qualified advisor before acting.

Elsewhere in the guides

The other 4 clusters

The investor guides are organised into 5 clusters. These are the 4 this hub does not cover.

8 guides

Legal, Tax and Ownership in Dubai

Ownership structure, registration systems, tax treatment, financing and residency are separate legal questions that all bear on the same Dubai commercial property decision. This hub connects them and links to a detailed guide on each.

View hub 10 guides

Licensing & Utilities Hub

Licensing, activity approvals, and DEWA power are not separate workstreams — they are one chain of dependencies. This hub explains how each link affects what an investor or occupier can legally do with a Dubai commercial unit, and links to detailed guides on every step.

View hub 12 guides

Dubai's Future Planning Agenda

Dubai is unusually explicit about where it wants growth to happen next. This hub connects the government's overlapping economic, urban, transport and social strategies into one map, and links to a detailed, fact-checked guide on each one.

View hub 6 guides

Sector-Specific Premises Approvals in Dubai

A standard commercial shell is rarely enough for a regulated use. This hub explains how Dubai Civil Defence, DHA, KHDA, Dubai Municipality Food Safety and mall operators each assess premises before a tenant can open, and links to a detailed guide for every sector.

View hub
All Investor GuidesBook a One-to-One

Frequently asked questions

07
01How do I know whether my Dubai commercial unit falls under Dubai Municipality, Trakhees, or a free-zone authority?

It depends on which entity owns the land, not your business type. Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation land (Palm Jumeirah, JAFZA, Dubai Maritime City) falls under Trakhees. DDA/TECOM zones (Internet City, Media City, d3) fall under the DDA. DIFC and DMCC/JLT have their own layered processes. Everywhere else on the mainland defaults to Dubai Municipality, whose permit portal now sits behind the Build in Dubai platform. Check your title deed or lease and confirm with the authority before design work begins.

02Do I need both a government permit and a landlord or community NOC?

Almost always, yes. The government authority grants legal permission to alter a building. Separately, the building owner, master developer, or mall operator requires its own NOC because your lease obliges you to seek their consent. The community NOC is frequently a precondition the statutory authority requires before it will even accept your submission.

03Who is legally responsible for making sure fit-out approvals happen — landlord, tenant, or contractor?

Under Law No. (26) of 2007, the landlord must provide approvals needed from official entities for non-structural decoration works (Art. 18), but the tenant cannot carry out works without landlord permission and required licences (Art. 19). In practice, the appointed consultant handles submissions, but responsibility is shared contractually. This varies by lease — treat this as general information, not legal advice.

04Does the same approval process apply to a small office fit-out and a large retail or F&B fit-out?

No. Most authorities distinguish minor fit-out — partitions, minor MEP or floor changes — from major fit-out, which triggers additional external approvals such as Dubai Civil Defence and DEWA sign-off. Food and beverage outlets carry further requirements, including grease traps, extraction ducts, and Dubai Municipality food-establishment technical guidelines, regardless of which authority governs the plot.

05What happens if I start fit-out work without the correct permits?

Regulators and building managers can issue stop-work orders, suspend security passes or site access, cancel a fit-out NOC, or withhold the completion certificate — which in turn blocks trade licence issuance or renewal. Exact penalty regimes vary by authority and should be confirmed directly before work begins.

06Does every mainland commercial fit-out need a Dubai Municipality permit?

No. Administrative Resolution No. (85) of 2019 requires a decoration works permit only where the structural unit's area exceeds 100 square metres, and Article (4) exempts a structural unit of any area sitting inside a Trade Centre — defined as a commercial complex, shopping mall or similar building — from both the permit and the completion certificate. The exemption removes the paperwork, not the standards: the works must still use a DM-approved contractor, stay inside the unit's approved boundaries without adding or removing built-up area, meet Directorate General of Civil Defence requirements, and carry the written consent of the unit's owner. Dubai Municipality retains an express power under Article (5) to audit exempt units after the fact.

07Is Dubai BPS still the portal for mainland building permits?

The address has moved. As at 17 August 2026 the old Dubai BPS page redirects to buildindubai.gov.ae, Dubai Municipality's wider Build in Dubai platform. That platform's current service list, and whether it publishes any turnaround commitment, are not confirmed by its own material as at the same date, so none is stated here. Ask your consultant to show you the live service page rather than relying on a portal name.

Updated 2026-08-17 by Mitchell's Realty. Confirm anything you rely on with the issuing authority on the day.

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