A civil company is a UAE legal structure specifically for professional partnerships — commonly used by groups of doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants and similar licensed professionals practising together — distinct from both an LLC and a sole establishment.
Who a civil company structure suits
Civil companies are built for professional partnerships where each partner personally holds a recognised professional qualification relevant to the practice — a group of doctors forming a medical practice, or lawyers forming a legal partnership, for example. It is not a general-purpose commercial trading structure the way an LLC is.
Liability and partnership structure
Partners in a civil company generally bear liability similarly to a sole establishment's owner — there is no limited-liability shield of the kind an LLC provides — though the specific liability arrangement can be defined in the partnership agreement between partners. This is a meaningful consideration for professionals weighing a civil company against incorporating as an LLC instead.
Costs and timeline
Civil company formation involves drafting a partnership agreement among the professional partners, alongside the standard trade licence process through DET, plus any professional body registration each partner individually needs for their specific practice. Model your base licensing cost with this site's Business Setup Cost Calculator, and confirm professional registration requirements with the relevant body for your specific field.