The Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) Registration Authority (the “Registrar”) has issued this Consultation Paper to invite public feedback on proposed amendments to the Commercial Licensing Regulations (Controlled Activities) Rules (the “Controlled Activities Rules”), the Commercial Licensing Regulations (Conditions of Licence and Branch Registration) Rules (the “Conditions of Licence Rules”) and the Commercial Licensing Regulations (Fees) Rules (the “Fees Rules”) (together, the “Rules”) to introduce a regulatory framework for business centres in ADGM.
The proposed amendments would make the activity of providing business centre services a controlled activity and establish specific conditions of licence for applicants and licensed business centre service providers.
The draft amendments to the Rules are set out in the appendices to this Consultation Paper.
This Consultation Paper summarises the key proposed aspects of the amendments. The summaries provided should be read as an introduction to the amendments only – many of the precise details and requirements are contained in the Rules.
Unless context requires otherwise, terms capitalised in this Consultation Paper should be taken to have the same meanings ascribed to them in the Commercial Licensing Regulations 2025 and the Rules.
Who should read this paper?
The proposals in this Consultation Paper would be of interest to existing and prospective business centre operators, persons using or intending to use business centre services, company service providers and other stakeholders who may be affected by the proposed framework. We also welcome feedback from other stakeholders, whether based in ADGM or beyond.
How to provide comments
Comments must be submitted through RA’s Consultation Portal at https://raconsultations.adgm.com/. To submit feedback, individuals and entities are required to register for an account on the portal, which is one-time process.
Please note that comments submitted to ra.consultation@adgm.com may not be considered. The email address ra.consultation@adgm.com should only be used for portal-related issues, such as registration, account access, and technical difficulties.
What happens next?
The deadline for providing comments on this proposal is 6 November 2026.
Following receipt and review of any comments, the Registrar will consider whether any modifications to the proposed amendments are required, and the ADGM Board of Directors (“Board”) and the Registrar will then proceed to enact the proposals in their final form.
You should not act on the proposed amendments until such time as the final Rules and any related guidance are issued by the Registrar. A notice will be issued on the ADGM website upon issuance of the final Rules.
*Proposed legislations can be accessed under “Materials” tab located on the right-hand side of this Consultation Paper.
**To receive notification of future public consultations published by ADGM Registration Authority, please click “Subscribe” button.
Q1. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE IN THE AMOUNT PROVIDED?
Q2. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE PRICING AND PACKAGES TO PROSPECTIVE CLIENTS?
Q3. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED RESTRICTION ON ENTERING INTO ANY AGREEMENT WITH A CLIENT FOR A TERM WHICH EXTENDS BEYOND THE TERM OF THE BUSINESS CENTRE’S RIGHT TO OCCUPY THE PREMISES?
Q4. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY THE RA OF ANY MATERIAL EVENT AFFECTING OR REASONABLY LIKELY TO AFFECT THE BUSINESS CENTRE’S ABILITY TO CONTINUE OPERATING AS A BUSINESS CENTRE?
Q5. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A WIND-DOWN AND CONTINGENCY PLAN?
Q6. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED MINIMUM REGULATORY CAPITAL REQUIREMENT?
Q7. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS?
Q8. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH OR FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED PROHIBITION ON ACCEPTING OR DISTRIBUTING CASH?
Q9. DO YOU HAVE ANY BROADER FEEDBACK ON THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS THAT IS NOT COVERED BY THE QUESTIONS SET OUT ABOVE?
Consultation Paper No. 7 of 2026 - Proposal to Introduce a Regulatory Framework for Business Centres
Why are we issuing this paper?
The Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) Registration Authority (the “Registrar”) has issued this Consultation Paper to invite public feedback on proposed amendments to the Commercial Licensing Regulations (Controlled Activities) Rules (the “Controlled Activities Rules”), the Commercial Licensing Regulations (Conditions of Licence and Branch Registration) Rules (the “Conditions of Licence Rules”) and the Commercial Licensing Regulations (Fees) Rules (the “Fees Rules”) (together, the “Rules”) to introduce a regulatory framework for business centres in ADGM.
The proposed amendments would make the activity of providing business centre services a controlled activity and establish specific conditions of licence for applicants and licensed business centre service providers.
The draft amendments to the Rules are set out in the appendices to this Consultation Paper.
This Consultation Paper summarises the key proposed aspects of the amendments. The summaries provided should be read as an introduction to the amendments only – many of the precise details and requirements are contained in the Rules.
Unless context requires otherwise, terms capitalised in this Consultation Paper should be taken to have the same meanings ascribed to them in the Commercial Licensing Regulations 2025 and the Rules.
Who should read this paper?
The proposals in this Consultation Paper would be of interest to existing and prospective business centre operators, persons using or intending to use business centre services, company service providers and other stakeholders who may be affected by the proposed framework. We also welcome feedback from other stakeholders, whether based in ADGM or beyond.
How to provide comments
Comments must be submitted through RA’s Consultation Portal at https://raconsultations.adgm.com/. To submit feedback, individuals and entities are required to register for an account on the portal, which is one-time process.
Please note that comments submitted to ra.consultation@adgm.com may not be considered. The email address ra.consultation@adgm.com should only be used for portal-related issues, such as registration, account access, and technical difficulties.
What happens next?
The deadline for providing comments on this proposal is 6 November 2026.
Following receipt and review of any comments, the Registrar will consider whether any modifications to the proposed amendments are required, and the ADGM Board of Directors (“Board”) and the Registrar will then proceed to enact the proposals in their final form.
You should not act on the proposed amendments until such time as the final Rules and any related guidance are issued by the Registrar. A notice will be issued on the ADGM website upon issuance of the final Rules.
*Proposed legislations can be accessed under “Materials” tab located on the right-hand side of this Consultation Paper.
**To receive notification of future public consultations published by ADGM Registration Authority, please click “Subscribe” button.
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