In short: a foreign production cannot apply for a Dubai filming permit in its own name. The Dubai Film and TV Commission requires anyone filming in Dubai to appoint a UAE-licensed production company, which files the permit, answers for the shoot and has a member on set. The commission publishes a list of licensed companies. Carving Dreams prepares permit files and produces shoots in Dubai; write to us with your dates.
Last checked against the official DFTC pages: 24 September 2026.
If you are not a UAE-licensed production company, you cannot be the applicant on a Dubai filming permit. The Dubai Film and TV Commission says anyone who wishes to film in Dubai "must appoint a UAE-licensed production company to obtain a filming permit", and that it does not issue filming permits directly to international companies. It publishes the list of licensed production companies. This page is about making that appointment work.
What the house actually does
- Applies for the permit on the DFTC portal, with the commissioning letter that appoints it.
- Collects location consent, including no-objection certificates from private owners.
- Arranges crew visas for international crew through the local company.
- Stands on set. DFTC lists "no production-house member on set" among its fineable violations, so someone from the house is present during the shoot.
- Produces the day if you want it: scout, crew, kit, catering and talent, not only the stamp.
The commissioning letter
The appointment is made with a commissioning letter from the company commissioning the project, naming the licensed production company. DFTC provides a template. The letter is what lets the house apply on your behalf, so the names on it must match the names on the application.
How to choose a house
- Ask about the licence. Confirm the company can be the applicant on a DFTC filming permit, and under which legal name.
- Ask where they work. A Dubai licence is for Dubai; other emirates have their own film offices.
- Ask what they will hold. Permit only, or the whole production: you should know which lines are theirs and which stay with your team.
- Ask for the fee split. Official fees and the house's own fees should appear separately on the estimate.
- Ask who answers. You want one producer who picks up when the plan changes.
Put this in the first email
- What you are making: film, commercial, corporate, stills, YouTube, wedding or catering.
- City and real dates, even a window.
- Pages, a board or a treatment if they exist, and whether the script has already gone to the commission.
- The lines you want us to hold: permit only, or the whole day.
Leave this out
Passport scans. Invented budgets. A request to apply as a foreign company without a licensed house. Send the note to lata@carvingdreamsevent.com. We are Carving Dreams Event in Dubai, not the Mumbai company of a similar name.
Questions
- Why do I need a local production house to film in Dubai?
- Because DFTC does not issue filming permits directly to international companies. A UAE-licensed production company applies on your behalf and answers for the shoot.
- Can you handle only the permit side?
- Yes. Many visiting producers bring their own crew and need only the permit work, location consent and someone on set.
- Where can I find the list of licensed production houses?
- DFTC publishes it on its website, under how to film in Dubai, production companies.
- We have no treatment yet. Can we still write?
- Yes. Write the idea, the duration and the dates. We will ask for pages when the script approval step needs them.
Ready when you are.