What is P.O.Box, ZIP Code and Address System in the UAE?

Although we live in the 21st century and most of the time we use email as means of communication, there is still plenty of correspondence from banks, government authorities or just your clients and suppliers, which comes in hard copies. As such, as much as we want to go green in the future, we still continue to deal with some correspondence in hard copies. In light of this, to ensure that you receive relevant printed correspondence, you must complete the necessary arrangements.

First thing you should remember: United Arab Emirates do not use zip code system. Therefore, if any of your overseas or international clients have plans to mail you something, let them know, that there is no specific ZIP code they can mention for delivery. Instead, you will provide them with a Post Box number (P.O. Box).

There are no properties in the UAE, which come with a P.O. Box number assigned to them. This means, that if you rented an office, you will need to separately rent a P. O. Box from the Emirates Post.

There are also instances, when you will be able to use someone else’s P. O. Box instead. For example, if you own an offshore company in the UAE, your agent usually provides you with a corporate address, where the P.O. Box number is mentioned. As such, if any of your business contacts send you mail, your agent will receive it in their P.O. Box and inform you accordingly. If you rent a serviced office in a business center, you will also be able to state a P. O. Box number of the serviced business center. In case you rent a flexi-desk from a free zone authority, there is most of the time a dedicated P.O. Box number that can be used, although a few free zones request now that you rent your own P.O. Box.

Finally, if you rent a physical office space in a free zone or you have a local company registered in the mainland, you will definitely need to apply for a P.O. Box to be able to manage all your correspondence accordingly.

Usually P.O. Boxes are located in a different building or even in a different area from where your company is based. It may happen so that you come to Emirates Post office and you are informed that there are no available P.O. Boxes in your area. No worries. Emirates Post allows you to select from the available locations and choose the one, which is the closest. Therefore, before you opt for a specific location, check what the closest available P.O. Box spots are and then apply.

You should also remember that if your company is registered in one emirate, you cannot have a P.O. Box in a different one.

To rent a P.O. Box, you need to have all your corporate documents available. In other words, you first need to complete your company registration process. As soon as the company is formed, it is required to present a trade license copy to the Emirates Post and complete, sign and stamp the relevant application form. Additionally, you will need to submit a passport picture of the manager of the company and their passport and emirates ID copies. If you have a free zone company, you may be also requested to provide an NOC (Non-Objection Certificate) from your registration authority, which you will need then to request from the free zone authority separately.

The total annual P.O. Box rental charge starts at AED 900 with additional AED 100 for registration. Depending on additional services you may request, the annual rental fee may go up. Following the full payment and submission of documents, you will receive two keys from your P.O. Box, its number and location.

P.O. Box rental period starts on January 1 and finishes on December 31. As such, if you come, apply and pay for the P.O. Box service in April, your rental payment for the first year will be prorated and instead of regular, say AED 900, you will pay almost twice less.

You should remember that, as soon as the P.O. Box is rented, you need to ensure its timely registration renewal. After December 31 you have a one-month grace period to renew your corporate P.O. Box, otherwise late renewal penalties shall apply. In case you do not intend to use your P.O. Box any more, you will need to cancel your subscription first, return the keys and obtain a letter from Emirates Post, confirming that you have no dues towards Emirates Post.

In case your P.O. Box is located in a remote area or you have no time and resources to collect your post from there, you may avail from additional services of Emirates Post, when your post will be collected and delivered right to your doorstep by Emirates Post representative.

UAE address system definitely deserves your attention, as recently it has been significantly improved. Before many streets in Dubai were numbered only and it could happen that 2 streets in two different areas had the same numbering. To avoid such confusion, Dubai introduced a special Makani system. This system lists all buildings and assigns each of them a unique 10 digit Makani number. This unique number helps to identify the location of the building. As such, locations of every possible building, including government establishments, hospitals, parks, commercial buildings, houses, factories, warehouses, shops are now much easier to find. Makani application can be easily download from Appstore and GooglePlay.

If you want to know more about Dubai freezone company formation, feel free to get in touch with our professional consultant team and we would be delighted to assist you and help you to compare Dubai freezone company setup costs and help you to find that free zone, which would suit your business needs the most.

Disclaimer: Business Boutique UAE-Consultants.com is not affiliated with any particular government or legal entity. Business Boutique does not give professional legal advice nor any other professional advice subject to a public office in the government. This article merely sets out a simple and basic idea as to the reasons of Dubai freezone company setup and Dubai free zone company formation cost. Business Boutique in no way holds nor imposes any official governmental or legal authority and the article herein is only to be taken as a guide. All further governmental or legal issues should be addressed to the corresponding authorities.

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