For residents asked to chip in for a colleague’s medical bills, for anyone running a company CSR budget, and for anyone who has seen a donation appeal on a UAE WhatsApp group: what the fundraising law actually prohibits, the fines that apply, and which donations a business can deduct from corporate tax.

Federal Law No. 3 of 2021 makes it illegal for a natural person to collect donations in the UAE at all, and illegal for any organization to organize fundraising without a permit from the competent authority. Posting a donation appeal online without an approved license carries a fine of AED 200,000 to AED 500,000 and possible imprisonment under Article 46 of the cybercrimes decree-law. On the corporate side, a donation is only deductible for corporate tax if it goes to a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity listed by the Cabinet, and the same restriction applies to zakat.

This guide works from the primary texts: Federal Law No. 3 of 2021 Regulating Donations, Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on countering rumors and cybercrimes, Cabinet Decision No. 37 of 2023 on Qualifying Public Benefit Entities, and the Federal Tax Authority’s corporate tax guide on the determination of taxable income.

Who Is Allowed to Collect Donations in the UAE

Can an individual raise money for charity in the UAE?

No. Article 6(1) of Federal Law No. 3 of 2021 states plainly that it is prohibited for a natural person to collect donations. There is no exception for small amounts, for good intentions, or for collecting among friends and colleagues. Fundraising is reserved to licensed entities, meaning charitable societies and federal, local and non-governmental organizations whose founding law, decree or decision allows them to collect and provide donations.

Everyone else needs a permit. Article 6(2) provides that no organization may establish, organize or perform any act aimed at collecting donations without first obtaining a permit from the competent authority, which is the Ministry of Community Development or the relevant local authority in each emirate.

The law’s reach is deliberately wide. Article 2 applies it to any party wishing to collect or provide donations in the country, free zones included, so a DIFC or ADGM entity is not outside it.

What counts as a donation under UAE law?

Almost anything of value. Article 1 defines donations as funds of whatever kind, in cash or in kind, movable or fixed, including national currency, foreign currencies, bonds, sukuk and stocks, in any form including electronic or digital, collected to be spent on charitable or humanitarian services. A crypto transfer for a cause is a donation. So is a collection of clothes or food.

The Permit Rules Most Appeals Fail

Article 7 sets out what a permit application must contain, and reading it explains why a spontaneous appeal is never compliant. The applicant must be a legal person, the fundraising must be carried out through a charity, and the application must state the purpose, the names and identities of the people running the collection, the beneficiaries, the means of collection, the locations, the duration, the period for delivering the donations, evidence of the charity’s approval, and the percentage of administrative and operating expenses that will be deducted.

Three further constraints are easy to miss:

  • A decision within 20 working days, and silence means refusal. Article 9 requires the competent authority to approve or reject within 20 working days of a complete application, and the lapse of that period without a response counts as a rejection.
  • Four permits a year, maximum. Article 10 prohibits granting any party more than four permits in one year, except by decision of the head of the competent authority.
  • Advertising needs its own approval. Article 31 prohibits authorized parties from publishing or broadcasting publicity for fundraising without the competent authority’s approval. Holding a permit is not the same as being allowed to promote the campaign.

Separate bank accounts and reporting

Permitted entities must open a current account with a national bank solely for collecting donations and notify the authority of the bank name and account number within ten working days of opening it. Depositing anything other than fundraising proceeds into that account is prohibited, and banks may not open a donation-collection account for anyone without a letter from the head of the competent authority.

Reporting is tight. Article 23 requires a report on the outcome of the donations collected within 15 days of receiving them, a report on beneficiaries within 15 days of the donations being made, and audited final accounts within 30 days of the permit expiring. Charitable societies must deliver the proceeds within 30 days of permit expiry.

The Penalties

The fundraising law and the cybercrimes decree-law overlap, and the same appeal can breach both.

Conduct Penalty Provision
Trading or speculating with donated funds, or distributing returns to members or employees Imprisonment and a fine of AED 200,000 to AED 500,000, or one of the two; doubled on repeat Article 36(1), Federal Law 3/2021
Collecting without a permit, using unapproved means, unauthorized advertising, or misusing funds Imprisonment and a fine of AED 150,000 to AED 300,000, or one of the two; doubled on repeat Article 36(2), Federal Law 3/2021
Calling itself charitable or humanitarian without a classification certificate Fine up to AED 100,000 Article 36(3), Federal Law 3/2021
Running a website or posting online to call for or promote donation collection without an approved license Imprisonment and/or a fine of AED 200,000 to AED 500,000 Article 46, Federal Decree-Law 34/2021
Collecting donations at a mosque without permission Prohibited Article 8, Federal Law 4/2018 on mosques

Two consequences sit on top of the fine. Article 36(4) requires the court in all cases to order confiscation of donations collected in breach of the law, and deportation of a foreigner after the sentence is carried out. Article 37 extends the same penalty to the person responsible for the actual management of the entity where they knew of the conduct or where their breach of duty contributed to it.

Does this apply to a WhatsApp group collection for a colleague?

The law does not carve out informal collections, and Article 6(1)’s prohibition on natural persons collecting donations is unqualified. A collection organized privately among people who know each other for a specific person is a different factual picture from a public appeal, but posting the same appeal to a public channel, a social media account or an open group brings Article 46 of the cybercrimes decree-law into play, which is the provision carrying the AED 500,000 ceiling. The safe route is to donate through a licensed charity that can accept a designated case, which is exactly what the permit framework is designed to channel. Our guide to what UAE social media law penalizes covers the wider online publishing rules.

How to Check a Charity Is Licensed Before You Give

Licensing is split between federal and emirate level, which is why a charity that is legitimate in one emirate may not be authorized to collect in another.

Level Authority
Federal Ministry of Community Development, which registers charitable organizations and refers applications to the Cabinet for the final decision
Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development, which grants initial approvals and licensing of civil society foundations and public interest institutions
Dubai Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, Dubai Humanitarian, and the Community Development Authority

Practical checks before transferring anything:

  • Ask which charity the appeal runs through. Article 7(2) requires fundraising to be done through a charity, and Article 7(3)(h) requires evidence of that charity’s approval. An appeal that cannot name one is not permitted.
  • Ask for the permit reference and its expiry date. Permits are time-limited and expire when their term ends or the cause ceases.
  • Check the account. Donations should go to a dedicated collection account at a national bank, not to a personal account or a payment-app handle.
  • Treat any request for crypto or a personal transfer as a red flag. The definition of donations covers digital assets, so the permit requirement applies equally, and the absence of a bank account is a sign no permit exists.
  • Watch the “charitable” label. Article 16 prohibits any party calling itself a charitable or humanitarian association without a classification certificate.

Fraudulent appeals spike around Ramadan, and the Ministry of Interior has repeatedly flagged organized begging operations that arrive for the season. If an appeal turns out to be a fraud, report it through the channels in our guide to reporting scams in the UAE. Our overview of what actually changes during Ramadan for residents covers the wider seasonal context.

Donations and Corporate Tax

This is where a company’s giving becomes a tax question rather than a compliance one, and the rule is narrower than most CSR budgets assume.

Are charitable donations tax deductible in the UAE?

Only if the recipient is a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity. Article 33(1) of the Corporate Tax Law disallows a deduction for a donation, grant or gift made to an organization that is not a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity. A donation to any other recipient, however genuine the cause, is added back when computing taxable income.

The Federal Tax Authority’s guide on the determination of taxable income works this through with a company that donated AED 500,000 to Qualifying Public Benefit Entities and AED 700,000 to other persons. The AED 700,000 is disallowed and added back; the AED 500,000 is not.

What about zakat?

The same restriction applies. The FTA guide states that any amounts paid by taxable persons in relation to zakat will only be deductible if paid to a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity. A company paying zakat directly to recipients, or through an unlisted channel, gets no deduction for it. The federal Zakat Fund appears as the first entry on the Cabinet’s schedule of Qualifying Public Benefit Entities.

Which entities qualify?

A Qualifying Public Benefit Entity is one that meets the conditions in Article 9 of the Corporate Tax Law and is named in a decision issued by the Cabinet at the Minister’s suggestion. Cabinet Decision No. 37 of 2023, issued on 7 April 2023, contains that schedule. The list as issued runs to more than 500 named entities across a federal section and separate sections for the emirates, opening with the Zakat Fund, the Emirates Red Crescent Authority and the Arab Youth Center.

Two features of the list matter in practice. It is closed, so being a genuine charity is not enough if the entity is not named, and it is amendable: Article 3 allows any government entity to apply to the Ministry to add or remove entries and allows the Cabinet to amend the schedule. Check the current version before relying on a deduction rather than working from a list you saved in 2023.

Listed entities also carry their own obligations. Article 2(2) requires government entities to notify the Ministry within 20 business days of any change affecting whether a listed entity still meets the conditions, and Article 4 requires a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity to provide the Ministry and the FTA with whatever documents, data and information they ask for to verify continued eligibility.

If you are budgeting for CSR, treat the deduction as a bonus rather than a driver. Our guides to corporate tax registration and thresholds and Small Business Relief and the AED 3 million threshold cover where the 9% actually bites, and the bookkeeping standard the FTA expects explains the records you need to support any add-back position.

Legitimate Ways to Give

The framework leaves plenty of compliant routes, and they are the ones with a paper trail if you ever need to evidence a deduction.

  • Licensed charities directly. The Emirates Red Crescent Authority, Dar Al Ber Society, Beit Al Khair Society, Dubai Charity Association, Sharjah Charity International and similar bodies are established with the authority to collect.
  • Government platforms. Jood, Dubai’s community contributions platform, lets institutions and individuals contribute to listed initiatives by electronic payment or bank transfer, with real-time reporting on project progress.
  • The Zakat Fund, which accepts zakat online and through the Zaki platform and DubaiNow, and is a listed Qualifying Public Benefit Entity.
  • Financial sponsorship of poor families, orphans, people of determination and needy students through the Emirates Red Crescent Authority.
  • Volunteering through Volunteers.ae, which costs nothing and carries no permit risk.

Sending Donations Abroad

Cross-border giving is the most heavily controlled part of the law, because the regime exists partly as a counter-terrorist-financing measure. Article 13 prohibits licensed and permitted entities from collecting or receiving donations, gifts, bequests or aid from anyone outside the country except under the procedures in the executive regulations, and requires a detailed report to the competent authority on anything received from abroad.

Article 14 applies the mirror rule to outbound donations, which may only be delivered or transferred abroad under the specified controls, including proof that the donations reached the beneficiaries. Article 15 closes the banking route: banks and financial institutions in the UAE may not make any transfer abroad from a donation account except under the procedures set by the concerned authorities.

The practical reading for an individual is simple. Wiring money from your own account to a foreign cause is a personal transfer and is governed by your bank’s compliance checks rather than the fundraising law, but collecting money from other people in the UAE to send abroad is exactly what Articles 13 to 15 regulate, and doing it yourself is prohibited by Article 6(1) before the transfer question even arises.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to ask for donations on social media in the UAE?

Yes, without an approved license. Article 46 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 punishes anyone who creates, manages or supervises a website or disseminates information online to call for or promote the collection of donations without a license approved by the competent authority, or in breach of that license, with imprisonment and/or a fine of AED 200,000 to AED 500,000.

Can I collect money at work for a colleague in hardship?

Article 6(1) of Federal Law No. 3 of 2021 prohibits a natural person from collecting donations, with no threshold or exception written into the text. The compliant route is to go through a licensed charity, which can accept a designated case, rather than running the collection yourself, and to avoid publishing any appeal online.

How much is the fine for illegal fundraising in the UAE?

It depends on the provision breached. Collecting without a permit, using unapproved means or advertising without approval carries imprisonment and a fine of AED 150,000 to AED 300,000 under Article 36(2). Trading with donated funds carries AED 200,000 to AED 500,000 under Article 36(1). Online appeals without a license carry AED 200,000 to AED 500,000 under Article 46 of the cybercrimes decree-law. Penalties double on repeat, and the court must order confiscation of the donations and deportation of a foreign offender.

Which authority licenses charities in Dubai?

The Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, Dubai Humanitarian and the Community Development Authority can give official recognition and licenses to charitable organizations, NGOs and humanitarian relief organizations in Dubai. In Abu Dhabi it is the Department of Community Development, and at federal level the Ministry of Community Development.

Are donations to charity tax deductible for a UAE company?

Only where the recipient is a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity. Article 33(1) of the Corporate Tax Law disallows deductions for donations, grants or gifts to any other organization, and the FTA’s guidance works through an example where AED 700,000 of such donations is added back to taxable income.

Is zakat deductible under UAE corporate tax?

Only if paid to a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity. The FTA guide states this explicitly. The Zakat Fund is listed in Cabinet Decision No. 37 of 2023, so zakat routed through it falls on the deductible side.

How do I know if an organization is a Qualifying Public Benefit Entity?

It must be named in the schedule to Cabinet Decision No. 37 of 2023 as amended. The schedule can be changed by the Cabinet at the Minister’s suggestion, and any government entity can apply to add or remove an entry, so check the current version rather than an old copy before claiming a deduction.

Can a free zone company be prosecuted under the fundraising law?

Yes. Article 2 applies the law to any party wishing to collect or provide donations in the country, expressly including free zones.

Can donations be collected in crypto in the UAE?

Only by a licensed or permitted entity, and only under the approved means. The definition of donations in Article 1 covers funds in any form including electronic or digital, so a crypto appeal is subject to the same permit requirement as a cash one, and Article 17 expects proceeds to run through a dedicated bank account at a national bank.

What happens to money collected illegally?

Article 36(4) requires the court in all cases to order confiscation of donations collected in breach of the law. The money does not go back to the donors as of right, and a foreign offender is deported after serving the sentence.

Official Sources

This article references the following official UAE legislation and government sources:

This guide is for informational purposes only and is not legal or tax advice. Information is current as of August 2026. Federal Law No. 3 of 2021 is applied through executive regulations and Cabinet decisions on administrative penalties that set out further detail on permitted means, record-keeping periods and cross-border procedures, and those instruments are not reproduced here. The federal ministry responsible has been renamed the Ministry of Community Empowerment, while the legislation and government portal cited still refer to the Ministry of Community Development. Cabinet Decision No. 37 of 2023 has been amended since issue, so verify the current schedule before claiming a corporate tax deduction. Confirm any fundraising plan with the Ministry or your emirate’s competent authority before collecting anything.