How to find company information in United Arab Emirates

It depends on the licensing authority.

Free Zones:

All the different Free Zones have their own portals with company specific logins. Company information can be viewed and documents can be downloaded directly from the portal. All legal documents are available in English. Any changes to the company are also made through the respective portal. Legal documents are not publicly available.

Mainland:

The incorporation documents as well as renewal documents starting from the 2nd year are sent only to the registered email address. Available languages are English and Arabic. e-Services (dubaided.gov.ae). Legal documents are not publicly available.

Free Zones:

It depends on the free zone authority. If you know the exact company name, the company license is visible on the Free Zone website (e.g., https://www.dmcc.ae/business-search).
No other details are publicly available.

All companies

• Trade Licenses:
• a company’s official right to exist/operate, includes company name, validity (usually 1 year), business activity, manager’s name and contact details, and company address;
• required for opening a bank account, renting an office/showroom/warehouse, visa applications, utility registration, etc.

• Memorandum/Articles of Association:
• shareholder agreement forms the constitution of a company and defines responsibilities;
• a document that records the terms of a contract or other legal details.

• e-Establishment Card (if the company will sponsor visas):
• issued by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (“GDRFA”, known as Immigration) and only available electronically, contains the company name, manager’s name, card number, and expiration date;
• required for visa applications, utility registration, etc.

Additionally for Free Zones

• Certificate of Formation:
  
• a document that establishes a new free zone company.
  
• Share Certificate:
• a document that shows the name of the direct shareholder/s, the number of owned shares, and the value of each share in the company.
• Unit Lease Agreement:
• a document issued by the Free zone that allows the licensee to use the address of the Free zone as its registered business address in the absence of the physical office unit.

Costs vary greatly by jurisdiction and cannot be generalized.

Additionally for mainland companies:

• Commercial Register:
• a document showing the capital and number of shares.
• Partners List:
• a document that shows the name of the direct shareholder/s and their percentage of ownership in the company.
• EJARI for office/showroom/warehouse:
• certificate issued by RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) for compulsory registration of lease contract.
• Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry Membership Certificate:
• compulsory annual membership for all registered licensed companies to carry out all commercial and industrial activities in Dubai;
• confirmation to trade goods locally and internationally.
• e-Company Card:
• issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (“MoHRE”) and available electronically only;
• linking the company to MoHRE (formerly known as the Ministry of Labour), required to apply for visas under the sponsorship of the company.

• For companies incorporated in free zone jurisdictions, it's possible to obtain additional documents (other than those listed above, which are automatically provided upon incorporation) upon request. These may include:
• registry Extract
• certificate of Incumbency
• letter of Good Standing, etc.

Requests for additional company documents will be charged separately by the authority.

• As per the UAE Company Commercial Law, it is mandatory for all registered companies in the UAE to conduct the company's annual accounting & bookkeeping.
  In some free zones, the company is required to submit an annual audit report to its respective licensing authority.
• Regulatory compliance procedures are mandatory for all companies licensed in the UAE (ESR, AML, CbCR, UBO, ICV). The requirements vary depending on the business activity and/or turnover of the company.
• The UAE has recently introduced CIT (Corporate Income Tax), which all companies - whether registered on the mainland or in one of the free zones - are required to register for. The UAE CIT regulations contain 2 tax rates, 0% (if the taxable income is less than or equal to AED 375,000) and 9% (if the taxable income is more than AED 375,000). Regardless of the income, registration is mandatory.
• Companies can register for VAT (Value Added Tax) after reaching a certain threshold. The UAE VAT regulations include 2 tax rates (either 0% or 5%) depending on the type of business. The relevant turnover threshold is AED 187,500 can register OR AED 375,000 must register and the period to be considered includes the last 12 months and the next 30 days.
  

You can only obtain information about pending litigation against a company if you have a notarized power of attorney from the company and its shareholders.