IFZA activity register
Service licence activities in IFZA
The short answer
IFZA's Service licence is the family covering service-type business activities, distinct from IFZA's separate Trade licence for buying, selling, and trading goods. It spans 387 of IFZA's 824 registered activities, from accounting and bookkeeping to advertisement design and production. IFZA is a broad, general-purpose Dubai free zone, so the Service family runs across many different fields rather than one sector. Which specific activities apply to a given business, and how many can combine on one licence, is confirmed during the activity check rather than given as a general figure.
International Free Zone Authority (IFZA) is a Dubai free zone based in Dubai Silicon Oasis, used by a broad mix of consultants, service providers, and small trading companies. Within its own registered activity list, IFZA splits activities into two families: one for businesses that import, export, or otherwise buy and sell goods, and one for businesses whose work is the service itself rather than a physical product changing hands.
That split follows IFZA's own licensing terms. On IFZA's site, service-type activities are issued under what IFZA calls a Professional Licence, for businesses that "carry out service-related operations"; trading activities are issued under IFZA's Commercial Licence, for businesses that import, export, or trade locally. Velarozone groups the same activities as Service and Trade for clarity when matching a business to what it actually does. The Service family covers 387 of IFZA's 824 registered activities, among them Accounting & Bookkeeping, Advertisement Designing & Producing, Advertising Researches & Consultancies, Accidents Casualties Support Services, and 3D Printing Products Production.
Consider a two-person consultancy applying for a Service licence to offer Accounting & Bookkeeping alongside Advertising Researches & Consultancies: both activities sit in IFZA's Service family, since neither involves importing, exporting, or reselling goods, so they are the kind of combination the activity check is designed to confirm on one application. If that same consultancy later wanted to resell branded merchandise or software licences to clients, that element would fall under IFZA's separate Trade family instead, and whether it can sit alongside the existing Service activities on one licence — or needs handling separately — is also something the activity check would confirm rather than something assumed here.
IFZA is a broad general-purpose zone rather than a sector-specific one, offering a range of office and workspace options, with visa allocation tied to the package and premises chosen rather than to the Service family itself. As with any IFZA company, a standard free-zone renewal cycle, an immigration file, and UAE corporate tax registration obligations apply once the company is formed. Alongside the licence itself, IFZA also runs an ecosystem of adjacent services — training through IFZA Academy, health insurance through IFZA Life, and property and banking services — which sit separately from the licence and activities register.
IFZA runs a business-to-business model, working through a network of professional partners who handle incorporation on its behalf rather than taking applications directly. Velarozone acts in that capacity: the setup adviser preparing the application, not the licensing authority — IFZA issues and administers the licence itself. Why that distinction matters before any paperwork starts is set out on [why Velarozone](/why-velarozone).
What the Service classification covers
Activities in this family describe work sold as a service: consultancy, training, installation and maintenance, agency work, logistics services, and operational support. Each register entry names a defined service line rather than a product.
Service activities vary widely in their conditions — some are open to any qualified applicant, while others touch a regulated field where a federal or emirate regulator's approval sits alongside the licence.
What a service licence here is structured for
A licence built from this family suits a business that invoices for expertise, time, or operational work rather than for goods — consultancies, agencies, technical services, and support operations.
The activity description should track the service you actually deliver. Advisers see the same failure repeatedly: a broad-sounding activity chosen for convenience, which then does not match the contract a client or bank is reading.
From the register
Activities in this family, by name
A sample of the 387 activities IFZA files under Service, 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.
- 3D Printing Products Production
- Accidents Casualties Support Services
- Accounting & Bookkeeping
- Advertisement Designing & Producing
- Advertising Researches & Consultancies
- Advertising Services via Websites
- Aerial photography services
- Agricultural Research & Consultancy
- Air Cargo Agent
- Air Cargo Services
- Aircraft & Requisites Leasing
- Aircraft Classification Services
- Aircrafts Precision Systems Technological Development
- Airplane Management & Operation
- Animal Etiquette & Behavior Consultant
- Animals Transport
- Antennas Installation & Repair
- Architectural Prospective Drawings Services
- Art Gallery
- Artificial Intelligence Developing Services
- Artistic Talent Contracting
- Auction Organizing
- Audio Recorded Media Reproduction Studio
- Auditing Of Accounts
- Auditing, Reviewing &Testing Cyber Risks
- Authentic Artifacts & Antiques Auction House
- Authors Copyrights & Neighboring Rights Collective Management Services
- Auto Seats Cleaning
- Automobile Driving School
- Automobile Engineering Services Abroad
What this page does not decide
Decision factors
What changes the answer
IFZA maintains and updates its own activities register independently of any third-party summary.
- IFZA periodically adds, retires, or renames activities on its own register.
- Whether an activity sits in the Service or Trade family is IFZA's own classification, not a third-party judgement.
- Package, visa allocation, and renewal terms follow IFZA's current terms at the time of application, rather than a figure fixed in advance.
- IFZA's adjacent services, such as insurance, property, and banking, are arranged separately from the licence and are not part of the activities register itself.
Where this family is a strong fit
- Consultancies and advisory practices, such as Accounting & Bookkeeping or Advertising Researches & Consultancies.
- Design, production-support, and specialist service businesses, such as Advertisement Designing & Producing or Accidents Casualties Support Services.
- Commissioned production-as-a-service work, such as 3D Printing Products Production, where the output is a service rather than stocked goods for resale.
- Businesses wanting a broad, general-purpose Dubai free zone rather than a narrow sector-specific one.
Where it is the wrong family
- Businesses whose core activity is importing, exporting, or reselling goods, which typically sit in IFZA's Trade licence family rather than Service.
- Businesses planning a substantial mix of trading and servicing under one licence, where which activities fall into which family needs checking first.
- Businesses that have not yet identified which of IFZA's 387 Service activities actually matches their work, since the exact entries and combination are confirmed during the activity check, not assumed from a general description.
About this listing
Questions
Frequently asked
- What is the difference between IFZA's Service licence and its Trade licence?
- IFZA's Trade licence family covers activities involving importing, exporting, or otherwise buying and selling goods, while the Service family covers activities where the business delivers a service rather than a physical product. IFZA sets which of its registered activities sits in which family.
- Is Velarozone's "Service licence" the same thing as IFZA's "Professional Licence"?
- Yes. IFZA markets this family of activities as its Professional Licence, for businesses that carry out service-related operations. Velarozone refers to the same set of IFZA-registered activities as the Service family, for clarity when matching a business to what it actually does.
- Can a licence combine service and trade activities?
- Whether a specific combination of service and trade activities can sit on one licence is confirmed during the activity check, since it depends on which activities are involved and how IFZA's register classifies each one.
- What if my business starts under the Service family but later wants to sell goods too?
- Adding a goods-trading element later brings IFZA's separate Trade licence family into the picture alongside the existing Service activities. Whether the two can sit on one licence, or need handling separately, is confirmed through a fresh activity check at the time, rather than decided in advance.
- Do Service licence holders have UAE corporate tax obligations?
- Yes. Standard UAE corporate tax registration obligations apply to IFZA companies, alongside the usual free-zone renewal cycle and immigration file requirements.
- Does Velarozone issue the IFZA Service licence?
- No. IFZA issues and administers the licence. Velarozone's role is to advise on and prepare the setup, including matching the business to the activities it actually needs before anything is filed.
Check where this activity can be licensed
Velarozone can run the activity check against this Service licence family and confirm which activities, and which combination, actually fit the business before anything is filed with IFZA.
This page is general information about UAE business setup, not legal, tax, immigration, or banking advice. Rules, fees, permitted activities, and bank policies can change. Final eligibility depends on your facts and the applicable rules at the time of application.