What Is the Meydan Entity Registry?
The Meydan Entity Registry is a structured compliance document — provided as a downloadable template by Meydan Free Zone — that captures the company's complete beneficial ownership and shareholding structure. It is the primary document Meydan's AML supervision team uses to verify that the company has correctly identified its Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) in accordance with UAE Cabinet Decision No. 109/2023.
The template contains three distinct registers — each with its own set of mandatory fields. All three sections must be completed, even if some sections have "nil" entries (for example, if there are no nominee arrangements).
📌
Who Is an Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)?
A UBO is any individual who: (1) directly or indirectly owns 25% or more of the company's shares, or (2) controls 25% or more of the company's voting rights, or (3) exercises effective control over the company by other means (even without 25% ownership). For most Meydan SME companies, the UBO is simply the shareholder. For companies with corporate shareholders, you need to look through the corporate structure to identify the natural person(s) ultimately in control.
Section 1 — UBO Register (Ultimate Beneficial Owner)
This is the most critical section. It records every individual who qualifies as a UBO of the Meydan company. The following fields are all marked as Compulsory in Meydan's template:
Company Name
Full legal name of the Meydan company exactly as on the trade licence
CompulsoryFull Name of UBO
Legal full name exactly as in the passport — no abbreviations
CompulsoryShareholding Percentage
The exact percentage of shares held by this UBO in the company
CompulsoryVoting Rights (Yes/No)
Whether this UBO holds voting rights in the company
CompulsoryBasis of UBO
The basis on which this person qualifies as a UBO — e.g. direct ownership, indirect ownership, or effective control
CompulsoryNationality
The UBO's nationality as stated in their passport
CompulsoryDate of Birth
DD/MM/YYYY format as in the passport
CompulsoryPlace of Birth
City and country of birth as stated in the passport
CompulsoryResidential Address
Current full home address of the UBO — not the company address
CompulsoryContact Details
Phone number and email address of the UBO
CompulsoryPassport Number
Current valid passport number
CompulsoryPassport Country of Issuance
The country that issued the passport
CompulsoryPassport Issuance Date
Date the passport was issued
CompulsoryPassport Expiry Date
Expiry date of the passport — must be current/valid
CompulsoryWhen Did You Become a UBO?
The date this person became a beneficial owner of the company — typically the date of incorporation or acquisition
CompulsoryDate Ceased to Be UBO
If the person is no longer a UBO, the date they ceased. Leave blank if still active.
If applicable
Section 2 — Shareholder Register
This section records all shareholders of the Meydan company — including corporate shareholders. The Shareholder Register has additional fields beyond the UBO Register to capture shareholding structure details:
Company Name & Address
The Meydan company's name and registered address
CompulsoryFull Name of Shareholder
Legal name of the shareholder — individual or corporate entity name
CompulsoryShareholding Percentage
Exact percentage of shares held
CompulsoryNumber of Shares Held
The actual number of shares, not just the percentage
CompulsoryCategory of Shares
The class/type of shares held (e.g. ordinary, preference)
CompulsoryAssociated Voting Rights
The voting rights attached to the shares held
CompulsoryDate Became a Shareholder
When this shareholder acquired their shares
CompulsoryEmployer Name & Address (natural persons)
For individual shareholders: their employer's name and address — including a valid passport copy
If Natural PersonDate in Official Registry (corporate shareholders)
For corporate shareholders: the date the corporate entity was registered in its jurisdiction's official registry
If Corporate Shareholder
Section 3 — Nominee Arrangement Register
This section must be completed if the company has any nominee directors or nominee shareholders — arrangements where one person holds a position on behalf of another. If there are no nominee arrangements, this section should be marked "nil" or "not applicable." Leaving it blank without a notation may cause the form to be queried.
Fields include: type of arrangement, individual or legal person, full name of nominee, manager's name, date of appointment, nationality, DOB, place of birth, residential address, contact details, passport details, whether the arrangement is formal or informal, when the person became a nominee, and the purpose of the arrangement.
💡
All Three Sections Are Compulsory — Even If Some Are Nil
Meydan's Entity Registry template has three sections. All three must be addressed in your submission. If your company has no nominee arrangements, write "Nil" or "Not Applicable" in Section 3 rather than leaving it blank. An incomplete submission may be rejected and the clock continues running. Fastlane completes the full Entity Registry — all three sections — as part of the Meydan AML compliance response package. See our
AML compliance service.
Entity Registry Not Submitted Yet? Fastlane Completes It for You.
Fastlane fills in the complete Meydan Entity Registry template — all three sections — using your company's shareholder and passport information. Part of our full Meydan AML compliance response package. Same-day service available.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Meydan Entity Registry?+
The Meydan Entity Registry is the free zone's standardised template for capturing the company's beneficial ownership structure — required under UAE Cabinet Decision No. 109/2023. It has three sections: UBO Register (ultimate beneficial owners with 25%+ ownership or effective control), Shareholder Register (all shareholders), and Nominee Arrangement Register (any nominee directors or shareholders). All three sections are compulsory.
Who qualifies as a UBO for the Meydan Entity Registry?+
A UBO is any individual who directly or indirectly owns 25% or more of the company's shares or voting rights, or exercises effective control over the company. For most Meydan SME companies with individual shareholders, the UBO is simply the shareholder. For companies with corporate shareholders, you must look through the corporate structure to identify the natural person(s) ultimately in control.
Can I create my own UBO register instead of using the Meydan template?+
No — Meydan requires the Entity Registry to be completed using their specific downloadable template. A generic UBO register or beneficial ownership declaration in a different format will not be accepted for the AML inspection compliance submission. The template must be downloaded from the links in the Meydan warning email.
What passport details are needed for the Entity Registry?+
For each UBO and shareholder: passport number, country of issuance, issuance date, and expiry date. The passport must be current and valid. If a UBO or shareholder has recently renewed their passport, use the new passport details — not the old expired one.
👨💼
Nithin Pathak — Fastlane Management Consultancy
FTA-Registered Tax Agent · MoE-Registered Auditor · Dubai, UAE · TRN: 104218042400003
The field that causes the most delays in Entity Registry completion is the UBO's residential address — not the company's registered address, but the individual's actual home address. Many shareholders use their office or company address everywhere, and when we ask for their home address it causes a pause. For UAE residents this is the address on the tenancy agreement or Ejari. For overseas shareholders it is their home country address. Meydan needs the residential address — the personal one — so prepare this in advance.