FIT OUT APPROVAL PROCESSES

Fitting out your new commercial space can be an exciting, yet challenging project to organise. It’s fundamental to keep in mind the various compliances and approvals you will require prior to beginning and throughout the duration of the fitout, whether your building is heritage listed or not.
By enlightening the relevant authorities in the preliminary stages, we are then well informed and inclined, thus safeguarding our final design approval is secured.

Dubai Municipality – Registered Contractor

We are a registered entity with Dubai Municipality, licensed to practice consulting and interior fit outs in Dubai. Licenses for these activities are only issued through the Economic Development Department by providing credentials for a qualified engineer who has taken the relevant examinations and courses. Dubai Municipality is the main authority that all contractors should be registered with.

Dubai Municipality Approval Process:

• All the applications are reviewed and checked by our professionals to avoid any surprises. Reviewed applications are submitted in Dubai Municipality online portal. Our team will help you compile and upload all the required documents and drawings. Preparing the documents in advance for the application and having the same checked by our team is to ensure a smooth process without any delays.
• Once submitted, these applications can be tracked online and are reviewed post five business days. We’ll receive a notification from the municipality once the application is approved and can then the same be downloaded, both the stamped drawings and the relevant permits would be in there.
• If an application comes back with comments, an online meeting will be booked to discuss the same with a DM engineer. This service is keenly helpful when applying for health or F&B industry permits as this helps speed up the process of approval.
•  Once everything is approved, we apply for an inspection of the site / venue. Once this inspection is gone through a certificate will be issued and your business be commenced.

Dubai Civil Defense Approved Contractor (DCD)

We are a licensed vendor with Dubai Civil Defense and are licensed to apply for fire & safety equipment at sites. Licenses for these activities are only issued through the authority’s Development Department by providing credentials from a qualified engineer of fire & safety & first aid officers who have taken the relevant examinations, courses and trainings. Most of the buildings in Dubai require certified fire wardens to be present while construction is underway and request that all fire alarm work to be done by registered and approved contractors.

Trakhees Approval – EHS

We are a registered supplier and vendor with the Trakhees Civil Engineering Department, and are licensed to conduct services as consultants and contractors at the multiple zones across Dubai that Trakhees is responsible of. Couple of them include Ibn Battuta Mall, Dragon Mart, and Jebel Ali. Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) is very meticulous and only issues a certificate or clearance of approval once its assured and contented with the competence of the company. We at UID, we have taken all the required tests and inspections, as well as provided all the necessary documents (including a letter of understanding) needed to become a certified vendor for Trakhees.

DDA Approval (Dubai Development Authority)

We are a registered vendor with Dubai Development Authority (DDA, previously known as DCCA) and are authorized to practice as consultants, contractors, suppliers and vendors in Dubai. Licenses for these activities are issued by providing credentials of a qualified civil engineer and a detailed letter of undertaking, along with a deposit amount. DDA looks after many specific zones in Dubai including Media City, Internet City, Studio City, TECOM, Dubai Design District (D3), and Dubai Production City (IMPZ). The focus is to elevate its services, guidelines, and standards to become a leader at a global level demonstrating competitiveness in transformation and excellence.

Dubai Development Authority Approval Process:

• Submissions of all applications are made manually by a trained DDA representative, who interprets and discusses the application before putting it into the DDA system. This personal approach from us helps as a filtration check for all the drawings and documents for clarification. Once the application is submitted, the same can be reviewed online for status checks and comments.
• The approval process generally takes 4 to 5 business days. Once the permit is issued, we then start with our teams to the location.
• DDA may request an initial inspection for a quick fix, if the project requires a refurbishment or is a complicated build. This helps bring up with any issues that may be existing there and requires a quick completion.
• Ultimately once all the work has been completed, a final inspection request is processed from our end. This entire process may take up to 3 – 4 business days, once the inspection is approved, a fit-out completion certificate will be issued which will allow you to commence your business.

CONCORDIA APPROVAL - DMCC

We are a registered vendor in the Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) area and have been working with Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and Concordia for more than half a decade. Concordia is responsible for verifying and authorizing all the contractors and fit-out projects in JLT region. As per policies, Concordia requires all the contractors to have health and safety certificates with adequate insurances in place before commencing any projects in their premises. They also insist all contractors to provide a detailed letter of undertaking and fit-out deposits to secure every individual project. We have all the required permits, documentation, with safety and security induction training been conducted to start any project under DMCC–Concordia zone.

Concordia Fit Out - Approval Process:

• All the application submissions are made manually at the Concordia JLT office, by our admin team who checks and verifies all documents and drawings before submitting it to their engineering team. Initial submission may take up to five business days to be confirmed.
• Once we procure the initial drawings approval, we’ll prepare for a COC inspection which checks the general common areas and site to ensure that proper health, safety, and protection procedures are at place. The entire process to get fit-out permits may take up to seven business days.
• Once the entire work has been completed, we’ll file for a final inspection which may take up to two business days. All required fit-out completion certificates will be released on the same day as the inspection completes.

DIFC Approval

We are a registered vendor with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a leading financial hub in Middle East, Africa and South Asia spread over vast more than 100 acres. The entire registration process with DIFC is based on providing all the necessary documents and a detailed description of all previous work experiences. As per policy, requests for all types of fit-out needs are to be made through their online portal which is only accessible to DIFC registered vendors. The portal also gives access to important assets such as previous builds, drawings, and their project histories.

DIFC Approval Process:

• Before preparing the required submissions, we first meet their facilities management team of the project building concerned to discuss about the scope of work and understand each individual building process. This process gives us a clear direction on how to make the required submission.
• All applications for the construction work are submitted using DIFC’s online portal. It takes about three to seven business days to procure the NOC of the initial submission done.
• In addition to this, there are plenty of other approvals which needs to be procured, to name couple of them it includes concept drawing application, shell and core application, and general works application.
• After all the approvals are procured, we schedule an initial inspection of the site before commencing any works at site.
• Surprise visits would be done by the DIFC team, to make sure the work in progress is as per the approved submissions.
• Once the project is completed, we apply for the final inspection to get the necessary fit-out completion certificates.

DEWA Approval

We have more than half a decade experience working with DEWA on their number of projects wherein we did, move or reinstate either water or electrical supply. Our teams are well-acquainted with DEWA’s fit-out division and have successfully received NOCs for retail outlets, F&Bs, warehouses and offices. As per the policy, only DEWA-approved contractors are allowed to apply for NOCs. DEWA also requires both electrical and civil engineers to be under the company’s license. We are well-informed with their requirements and processes to provide a full turnkey solution when it comes to the entire DEWA and Dubai Municipality projects, we at UID and take full responsibility for all applications submitted to them.

DEWA Approval Process:

• Our team will help you compile and upload all the required documents and a full set of MEP drawings. All applications are submitted through DEWA’s online portal
• The status of submitted documents can be tracked online and notifications would be sent through SMS and Emails. NOC approvals from DEWA generally takes up to 7 business days.
• Once the technical drawings are approved by DEWA, we then apply for a technical field inspection to be done at the venue.
• Once all inspections and necessary applications are approved and deposits been paid through DEWA online portal, they arrange installation meters and release the power connection. This process takes up to 2-3 business days.