In September 2026, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (“DMCCA”) introduced its new Foundations Regulations, adding another private wealth and succession planning structure to the UAE landscape.
The regime sits alongside the existing foundation frameworks in the DIFC, ADGM and RAK ICC, while offering several features of its own that may be relevant for HNWI individuals, family offices and entrepreneurs.
What is a DMCC Foundation?
A DMCC Foundation is a separate legal entity which can hold and administer assets in its own name.
Unlike a company, it has no shareholders. Its governance is built around the Founder, the Foundation Council, Beneficiaries and, where applicable, a Guardian.
DMCC positions the structure as a vehicle for long-term asset holding, succession planning and family governance. The minimum initial assets may be as low as USD 100.
Governance and Founder control
The Foundation is managed by a Council comprising at least two members, and the Founder may also serve as a Council member.
Importantly, the Regulations allow certain powers to be reserved to the Founder or another designated person, including powers relating to investments, appointments and Beneficiaries.
This allows the Founder to transfer assets to the Foundation while retaining a degree of control over key decisions.
A Guardian performs an oversight role and becomes mandatory once there is no surviving Founder.
Registered office and constitutional documents
A DMCC Foundation must maintain a registered office in DMCC. The appointment of a Registered Agent is permitted but is not generally mandatory.
The constitutional framework consists of the Charter and, where adopted, the By-laws.
These documents should address not only regulatory requirements but also practical governance matters, including distributions, appointment and removal of Council members, reserved powers and succession arrangements following the death or incapacity of the Founder.
Confidentiality and succession protection and creditor claims
The Regulations contain a relatively detailed confidentiality regime. Information including the names and addresses of Council members, the Guardian, specified Beneficiaries and the beneficial owners of corporate Founders is classified as confidential information. Such confidentiality is not absolute: disclosure remains possible where permitted under the Regulations, including to competent regulators and law-enforcement authorities. The Foundation therefore provides a degree of privacy, but should not be viewed as an anonymous structure or as an alternative to applicable beneficial ownership and AML/CFT disclosure requirements.
Of particular importance for international families are the Regulations’ foreign-law and succession “firewall” provisions. Broadly, the validity of a DMCC Foundation, or of a transfer of assets to it, should not be undermined merely because a foreign legal system does not recognise foundations or because foreign inheritance, succession or forced-heirship rules would have produced a different result. The Regulations also restrict recognition of foreign judgments to the extent that they are inconsistent with these protections. These provisions can therefore be particularly relevant where a Founder, Beneficiaries and family assets are connected with several jurisdictions with different succession regimes.
The protection is, however, not unlimited. The Regulations do not create a mechanism by which assets can simply be moved beyond the reach of existing creditors. A creditor may challenge a transfer where the relevant statutory conditions are met, including where the transferor was insolvent at the time of the transfer or transferred assets with an intention to defraud creditors. The Court may in such circumstances set aside the transfer to the extent necessary to satisfy the relevant creditor claim.
Importantly, the Regulations also introduce a three-year limitation period for specified claims relating to transfers of property to a Foundation. This provides a degree of long-term certainty once assets have been properly contributed to the structure, while preserving protections against abusive or fraudulent transfers.
Once property has been validly transferred, the Foundation itself owns the relevant assets. Beneficiaries do not generally acquire a proprietary interest in particular Foundation assets merely by virtue of being Beneficiaries; their rights arise under the Foundation’s constitutional framework and the Regulations. This separation between the Founder’s personal ownership, the Foundation’s ownership and the Beneficiaries’ rights is central to the structure’s use for succession and long-term wealth planning.
Accordingly, the DMCC regime offers meaningful succession and asset-protection features, but their effectiveness must be assessed in the context of the relevant facts. Particular care is required where assets are located outside the UAE, where creditor or matrimonial claims already exist, or where another jurisdiction may apply mandatory succession rules to locally situated assets.
DIFC Courts
One notable feature is that the DIFC Courts are designated as the relevant court for the purposes of the Regulations unless DMCCA specifies otherwise.
This gives the regime a connection to an English-language common-law court system, which may be attractive for international families and investors.
UAE Corporate Tax
The establishment of a DMCC Foundation does not automatically determine its UAE Corporate Tax treatment.
Where the relevant statutory conditions are satisfied, a qualifying Family Foundation may apply to the Federal Tax Authority to be treated as an Unincorporated Partnership for Corporate Tax purposes.
Tax structuring should therefore be considered separately before the Foundation and its asset-holding arrangements are implemented.
A further UAE private wealth option
While the legal framework is now in place, the practical rollout remains ongoing.
As at 1 October 2026, DMCC has indicated that further guidance on the establishment and administration of Foundations, together with a streamlined digital onboarding process, is expected to follow.
Accordingly, detailed application procedures, documentary requirements and certain administrative aspects are still to be clarified.
The new regime gives private clients another UAE option for succession planning, asset holding and family governance.
Its low initial asset requirement, ability to reserve powers, optional Registered Agent and access to the DIFC Courts are among its more distinctive features.
However, the choice between DMCC, DIFC, ADGM and RAK ICC should ultimately depend on the family’s objectives, the location of its assets and Beneficiaries, governance requirements, tax considerations and the level of control the Founder wishes to retain.