Short answer: Once DMCC issues your amended licence showing the “FZCO” name, you must update your FTA records in EmaraTax — under both Corporate Tax and VAT — within 20 business days, or risk an AED 1,000 penalty. This is an amendment to your existing registration, not a new registration: your VAT TRN and Corporate Tax registration stay the same. Only the name changes.
If your DMCC company's name ends in “DMCC”, you may have been told it's changing to end in “FZCO” instead. It's a name-format change, and on its own it sounds purely cosmetic. But a company name is one of the details the FTA holds on your tax record — so when it changes, the FTA has to be updated, on a deadline, with a penalty attached if you miss it. Here's exactly what that means and what to do.
What's happeningWhat is the DMCC suffix change?
DMCC is standardising company name endings, moving entities whose names previously ended in “DMCC” to end in “FZCO” (Free Zone Company). So a company called “Your Company DMCC” becomes “Your Company FZCO”.
The key point: this changes the name suffix only. It is the same legal entity — same shareholders, same activities, same trade licence number, same history. Nothing about the business itself changes; only how its name is written. That distinction matters enormously for what you have to do next, because it means this is an update, not a fresh start.
Does it affect my Corporate Tax and VAT registration?
Yes — the new name has to be reflected with the FTA, under both your Corporate Tax and your VAT records where the company is registered for both. Every FTA record should match your amended DMCC licence.
But this is the reassuring part: it is an amendment to your existing EmaraTax records, not a new registration. You are updating the name the FTA already holds — not registering the company again, and not deregistering and re-registering. Your VAT TRN and Corporate Tax registration stay the same, along with your filing history and deadlines. Only the registered name is updated.
| What people worry about | What actually happens |
|---|---|
| Do I need to re-register for CT or VAT? | No — it's an amendment to existing records |
| Does my TRN change? | No — same TRN, same registration |
| Do my filing deadlines reset? | No — same history and deadlines |
| Do I update both CT and VAT? | Yes — the name should match on both records |
The 20-business-day deadline — and the AED 1,000 penalty
The update isn't optional or open-ended. You must notify the FTA within 20 business days of the effective date of the change — in practice, from when the amended DMCC licence showing “FZCO” is issued, since that's the document you need and the point the clock runs from.
Miss that window and you expose yourself to an administrative penalty of AED 1,000 for a first occurrence (and AED 5,000 for repetition) for failing to keep your tax record up to date. It's an avoidable four-figure fine for what is otherwise a short administrative task — which is the whole reason to act promptly once the new licence lands.
How to updateHow to update your FTA records, step by step
- Wait for the amended DMCC licence. Let DMCC complete the change and issue the new trade licence showing the “FZCO” name — you need it to evidence the update.
- Log in to EmaraTax. Sign in to your existing EmaraTax account and open your Taxable Person — the same profile you already use, not a new one.
- Submit a Tax Records Amendment. Open the amendment for your Corporate Tax registration and update the legal / trade name and the amended trade licence details.
- Repeat for the VAT record. Ensure the new name is reflected under your VAT registration too, so both FTA records match the amended DMCC licence.
- Submit within 20 business days. Attach the amended licence, submit, and make sure it’s done within 20 business days of the change to avoid the penalty.
That's the short version specific to the suffix change. For the full detail of how an FTA amendment works — what counts as an amendment, the review process, the documents and the common rejection traps — see our guide to amending your corporate tax registration.
Timing: do it after the new licence, not before
The sequence matters. You can only make the update after DMCC issues the amended licence showing the “FZCO” name, because the FTA needs that licence as the supporting document evidencing the change — there's nothing to file against until it exists. So don't try to pre-empt it; instead, watch for the new licence, and the moment it's issued, start the 20-business-day countdown and get the Corporate Tax and VAT records updated well inside it.
DMCC changed your name? We'll handle the FTA side
Fastlane is an FTA-Registered Tax Agent. Send us your amended DMCC licence showing the “FZCO” name and we'll submit the EmaraTax amendment to update the name under both your Corporate Tax and VAT records — from AED 100 to handle both together, comfortably within the 20-business-day deadline. Same TRN, same registration, correct name.
+971 55 127 3479 · info@fastlanecareer.com
Related guides and services
- Amending your corporate tax registration — the full FTA amendment process, step by step.
- Corporate tax filing — registration, returns and compliance.
- VAT filing — VAT returns and compliance.
CT Registration Amendment
The full FTA amendment process.
Corporate Tax
Registration, returns and compliance.
VAT Filing
VAT returns and compliance.
Frequently asked questions
DMCC is standardising company name endings, so entities whose names previously ended in “DMCC” are being changed to end in “FZCO” (Free Zone Company) — for example “Your Company DMCC” becomes “Your Company FZCO”. It is a change to the name suffix only: the company stays the same legal entity, with the same shareholders, the same activities and the same history. Nothing about the business changes except how its name is written. [VERIFY the current DMCC requirement and timeline with DMCC.]
Yes — a change to your company’s name has to be reflected with the Federal Tax Authority. The FTA specifically lists a change in the name or trading name of the business, and a renewed or amended trade licence, among the changes you must notify. Importantly, this is an amendment to your existing FTA records, not a new registration — you are updating the name the FTA already holds, not registering the company again.
Yes, where the company is registered for both. The new name should be reflected under both your Corporate Tax and your VAT records in EmaraTax, so every FTA record matches your amended DMCC licence. Depending on which details are affected, the FTA may require the update to be made in each registration, which is why it is worth handling both together rather than assuming one update covers everything.
You must notify the FTA within 20 business days of the effective date of the change. In practice the clock runs from when the amended DMCC licence showing the “FZCO” name is issued — that is the document you need to make the update, and the point from which the 20 business days are counted. Don’t leave it sitting once the new licence is in hand.
Failing to notify the FTA of a change to your tax record within the required window exposes you to an administrative penalty of AED 1,000 for a first occurrence (and AED 5,000 for repetition). It is an avoidable, four-figure fine for what is otherwise a short administrative update — which is exactly why the 20-business-day deadline is worth taking seriously. [VERIFY current penalty figures against FTA guidance.]
No. Because this is a name amendment and not the formation of a new entity, your VAT TRN and your Corporate Tax registration stay the same. You keep the same tax registration numbers, the same filing history and the same deadlines — only the registered name is updated to match the new DMCC licence. There is no need to re-register for anything.
After. You need the amended DMCC trade licence showing the “FZCO” name to submit the update, because the FTA requires the supporting document evidencing the change. So the sequence is: DMCC issues the new licence, then you update EmaraTax within 20 business days of that change. Trying to update before the new licence exists simply isn’t possible — there is nothing yet to evidence.
Yes. Send us your amended DMCC licence showing the “FZCO” name and we will submit the amendment in EmaraTax to update the name under both your Corporate Tax and VAT records — from AED 100 to handle both together, rather than treating them as two new registrations. For the full mechanics of an FTA amendment, see our guide to amending your corporate tax registration.
Fastlane Tax Team
FTA-Registered Tax Agent · MoE-Approved Auditor · Dubai
This article was prepared by the tax team at Fastlane Management Consultancy, a Dubai-based FTA-Registered Tax Agent and MoE-Approved auditor. We handle EmaraTax amendments — name and trade-licence changes, including DMCC suffix updates — across Corporate Tax and VAT, and the wider corporate tax and VAT compliance that goes with them.