Guides
The questions everyone else answers with “contact us”.
Costs with numbers, timelines with dates, checklists you can actually run. Written by the team that files these applications daily — reviewed July 2026.
What’s covered
- Process
- Costs
- Documents
- Timelines
- Authorities
- Rejections
- Completion
- NOCs
The Complete Dubai Fit-Out Permit Process
How fit-out permits work in Dubai in 2026: authorities, NOCs, drawings, submission, comments, inspections and completion certificates — the complete step-by-step process explained.
02Fit-Out Permit Costs in Dubai
What a fit-out permit costs in Dubai in 2026: DM's AED 1/sq ft fee, DCD charges, free-zone fees, deposits and consultancy costs — a transparent breakdown with worked examples.
03Fit-Out Permit Documents Checklist
Every document a Dubai fit-out permit needs in 2026: trade licence, Ejari, NOCs, drawings, contractor registrations and more — organised as the checklist authorities actually review against.
04DM vs DDA vs Trakhees — Which Authority Governs Your Unit?
Dubai Municipality, DDA, Trakhees, DMCC, DIFC or a free zone — how to tell which authority governs your fit-out, how their processes differ, and what changes in documents, fees and timelines.
05Fit-Out Permit Timelines in Dubai
Real fit-out permit timelines in Dubai for 2026: NOC, drawing, review and inspection durations by authority and project type — and where the weeks are actually won and lost.
06Why Fit-Out Permits Get Rejected in Dubai
The most common reasons Dubai fit-out permits and drawings get rejected — DM, DCD, DDA and free zones — and how each is prevented or fixed. From the approval-rescue desk at FitOutPermits.ae.
07Completion Certificates After Fit-Out
The building completion certificate after a Dubai fit-out: why it's legally and financially essential, the inspection process, and how to obtain one — including years later. By FitOutPermits.ae.
08Landlord NOC vs Authority Approval
Landlord NOCs, developer NOCs and government permits in Dubai fit-outs: what each consent is, the order they come in, and why having one never substitutes for another. By FitOutPermits.ae.
Questions
Quick answers. The guides hold the long versions.
When one paragraph is enough, it's here — when it isn't, the matching guide above goes deeper.
Yes — approval rescue is one of our core services. We audit the comment history, identify the real objection, fix the package and resubmit. Consultant reassignment is a standard authority process. The initial autopsy is free.
A clean package for a standard commercial unit typically reaches permit in 2–4 weeks from landlord NOC, with authority review rounds of 5–10 working days. Restaurants, clinics and structural scopes run longer because more authorities are involved. The biggest variable is package quality — which is the part we control.
Yes — Dubai is our core, and we run Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and northern-emirates approvals through the same managed process, most often for multi-site rollout clients.
We're part of Halo (halo.ae) — a Dubai-based group with 25+ years across interiors, joinery and property services, operating from Al Quoz. FitOutPermits.ae is the group's dedicated authority-approvals practice, with 2,500+ permits processed across 20+ UAE authorities.
Start with a free permit check
Send us the unit. We'll send back the map.
Location, current status, intended works — that's all we need. You get the authority map, document checklist, government-fee estimate and a fixed quote. Free, usually within one business day.
+971 55 969 3009 · hello@fitoutpermits.ae · Al Quoz, Dubai