How to Open a Restaurant or Café in Dubai: Licence, Layout Approval and Food Permits
Opening a restaurant or café in Dubai takes more than a trade licence. You also need Dubai Municipality approvals for the layout, a food safety programme, a registered Person in Charge and a food permit before you serve a customer. This guide explains the order of the steps, what each authority checks and the mistakes that delay openings.
Key takeaways
- A food business needs a trade licence from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) with a food activity that names exactly what you do.
- Dubai Municipality must approve your design layout before construction starts, and it checks the layout again before you operate.
- Every food establishment registers on Dubai Municipality’s FoodWatch platform and links a Person in Charge (PIC).
- Each establishment needs a documented food safety programme based on HACCP, and Dubai’s Food Code sets temperature limits you must monitor.
- Dubai’s 2025 Public Health Law requires a Food Permit for anyone placing food on the market, so confirm the current rules before you apply.
The Licence Comes First
All food establishments in Dubai must hold a valid trade licence. The activity on the licence must be food-related and must state the exact activity, such as a restaurant, a café or a cloud kitchen. You cannot run activities outside the licensed scope.
Licensing in Dubai now sits under DET. DED’s own guide describes the licence as three steps: reserve a business name, obtain the initial approval and issue the trade licence. Our Dubai mainland business setup page shows how we run those steps, and our guide to Dubai trade licence costs shows what drives the fee.
The Approvals You Need, in Order
The order matters because some approvals unlock the next one. A restaurant that fits out first and applies later risks rebuilding the kitchen.
- Secure the premises. Dubai Municipality asks for a Non-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the landlord, and a formal lease contract if you rent.
- Get the design layout approved. The layout assessment approval is required before construction and operations, and DM says to obtain it before construction.
- Obtain approvals from other authorities. Dubai Municipality’s planning and drainage departments may need to approve the premises, and Civil Defence may pre-approve the layout.
- Complete the fit-out. Build to the approved layout, and do not change drainage, exits or ventilation in the production area without prior approval.
- Obtain the public health and safety NOC. DM says you can get it in one working day once the interior design layout is approved.
- Register on FoodWatch. The documents listed include the trade licence, the building owner’s NOC and the layout approval.
- Apply for the food permit and pass inspection. The permit must match the activities on your trade licence.
Each step has its own checks, and the dates move depending on your premises. Plan the licence, the lease and the layout together, not one after the other.
What Dubai Municipality Checks in the Layout
The layout is where most delays happen. DM’s rules say the layout of the food preparation area must prevent contamination, and the space you need depends on your menu, your equipment, the amount of food you produce and the number of food handlers.
The Food Code adds design rules, such as food that moves in one direction through the kitchen and a building that keeps out dirt, dust, fumes, smoke, pests and other contaminants. Dubai Municipality publishes a table of minimum food areas by activity, so check the minimum for your type of outlet before you sign a lease.
Ask a fit-out contractor who has built to Dubai Municipality standards. A design that fails the layout review costs you weeks.
FoodWatch and the Person in Charge
All food establishments must register on FoodWatch, Dubai Municipality’s food safety platform. You link a Person in Charge (PIC) to the establishment, and you cannot apply for permits without one.
The Food Code requires at least one full-time, on-site PIC certified in food safety. Where high-risk, ready-to-eat or raw foods are prepared, a certified PIC must be present during all shifts. The 2013 Code sets the PIC certificate at five years, but Dubai has issued updated guidance, so check the current rules.
FoodWatch lets the owner or manager act as a primary PIC. A primary PIC who does not run the food safety checks does not need formal training. A secondary PIC who performs checks must be formally trained and certified.
The Food Safety Programme
The Food Code is built on HACCP principles, which means identifying and controlling the hazards in producing and handling food. Every food establishment should keep a documented food safety programme approved by Dubai Municipality that identifies and controls those hazards.
The Code sets temperature limits you must monitor. Cooked food served hot must be held at 60°C or above, and high-risk food must be kept at 5°C or below, or at 60°C or above, during storage, display and transport. High-risk hot food for immediate consumption must not sit between 5°C and 60°C for more than two hours.
FoodWatch guidance asks you to check hot holding every hour and to record the start and end of cooling. Build these checks into the shift routine from day one, because inspectors ask for the records.
Training Your Staff
Food handlers must be trained before they work in food areas. The PIC is responsible for making sure all employees are trained before they start. If a person already holds relevant formal food safety training, they can start immediately.
When a handler moves to a new establishment, the new PIC can add them as an existing handler, and they do not need new basic food safety training while their certificate is valid. Confirm current validity rules in FoodWatch, because the guidance changes.
Hiring staff for a restaurant also means visas, contracts and payroll. See our guides to hiring your first employee and the Wages Protection System (WPS).
Permits That Surprise New Owners
- No separate dine-in permit. Dubai Municipality says dine-in permits are not required for restaurants.
- Health and nutrition claims need approval. You may not display or sell food as healthy, or with health or nutritional claims, without approval from the responsible entity.
- Management companies need the food activity on the licence. A restaurant management company cannot hold a food permit unless the food activity appears on the same trade licence.
- Delivery vehicles have their own rules. Dubai Municipality publishes requirements for food transport and delivery vehicles, so check them if you deliver.
If you are considering a mobile kitchen, read our guide to starting a food truck in Dubai. For a wider view of the sector, see our guide to the food and beverage industry in the UAE.
Restaurant, Café or Cloud Kitchen?
The activity you choose shapes the layout, the approvals and the budget. A full restaurant needs a bigger kitchen, more staff and more inspections than a café that serves a short menu. A cloud kitchen cuts rent and front-of-house costs, but it still needs the same licence, layout approval and food safety programme.
Write your menu first and then pick the activity that fits it. If you plan to sell packaged food, run catering or add delivery later, ask us whether the licence should list those activities from the start. Adding an activity later is possible, and our guide to adding or changing activities on a trade licence explains how.
What to Budget For
The sources we use do not publish a single opening cost, because it depends on the premises, the fit-out and the equipment. Build your budget from the separate lines below, and ask for written quotes for each.
- Trade licence and approvals: the DET licence fee and the Dubai Municipality service fees.
- Premises: the lease, the landlord’s NOC and any security deposit.
- Fit-out and equipment: the largest line for most restaurants, and it must follow the approved layout.
- Staff and training: visas, salaries and food safety training before opening day.
- Working capital: enough to cover rent and payroll until sales build.
Other Emirates
This guide covers Dubai. Each emirate has its own food safety authority and its own approval steps, so a restaurant in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah follows a different process. Compare the licensing authorities in our guides to business setup in Abu Dhabi and business setup in Sharjah.
VAT, Tax and Compliance
A restaurant sells taxable supplies, so VAT applies once your turnover passes the registration threshold. Read our guide to UAE VAT registration for the rules. Every company must also register for Corporate Tax and file a return.
The sister site companyformationinuae.com explains Corporate Tax and VAT deadlines and thresholds, and its home page lists its other guides. After the licence is issued, our guide to the first 30 days after a trade licence covers the registrations that follow.
Common Mistakes
- Fitting out before the layout is approved. A rejected layout means rebuilding the kitchen.
- Choosing premises that are too small. The minimum food area depends on your activity, so check the table before you lease.
- Naming a vague activity on the licence. The licence must state the exact food activity.
- Skipping the PIC. FoodWatch registration needs a linked Person in Charge.
- Ignoring the temperature records. Inspectors check the hourly hot-holding and cooling records.
Next Steps
Tell us what you plan to serve, where you want to open and whether you will dine in, deliver or both. We will confirm the licence activity, prepare the DET application and guide you through the Dubai Municipality approvals. Rules change, so confirm every requirement on the current Dubai Municipality and DET channels before you build.
Frequently Asked Questions
A trade licence from the Department of Economy and Tourism with a food activity that states exactly what you do, plus Dubai Municipality approvals and a food permit. The permit must match the activities on the licence.
Yes. Dubai Municipality requires layout assessment approval before construction and operations. Changes to drainage, exits or ventilation in the production area need prior approval.
FoodWatch is Dubai Municipality's food safety platform. Every food establishment must register on it and link a Person in Charge. The documents listed include the trade licence, the building owner's NOC and the layout approval.
The Person in Charge is the person responsible for food safety in the establishment. The Food Code requires at least one full-time, on-site PIC certified in food safety, and a certified PIC on every shift where high-risk or ready-to-eat food is prepared.
Dubai's Food Code is built on HACCP principles, and every food establishment should keep a documented food safety programme approved by Dubai Municipality that identifies and controls food safety hazards.
Under the Food Code, hot food must be held at 60°C or above and high-risk food at 5°C or below, or at 60°C or above. High-risk hot food for immediate consumption must not sit between 5°C and 60°C for more than two hours.
No. Dubai Municipality says dine-in permits are not required for restaurants. You still need the food permit that matches your trade licence.
No. Each emirate has its own food safety authority and approval process, so check the local requirements before you apply.
