UAE due diligence covers six areas: corporate, financial, tax, legal, commercial and operational. Below is the request list for each, with the authority or counterparty that can confirm the item. Send it as your data room request at the start, because what the seller is slow to produce usually tells you where to look hardest.
1. Corporate
- Trade licence and full licence history, from Dubai Economy and Tourism or the relevant free zone.
- Memorandum of Association and any shareholder agreement.
- Current shareholder register and share split.
- Board and manager appointments, and powers of attorney.
- Confirmation of any pledges over the shares.
2. Financial
- Thirty six months of audited financial statements.
- Twelve months of bank statements, matched to revenue.
- Management accounts for the current year.
- Accounts receivable and payable ageing.
- Debt schedule with terms and security.
3. Tax
- VAT registration and returns, from the Federal Tax Authority.
- Corporate tax registration and filings.
- Any free zone qualifying income position, confirmed in writing.
- Correspondence with the Federal Tax Authority, including any assessments.
4. Legal
- Key customer and supplier contracts, with renewal and change of control terms.
- Tenancy contract and Ejari, from Dubai Land Department.
- Sector licences and approvals, and written confirmation they survive a change of ownership.
- Pending or threatened litigation, and labour claims.
- Intellectual property registrations and assignments.
5. Commercial
- Revenue split by customer for three years, to test concentration.
- Pipeline and pricing, with named assumptions.
- Market and competitor position.
- Dependence on the seller for key relationships.
6. Operational
- Employee list with roles, salaries and end of service liability, tied to MOHRE and the WPS.
- Key person dependency and a retention or succession plan.
- Systems, licences for software, and asset register.
- Insurance policies in force.
How GCI helps you check the business before you buy
You have the checklist and the documents, and now you need a verdict on the business. Before you spend on lawyers and accountants, Gulf Commercial Insights screens that specific deal for you. The conviction engine reads the whole opportunity, argues the case for buying against its strongest counter-arguments, and flags every figure that is assumed rather than proven. You get back a private, source-graded verdict on the deal, with each claim tagged VERIFIED, ESTIMATED or REPORTED.
For a buyer, that answers the three questions that matter:
- Should you walk away, renegotiate the price, or move to full due diligence?
- What are the specific risks that could sink this deal, ranked, with the evidence behind each?
- What should you put to the seller in writing before you sign?
So your time and your advisory spend go only to the deals worth it, and you go into the negotiation knowing what you are buying. We are a technology and research firm, not a DFSA-regulated financial services firm.
Frequently asked questions
What documents do I need for due diligence in the UAE?
At minimum: the trade licence and its history, the Memorandum of Association, thirty six months of audited financial statements, VAT and corporate tax filings, twelve months of bank statements, the tenancy contract and Ejari, employee records with end of service liabilities, key customer and supplier contracts, and any loan or security agreements. Each item ties back to an authority or counterparty that can confirm it.
What are the main areas of due diligence?
Six areas: corporate, confirming the entity and its ownership; financial, reconciling the numbers to evidence; tax, confirming VAT and corporate tax standing; legal, checking contracts, disputes and encumbrances; commercial, testing the market and customer base; and operational, checking people, systems and assets. A serious review covers all six, not just the financials.
How long should UAE due diligence take?
For a small to mid sized business, a focused review usually runs four to eight weeks, with legal, financial and tax work in parallel. Sector approvals that need a regulator to review the change of ownership can extend it. Rushing the timeline is where buyers miss the liabilities that later cost the most.
Should I do due diligence myself or hire advisors?
Use a screen first, then advisors. Run a structured screen to decide whether the deal is worth deep work, then bring in accountants and lawyers for the confirmatory legal and financial due diligence on the deals that clear the screen. That order keeps the expensive advisory spend on the deals most likely to close.
Checking a UAE business you want to buy?
Start with a free Deal Health Score on the specific deal, then get the full Conviction Report with a clear verdict and evidence-tiered findings, priced to your mandate. See the public record of past verdicts first.