EmaraTax walkthrough
VAT registration happens entirely inside the FTA's EmaraTax portal: one application, a set of documents, and a Tax Registration Number (TRN) at the end. This guide walks through each screen in order, lists exactly what to have ready, and flags the mistakes that get applications rejected. For the threshold maths alone, see our threshold guide.
Before you log in
Get these wrong and the application either gets rejected or backfires.
Mandatory at AED 375,000 of taxable supplies over the previous 12 months (or expected in the next 30 days). Voluntary from AED 187,500. Run the 12-month rolling calculation first: "I thought I was under" is not a defence.
Apply within 20 business days of crossing the threshold. Late registration carries an AED 10,000 penalty, and the FTA can backdate your registration to the crossing date, creating VAT liability on sales you already made.
Approval issues a 15-digit Tax Registration Number that goes on every tax invoice you raise. You need it before charging VAT, filing returns or recovering input VAT. The certificate lives in your EmaraTax dashboard.
Have these ready
Gather everything before you start. EmaraTax saves drafts, but a half-finished application is how the 20-day clock runs out.
Scan everything clearly. Blurry uploads are one of the most common rejection triggers, and they're the easiest to avoid.
Get a document checklist reviewThe walkthrough
The portal changes its layout now and then, but the flow below has held steady.
Sign in to the EmaraTax portal with UAE Pass (approve the login in the app on your phone). If the business already has an EmaraTax account, use the same login: VAT registration attaches to the existing profile.
Open the VAT section and choose new registration. You'll pick taxable person (a single company) or tax group (related companies together). Most SMEs pick taxable person; tax groups have extra conditions.
Enter the trade licence number, legal name and details exactly as on the licence. Add business activities, when taxable supplies began, and expected annual turnover. The "effective date of registration" should be the date you crossed the threshold, not today.
Registered address, email and phone. Use an email you actually monitor: the FTA sends queries and the approval here, and missed emails stall applications.
Add the company IBAN and upload the bank letter or statement. The account name must match the trade licence; mismatches cause rejections that take weeks to untangle.
Attach each document, review the summary, tick the declaration and submit. Save the application reference number. The FTA may come back with queries via portal or email; respond fast, since queries have deadlines too.
No published SLA; timing varies with FTA workload and queries. Clean applications typically move in days to a few weeks. Apply early in your 20-day window so a query round doesn't push you past the deadline; the TRN and certificate appear in your dashboard on approval.
Rejections
The most common rejection. "ABC Trading LLC" vs "ABC Trading L.L.C." is enough to bounce you. Copy the name character for character, punctuation included.
A one-line self-declaration doesn't cut it. Upload invoices, bank statements or contracts clearly showing AED 375,000 in taxable supplies. Registering on expected turnover? Attach signed contracts, not projections.
Applicants often enter the application date. The FTA expects the date the threshold was crossed; getting it wrong shifts your first tax period.
The IBAN must belong to the company, with a name matching the licence. Sort the business bank account before you apply, not after.
Submitting twice "to be safe" creates conflicting records. One application per entity; resume an existing draft instead of starting fresh.
An expired trade licence or Emirates ID attached to the application is an instant query at best. Renew first, then apply.
After approval
The TRN is the start, not the finish. From your effective date of registration:
If circumstances change, deregistration has its own process and deadlines. Don't just stop filing.
See our VAT services
The one-page summary
FAQs
Through the FTA's EmaraTax portal. Log in with UAE Pass, start a VAT registration as a taxable person, enter licence and business details exactly as they appear on the licence, add bank details, upload your documents and submit. The FTA reviews and issues your TRN on approval.
A valid trade licence, Emirates ID and passport of the owner or manager, proof of turnover showing you crossed AED 375,000, an IBAN letter in the company's name, the Memorandum of Association for LLCs, and a tenancy contract or address proof where requested.
The FTA publishes no fixed timeline. Clean applications are typically processed in days to a few weeks; queries or mismatches extend it. Apply early in your 20-day window.
AED 10,000. You must apply within 20 business days of crossing the AED 375,000 threshold, and the FTA can backdate your registration to the crossing date, creating VAT liability on sales you already made.
Yes, from AED 187,500 of taxable supplies. It suits businesses with mostly zero-rated sales or large input VAT (startups, exporters). Below AED 187,500 you can't register.
The most common reasons: name mismatch with the trade licence, weak turnover proof, wrong effective date, a bank account in a different name, duplicate applications, or expired documents. Fix what the FTA flagged and resubmit.
Yes, effectively. EmaraTax login runs through UAE Pass, so install the app and complete its verification before you start. If the business already has an EmaraTax profile (for corporate tax, for example), use the same login.
Keep reading
Ready when you are
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