Execution · Offices, retail and F&B units
For tenants and landlords whose fit-out has to open on a date. We coordinate commercial fit-out so the works follow the approved drawings, fire systems pass Civil Defence, and the completion certificate needed for trading is in hand when the unit is ready.
In a commercial fit-out the real deadline is not the last coat of paint. It is the day the completion certificate lets the business trade. Everything on site should be organised backwards from that date.
Offices, shops and restaurants carry more approval weight than homes. Occupancy, fire strategy, exits, sprinklers, kitchen extraction and signage are all checked, and several authorities may need to sign off before the unit can open. A fit-out that looks finished can still sit empty for weeks if a fire alarm cause-and-effect test fails or the as-installed drawings don't match the approval.
This service covers the execution side: building the approved design, managing the inspections that go with it, and assembling the evidence the authorities ask for at completion. Approvals themselves are issued by the authority, the landlord or the free zone. We plan the works so they get there.
The approval route depends on where the unit is. On the mainland, non-structural decoration of a unit over 100 m² needs a Dubai Municipality permit under Administrative Resolution No. 85 of 2019, filed by a DM-approved contractor. Units inside malls are exempt from that permit, but mall management runs its own design and work approvals. In free zones and special development areas, the zone's authority issues the fit-out permit instead.
The Dubai Development Authority's published fit-out permit is a good example of how closely approval and execution are tied:
| What DDA lists | What it means on site |
|---|---|
| The contractor is the applicant | The fit-out contractor carries the permit and is accountable for building what it covers. |
| Contractor appointment letter from the tenant, Ejari and building owner's NOC | The contract, the lease and the landlord's consent must be sorted before mobilisation. |
| Approved stamped drawings | The stamped set is the construction reference. Site changes go back through approval. |
| Permit valid for 6 months | The programme has to fit the validity, or an extension is planned in. |
| Civil Defence completion certificate needed before the fit-out completion certificate | Fire systems must be finished, tested and inspected before the unit can be closed out. |
DDA also publishes a fee of AED 0.90 per ft² (minimum AED 200, maximum AED 10,000) plus knowledge and innovation fees, and a decision time of 2 working days. These apply in DDA zones only. Other authorities set their own terms. See our DDA / TECOM approvals page and the general fit-out permit route for how each jurisdiction works.
Partitions, meeting rooms, raised floors and ceilings. Occupancy load drives exits and AC, so headcount on the drawings must match the furniture plan. See office fit-out approvals.
Shopfronts, display areas, stock rooms and signage. Mall units follow the landlord's design manual as well as the authority's rules.
Kitchen extraction, fire suppression over cooking lines, grease traps and gas. The most inspection-heavy fit-out type. See restaurant fit-out approvals.
Salons, gyms and clinics follow the same execution logic but add sector approvals, so we plan those works together with the relevant licensing stage.
Civil Defence approval is the most frequent cause of late openings. Three points matter during execution:
Our Civil Defence approvals page and the DCD inspection checklist explain what inspectors typically look at.
We check the approved drawings, the conditions and the permit validity, and build a programme working back from the target opening date.
Our team · tenant
Landlord NOC, mall or building work permits, insurance and access arrangements are confirmed before mobilisation.
Contractor · landlord
Sprinkler, alarm, electrical, data, drainage and AC routes are installed and coordinated in the ceiling void before it closes.
Contractor · licensed specialists
Pressure tests, fire alarm cause-and-effect, smoke extraction and any authority or landlord inspections are passed in sequence.
Inspectors · contractor
Ceilings, flooring, joinery and shopfront. Signage follows its own permit where one applies.
Contractor
Civil Defence completion, then the authority's fit-out completion certificate, then the documents your trade licence or sector approval needs.
Authorities · our team
A commercial unit changes hands more often than a home. The next tenant, the landlord at lease end, or an inspector after an incident will ask what was built and who approved it. At handover you should have:
Every fit-out is priced from the approved drawings and a site visit. The main drivers are:
Authority and landlord fees are always shown separately from the works price.
Usually the contractor. DDA lists the contractor as the applicant for its fit-out permit, and Dubai Municipality's decoration permit is filed by an approved contractor. The tenant provides the lease, the landlord's NOC and the contractor appointment.
Generally no. The fit-out completion certificate, and the Civil Defence completion that comes before it, are what show the unit is safe and built as approved. Licensing and utilities usually depend on them.
Yes. Mall management runs its own design and work approval, and fire-safety works still need Civil Defence approval. The exemption only covers the separate Dubai Municipality decoration permit.
Specialist fire works should be done by a company licensed by Civil Defence. Under Law No. 7 of 2025, contractors also need prior approval to subcontract. Ask how each trade will be delivered before you sign.
It depends on size, use and lead times. Authority decision times are only one part. DDA, for example, publishes 2 working days for its fit-out permit decision, but works, testing and inspections take much longer. We give a programme once we have the drawings.
On this page
Working to an opening date?
Send us the unit location, the use and your target opening. We will map the approvals and works back from that date.
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
Fit-out approvals for shops and showrooms in Dubai malls and street units: landlord and authority permits, display loads, shopfronts, fire safety and handover.
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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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Guide
A practical fit-out register lists each permission, issuer, scope, owner and status.
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Guide
An office plan should reflect the number of people, meeting-room use and specialist spaces the business expects.
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Guide
Inspection preparation should compare the completed work with the approved package and required evidence.
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Guide
A restaurant fit-out is shaped by what is prepared, stored, cooked and served.
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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.