Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does a warehousing and storage business do?
A warehousing and storage business operates facilities that hold goods of all kinds on behalf of their owners, including general, refrigerated, bulk, and foreign trade zone storage.
2. What types of storage fall under this activity?
It covers general merchandise warehouses, refrigerated warehouses, grain silos, storage tanks, the storage of goods in foreign trade zones, and blast freezing.
3. What is cold storage warehousing?
Cold storage warehousing is the operation of refrigerated facilities for temperature-sensitive goods such as food, pharmaceuticals, and fresh produce, and can include blast freezing.
4. Who uses warehousing and storage services?
Importers, distributors, retailers, e-commerce businesses, and pharmaceutical and food companies use warehousing and storage to hold inventory across general, cold, and bulk conditions.
5. How large is the UAE warehousing market?
The UAE warehousing market was valued at around USD 3.02 billion in 2024 and is growing at a compound annual rate of 4.6 percent.
Topic Summary
Core Warehousing Code Covers Most Storage Needs
Activity code 5210.00 allows you to run storage and warehouse sites for goods of all kinds, including refrigerated warehouses, grain silos, storage tanks, and freight. It also covers storing goods in a foreign trade zone, which protects clients from customs duties until goods are ready to move.
Foreign Trade Zone Storage Saves Clients Money
Goods held in a foreign trade zone are not subject to customs duties and taxes until they are sold or moved on. This makes your facility more attractive to retailers, manufacturers, and online sellers managing international stock.
Dubai Municipality Approval Is Required After Licensing
Once you hold your business license under code 5210.00, you must obtain approval from Dubai Municipality. This approval signals to clients that your operation meets recognised quality and safety standards.
Land Transport Support Activities Must Happen Outside the UAE
Code 5221.00 covers terminals, rail infrastructure, towing, and liquefying gas for transport, and requires no additional approvals. However, all work under this code must be carried out outside the UAE, which is a critical condition to plan around.
Freight Forwarding and Customs Work Fall Under a Separate Code
Code 5229.00 covers freight forwarding by road, rail, sea, and air, along with logistics planning, customs agent work, and temporary crating of goods in transit. No additional approvals are needed for this activity, making it straightforward to add to your business.
Know What Each Code Specifically Excludes
Code 5210.00 does not cover car parks, self-storage for individuals, or renting out empty space. Code 5221.00 excludes cargo handling such as loading and unloading from ships or trucks, and code 5229.00 does not include courier services.
Combine Codes to Build a Full-Service Operation
Running all three activity codes together lets you offer storage, logistics planning, freight forwarding, and customs support under one business. Clients benefit from having a single point of contact to manage their stock, shipping, and cross-border compliance.
How to Start a Warehousing and Storage Business in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
A warehousing and storage business keeps other people's goods safe and moves them on when needed. You store, pack and ship for retailers, manufacturers and online sellers, and you give them one place to manage stock from.
Two things decide whether it works: storage people can trust, and staff who know what they are doing.
This guide covers the three activity codes behind this kind of business, what each one allows, and what approvals you need.
The Three Activity Codes at a Glance
| Code | What it covers | Approvals needed |
|---|---|---|
| 5210.00 Warehousing and Storage | Running storage and warehouse sites for all kinds of goods. | Dubai Municipality approval, after you get your license. |
| 5221.00 Service Activities Incidental to Land Transportation | Terminals, rail infrastructure, roads and parking, towing, roadside help, and turning gas into liquid for transport. | None, but this work must be carried out outside the UAE. |
| 5229.00 Other Transportation Support Activities | Freight forwarding, logistics planning, customs agent work, and handling goods in transit. | None. |
5210.00 Warehousing and Storage
Sources: Nexdigm (2025); IMARC Group (2025).
This is the core code. It covers running storage and warehouse sites for goods of all kinds.
What you can store. Grain silos. General merchandise warehouses. Refrigerated warehouses. Storage tanks. Freight of most kinds.
Storing goods in a foreign trade zone. This is a useful one. Goods held this way are not hit with customs duties and taxes until they are ready to be sold or moved on.
Blast freezing. Handy in the food trade. It keeps perishable goods usable for far longer.
Why clients want it. They keep control of their stock, and they cut the risk of goods being damaged or lost.
What this code does not cover. Car parks. Self storage units, since those serve individuals rather than businesses. Renting out empty space, because that is not running a warehouse.
Approvals. Once you have your business license, you need approval from Dubai Municipality. This shows clients you meet the standards expected on quality and safety.
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5221.00 Service Activities Incidental to Land Transportation
This code covers the services that sit around moving people, animals and freight over land.
Terminals. Railway stations, bus stations, and goods handling stations. These handle loading and unloading, storage, and customs clearance.
Rail infrastructure. Tracks, bridges and tunnels that let goods and passengers move by rail.
Roads and parking. Roads, bridges, tunnels, car parks, garages and bicycle parking.
Switching and shunting. Moving rail cars between tracks so freight reaches the right place.
Towing and roadside help. Getting drivers moving again after a breakdown or accident.
Liquefying gas for transport. Turning natural gas and other gases into liquid so they are easier to move and store, usually by pipeline or tanker.
What it excludes. Cargo handling, meaning the loading and unloading of goods from a ship or truck and moving them around a terminal or warehouse.
Approvals. None needed. But this work must be carried out outside the UAE.
5229.00 Other Transportation Support Activities
This code covers the services that keep goods moving across different modes of transport.
Freight forwarding. Organising transport by rail, road, sea or air. This includes grouping smaller consignments together and arranging pickup and delivery.
Logistics. Planning and running transport, warehousing and distribution so goods move efficiently and cheaply. Sorting out transport documents and waybills falls here too.
Customs agent work. Helping businesses meet customs rules and get goods across borders.
Freight forwarding by sea and air. Organising shipments, handling paperwork, and advising on shipping rules and routes.
Brokering space. Negotiating and arranging cargo space on ships and aircraft.
Handling goods. Temporary crating to protect goods in transit, uncrating, sampling and weighing.
What it excludes. Courier services, since those are their own activity. Transport insurance, covering vehicles and cargo. Travel agencies. Tour operators. Tourist help such as translation, information and travel arrangements.
Approvals. None needed.
Anti-Money Laundering: Where You Stand
Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions have to meet the Ministry of Economy's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules. Existing license holders registered for goAML after an awareness campaign that closed on 30 April 2021. New license holders must comply once they have their license, or risk penalties.
Good news for this sector: activity codes 5210.00, 5221.00 and 5229.00 do not need anti-money laundering registration.
Why Set Up with Meydan Free Zone
Warehousing and storage lets you serve several industries at once and build something that grows. You are selling reliability, and businesses pay for it.
A Fawri license gets you set up fast. mAccounting keeps your books straight. mResidency handles visas for you and your team. mCore, mAssist and mPlus cover the wider support once you are running.
Work out your license cost with the calculator, then talk to the Meydan Free Zone team to confirm your activity codes and get started.
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