A security guard company is one of the most tightly regulated business types in this entire series — the sequence itself is unusual: your DET trade licence won't even be issued until you already have SIRA approval in hand, the reverse order of almost every other business on this list.
SIRA comes first, not DET
The Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA), established under Dubai Police, is the primary regulator for private security companies in Dubai. Unlike every other business type in this series, where you license through DET and layer additional approvals on top, security guarding requires SIRA approval as a prerequisite — DET will not issue the trade licence for a manned guarding activity without SIRA clearance already secured. Plan your timeline around this reversed sequence from the start.
Minimum capital requirement
Manned guarding companies face a SIRA-driven minimum share capital requirement, commonly cited at AED 300,000 — enforced at the DET registration stage as a condition tied to the security activity, not a figure you can work around by starting smaller. This reflects the seriousness with which this sector is regulated, well beyond typical commercial licensing capital expectations.
Mainland only, real office required
Active manned guarding services are mainland-only — this isn't a free-zone-eligible activity. SIRA also conducts physical site visits as part of licensing, and a virtual office address is explicitly rejected; you need a genuine, inspectable physical office.
Individual guard cards, separate from your company licence
Every deployed guard needs their own individual SIRA guard card — a personal permit confirming they've met SIRA's training and background-check requirements — completely separate from your company's own SIRA licence. Your company is responsible for ensuring every deployed guard holds a valid, current card at all times; a lapsed card, even for a single guard, can expose your business to operational suspension and breach of client contracts.
Ownership and nationality requirements vary by category
Guarding government facilities or critical infrastructure typically requires a UAE national partner holding a controlling share. For general commercial and corporate site security, ownership requirements are less fixed and should be confirmed directly with SIRA at application time rather than assumed.
Next steps
Given the sequencing, capital requirement, and dual-regulator structure here, this is a business type where consulting directly with SIRA (or a consultant with specific SIRA licensing experience, not general business setup) before any other planning step is genuinely essential — more so than for almost any other business type in this series.