Buyer’s checklist · UAE
Almost no information about a UAE company? Slow down and verify
You found a supplier in Dubai, a contractor in Abu Dhabi, or a possible new employer in Sharjah. You open Google and there is almost nothing: no website, one dead Instagram account, zero reviews. That silence is data. Before you sign a contract, transfer a deposit, or hand over your Emirates ID for onboarding, walk through the checks below.
Why silence matters
A missing footprint is a signal, not a shrug
Every legitimate UAE business leaves traces. It holds a trade licence issued by the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai or an equivalent authority in another emirate. It pays for a Google Maps pin so clients can find its office. It hires people who list the employer on LinkedIn. When none of that exists, the company is either brand new, deliberately hiding, or a shell built to receive one payment and disappear.
None of those explanations are automatically fatal. A one-week-old freelance consultancy is legal. A family office may prefer privacy. But you are the one carrying the risk, so the burden of proof shifts to the company. Ask for it in writing.
The eight-point verification checklist
- Trade licence number. Ask for it directly. In Dubai you can cross-check it on the DET portal; in Abu Dhabi via ADDED; in the free zones via each authority (DMCC, DIFC, JAFZA, RAKEZ). If they refuse to share the number, stop here.
- Physical address on Google Maps. Search the company name and the street. A real office has a pin, street-view photos, and usually a few reviews. A P.O. Box only, with no visible premises, deserves a follow-up question.
- Owner and manager names. The trade licence lists them. Search those names on LinkedIn and in UAE court databases. A director who runs six unrelated shell companies is a pattern worth noting.
- Employees on LinkedIn. A firm claiming twenty staff should have at least a handful of employees who list it as their current employer. Zero LinkedIn presence for a mid-sized UAE company is unusual.
- Reviews from customers and former staff. Google, Glassdoor, Bayt, and industry forums. Read the one-star reviews first, they tell you how the company behaves under stress.
- Bank account name matches the licence. Payment must go to the exact registered entity, not to a personal account or a related name. Mismatches are the single most common red flag in AED wire fraud.
- Ejari or tenancy contract for the office. Genuine tenants can share a redacted copy on request. This confirms the address is theirs, not borrowed.
- References from real, contactable clients. Not testimonials on a PDF. Names, companies, working phone numbers. Call two of them.
Deep dive · item 1
How to actually verify a UAE trade licence
The trade licence is the single most useful document in the UAE. It confirms the legal name, the licence number, the activities the company is allowed to perform, the shareholders, the manager, and the expiry date. If the licence has expired, the company cannot legally invoice you and any contract you sign may be void.
- Dubai mainland: check on the DET business search.
- Free zones: each has its own registry search (DMCC, DIFC, JAFZA, ADGM).
- Match the licence activities to the work you are hiring them for. A cleaning-services licence cannot legally deliver software development.
Deep dive · item 5
Reading between the reviews
Absence of reviews is not the same as bad reviews, but it removes a safety net. When you do find them, weigh the pattern rather than the score. Ten reviews posted within the same week, all five stars, all written in the same voice, is a manufactured reputation. A mix of praise and specific, dated complaints answered politely by the owner is a healthy sign.
For employment decisions, former staff on Bayt, Glassdoor and Reddit’s r/dubai are more honest than the company’s own careers page. Look for repeated themes: late salary payments, visa held hostage, sudden restructuring. One angry ex-employee is noise. Five saying the same thing is signal.
Reference table: where to check what
| What to verify | Where to look | Time it takes | Cost (AED) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai mainland trade licence | DET business name search | 5 minutes | Free (basic) |
| Free zone licence | DMCC / DIFC / JAFZA / RAKEZ registry | 10 minutes | Free to check, fee for a certificate |
| Company office & foot traffic | Google Maps + Street View | 5 minutes | Free |
| Directors and shareholders | Licence copy + LinkedIn search | 15 minutes | Free |
| Employee reviews | Glassdoor, Bayt, Reddit | 20 minutes | Free |
| Court cases & bounced cheques | Dubai Courts / MoJ portals | Variable | Small fee per lookup |
| Full third-party due diligence | Professional screening provider | 1 to 5 business days | From a few hundred AED |
If you have run through the checklist and still cannot answer basic questions, does this company exist, does it trade legally, is it solvent, is it in litigation, then you have hit the ceiling of what public sources can give you. That is the point to bring in specialists who hold direct access to commercial registries, bankruptcy filings, ultimate beneficial owner data, sanctions lists and adverse media.
A dedicated third-party risk management service in the UAE can pull a full report in a day or two, covering registration status, financial standing, court records, and the reputations of directors. For any deal above a few thousand dirhams, it is money well spent.
The bottom line
A shortage of information is not proof of fraud, but it is a reason to raise the bar. Ask for documents. Verify them at source. Walk the office on Google Maps. Talk to real employees and real clients. And when the checks still come back thin, pay a professional to look where you cannot. The five minutes it takes to skip due diligence is the same five minutes that funds most of the disputes filed in UAE courts every year.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal for a UAE company to have no website?
No. Nothing in UAE commercial law requires a company to run a website. Many small consultancies, family offices, and B2B suppliers operate entirely through referrals. What is required is a valid trade licence and a registered address. The absence of a website is a reason to ask more questions, not to assume wrongdoing.
How do I check if a Dubai company’s trade licence is real?
Ask the company for the licence number and the exact legal name in English and Arabic. Then search that number on the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) public portal for mainland companies, or on the relevant free-zone authority’s registry (DMCC, DIFC, JAFZA, DAFZA, RAKEZ, ADGM). The record shows status, activities, and expiry date.
If the licence has expired or the activities do not match the work being offered, treat any contract as high risk.
What are the biggest red flags when researching a UAE company?
- Payments requested to a personal bank account or an account name that does not match the licence.
- Refusal to share the trade licence number.
- Physical address that does not exist on Google Maps or Street View.
- No employees identifiable on LinkedIn despite claims of a large team.
- Only glowing reviews posted within a short window, in the same writing style.
Should I still take a job with a company that has no online presence?
Not without extra checks. In the UAE your visa and work permit are tied to the employer, so a company that collapses or breaks the law affects your legal status directly. Before accepting, ask for the trade licence, confirm the office address in person, talk to at least one current employee, and search the owner’s name in Dubai Courts records for bounced cheques or labour disputes.
When is it worth paying for a professional background check?
Any time the value of the deal, or the harm from a bad outcome, is larger than the fee. For a one-off purchase of a few hundred dirhams, the checklist in this article is usually enough. For a supply contract worth tens of thousands, a joint venture, a large procurement, or an executive hire, a professional due-diligence firm can access commercial registries, sanctions databases, and adverse-media sources that are not open to the public.
Can I check a UAE company for court cases or bankruptcy myself?
Partly. Dubai Courts and the Ministry of Justice publish case lookup tools, and you can search by party name for a small fee. However, coverage is uneven across emirates and free zones, and bankruptcy filings under the UAE Bankruptcy Law are not always fully public. A specialist screening provider will consolidate these sources into one report, which is faster and more complete than doing it by hand.
What documents should I ask a new UAE supplier to send before signing?
At a minimum: a copy of the trade licence, the establishment card, the Memorandum of Association or equivalent, the VAT registration certificate if the contract is above the VAT threshold, and bank account details on the company’s letterhead. For larger contracts, add proof of Ejari (tenancy), a recent utility bill for the office, and two client references you can actually phone.
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