Drawings & design · Interiors and fit-out
For tenants, owners and fit-out contractors who need an interior that works for the business and gets through the landlord, Civil Defence and the permit authority. We plan the layout and prepare the interior drawings the reviewers expect.
An interior can look finished on a mood board and still fail at the first review. The reasons are rarely about taste. They are about exit widths, travel distances, a partition that blocks a sprinkler, a ceiling that hides a smoke detector, or a reception desk that leaves no room for a wheelchair.
Our interior design service starts from those rules. We plan the space so it works for the people using it, then turn the plan into the drawings a landlord, a master developer, Civil Defence and the permit authority need to see. Visual design matters, and we can develop it with you, but the core of this service is a layout that is buildable, compliant and approvable.
The authorities and landlords decide whether to approve a fit-out. We make sure the interior package they receive answers their questions before they ask them.
Test-fit layouts for the brief: headcount, rooms, storage, customer flow, back-of-house and future flexibility, checked against occupancy and exit requirements.
Partition setting-out, door schedule, reflected ceiling plans, floor finishes, wall elevations, joinery and key details.
Lighting, air-conditioning, sprinklers, detectors and power positions integrated with the MEP design so the ceiling and walls work together.
We work on offices, shops and showrooms, restaurants and cafés, salons and clinics, and residential apartments and villas. The approval weight differs a lot between them. A food outlet or clinic has sector-specific layout rules, while a home interior usually involves the building management or developer more than the authority.
Interior works sit on a scale. At one end, painting and loose furniture rarely need a permit. At the other, new full-height partitions, ceilings with services, wet areas and kitchens bring in the permit authority and Civil Defence. Each authority draws the line in its own place.
| Authority area | What it publishes on interior works |
|---|---|
| Dubai Municipality | Under Administrative Resolution No. 85 of 2019, non-structural decoration works inside a commercial, professional, industrial or office unit larger than 100 m² need a decoration permit, applied for by a DM-approved contractor. Units of 100 m² or less, and units inside malls, are exempt. DM also lists an approval of the design layout for food establishments, and a separate interior design approval for buildings in historical areas. |
| Trakhees (PCFC areas) | Circular No. 2 of 2025 allows certain decoration works without a Trakhees Civil Engineering permit: wall finishes and painting, movable furniture and retail shelving, flooring over the existing slab (not for industrial units or food outlets), replacement of internal doors and windows without changing the opening, and dry-wall partitions up to 1.8 m high. Partitions above 1.8 m count as full-height and need Trakhees approval. |
| DDA, DMCC, JAFZA and other zones | Each runs its own fit-out approval process. See our DDA / TECOM page and the fit-out permits overview. |
Even where a permit isn't needed, conditions apply. Trakhees, for example, requires the works to be carried out by an approved contractor with a valid Dubai licence for the activity, to meet Civil Defence and accessibility requirements, to stay inside the leased area, and to have the landlord's acceptance. Most landlords and building managers have their own fit-out rules too.
Interior changes can stop being "interior". Moving a kitchen, adding a bathroom, cutting into a slab or wall, or changing the use of a space can turn a decoration job into a modification that needs structural, MEP and authority review.
A compliant interior is planned around a handful of requirements that reviewers check closely:
The set we prepare depends on the authority and the use, but a typical approval package includes:
We take the brief, the lease plan, the landlord's fit-out guide and the base-build drawings, and confirm the authority for the building.
Client · our team
One or more test-fit layouts, checked for occupancy, exits and accessibility before any finishes are chosen.
Our team · client approves
Ceilings, partitions, finishes and joinery are detailed and coordinated with MEP and fire systems.
Our team · MEP engineer
The package goes to the landlord or building management for technical review and NOC. Comments are resolved before the authority submission.
Consultant · landlord
Drawings are submitted to the permit authority and Civil Defence where required, through the approved contractor or registered consultant as each process requires.
Contractor / consultant · authorities
We answer site queries, review changes for compliance, and support the inspections that lead to completion and the trade licence or occupancy step.
Contractor · inspectors
The steps for specific uses are covered on our office fit-out and restaurant and F&B approval pages, and in our guide to fit-out approval in Dubai.
Authority and landlord fees are separate from our design fee, and we list them separately in the quotation.
Our article on common architectural mistakes that delay approval covers more of these.
It depends on the work and the authority. Painting and furniture rarely need a permit. DM's decoration permit (Administrative Resolution No. 85 of 2019) applies to commercial, office and industrial units, not homes, so for an apartment the main approvals are usually the building management's and developer's. Building management or developer approval is usually needed too, and moving wet areas or kitchens is treated as a modification.
Full-height partitions usually need approval because they affect exits and fire protection. In Trakhees areas, Circular No. 2 of 2025 allows dry-wall partitions up to 1.8 m high without a Civil Engineering permit, subject to conditions. Other authorities have their own rules.
For DM decoration permits, a DM-approved contractor applies. Other processes require a registered consultant. We prepare the drawings and coordinate the submission through the appointed contractor or a registered consultant as the process requires.
Yes. Dubai Municipality lists a design layout approval for food establishments before construction, and the kitchen, exhaust and fire suppression bring in Civil Defence and other reviewers. See our restaurant fit-out approvals page.
Yes. We can review an existing concept for compliance and prepare the approval drawings from it, so the design intent survives the review.
On this page
Have a unit and a brief?
Send the lease plan, the building name and what the space needs to do. We will tell you which approvals the layout must pass.
Service
Fit-out approval for commercial and residential units in Dubai: landlord NOC, DM, DDA or Trakhees permit, Civil Defence, documents, process and completion.
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Service
Office fit-out approvals in Dubai: occupancy and escape, partitions, server rooms, MEP loads, landlord NOC and the DM, DDA or free zone permit for your office.
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Service
Restaurant and café approvals in Dubai: food-safety layout assessment, hood suppression, grease traps, exhaust, LPG and Civil Defence, planned before you build.
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Service
DCD approval support in Dubai for fire and life-safety drawings, fire alarm and firefighting coordination, submissions, inspections and completion.
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Service
Coordinate mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems around the proposed space and equipment. We help connect the architectural layout to practical service routes, demand information and technical submissions.
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Guide
A practical fit-out register lists each permission, issuer, scope, owner and status.
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Guide
Self-decor is a label that should not be used as a shortcut for every interior alteration.
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Guide
Apartment works can interact with common pipes, ventilation, fire systems and neighbouring units.
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Guide
Architectural drawings should communicate the proposed work unambiguously.
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Share a few details and we will tell you which approvals apply, what documents you need and how we can help. There is no obligation.