ADGM tightens rules for professional service providers

The ADGM Registration Authority (RA) enacted new rules introducing stricter licensing and governance standards for legal, tax, and company service providers, according to a statement. The changes — set out here (pdf) and here (pdf) — took effect on 16 October 2025, and were first proposed in May.

What’s new: The update formally designates tax services as a controlled activity for the first time, requiring consultancies to be licensed and supervised by ADGM. It also tightens qualification, ins., and reporting standards for all professional service providers operating in the freezone.

REMEMBER- ADGM’s earlier rules regulated company service providers but offered limited, general conditions for law firms and none for tax advisers. The new framework consolidates all three under a single rulebook, standardizing qualification thresholds, operational requirements, and annual reporting obligations.

Requirements for tax providers: At least half of senior management must hold a recognized tax qualification and five years’ experience. Firms must maintain USD 1 mn in professional indemnity ins. per claim.

For legal providers: Law firms must appoint a managing partner with at least eight years’ post-qualification experience, hold USD 1 mn in ins. — down from the USD 2 mn requirement proposed earlier — and submit annual legal service provider returns no later than April starting from January 2027 listing clients, staff qualifications, and services. They must also operate from an ADGM office staffed by at least one qualified practitioner.

For company service providers: Licensed entities must maintain USD 50k in minimum capital, USD 1 mn in ins. per claim, and appoint both compliance and money-laundering reporting officers. They must also implement conflict-of-interest and client-fund handling policies, complete annual staff certification, and file an annual compliance return by April each year.

Compliance timeline + penalties: The rules apply immediately to new applicants, while existing licensees have six months to meet ins., staffing, and governance requirements. Non-compliance may result in licence suspension or withdrawal.