Office Relocation Checklist for Dubai Businesses

An office move touches everything at once: your lease, your licence, your phones, your staff and your clients. Most of the stress comes from things that weren’t started early enough, such as a fit-out approval that took longer than expected or an internet line that wasn’t live on Monday morning.

This checklist runs from about three months out to the week after you’ve moved. Smaller offices can compress it, but the order still holds.

3 months before: lease, fit-out and approvals

Confirm the old lease and the new one

• Check the notice period and exit terms on your current lease, including the condition you need to hand the office back in. Many landlords expect the space returned to shell or to its original layout, with walls repainted.
• Sign the new lease and get a copy of the building’s fit-out and move guidelines.
• Budget for a security deposit, any fit-out deposit the building asks for, and agency fees.

Register the new lease on Ejari

Commercial leases in Dubai are registered on Ejari, the same system used for residential tenancies. This matters for more than compliance: a mainland company can’t amend its trade licence address until the new lease is registered. Free zone companies usually get a lease or occupancy agreement through the free zone itself rather than Ejari, so check with your free zone.

Plan the fit-out

If the new space needs work, appoint a fit-out contractor now. Fit-out drawings usually need approval from the landlord or building management, and often from the relevant authority: Dubai Municipality and Dubai Civil Defence on the mainland, or the free zone’s own fit-out or engineering team. Timelines vary, so ask your contractor for a realistic schedule and build in slack.

Pick your movers and book the survey

Get a site survey at both offices. A good mover will want to see the lifts, loading bay, parking and access routes, not just count desks. Ask for a fixed written quote and confirm what’s included: packing materials, IT crates, dismantling and reassembly of workstations, and damage cover. Our office movers page explains how we handle commercial moves.

2 months before: people, IT and suppliers

Tell your staff

Give staff the date, the new address, parking and transport options, and what’s expected of them (usually packing their own desk). Name one person as the move coordinator and, for larger offices, one contact per department.

Start the IT and telecom transfer

This is the item most likely to cause delays.

• Contact your provider (du or e&) to transfer or install internet, landlines and any leased lines at the new address. New fibre installations can take a while, so do this as early as possible.
• Plan the server room or comms cabinet: power, cooling and rack space.
• Decide who disconnects, moves and reconnects each piece of equipment.
• Back up all data before the move.

Review furniture and equipment

Measure the new floor plan and decide what moves, what’s sold or donated, and what goes into storage. Archive boxes and old files are good candidates for storage rather than taking up space in the new office.

1 month before: licence, permits and notices

Update your trade licence address

Where you’re licensed	Who you update
Dubai mainland	Department of Economy and Tourism (DET, formerly DED), after the new Ejari is registered
DMCC	DMCC, through its own client portal
DIFC	DIFC Registrar of Companies
Dubai South and other free zones	The relevant free zone authority

If you’re moving between the mainland and a free zone, or from one free zone to another, that’s a bigger change than an address update and usually needs specialist advice. Regulated businesses (for example food, healthcare or industrial activities) may also need approvals from the relevant authority for the new premises. Check current requirements and fees directly with your licensing authority, as they change.

Other organisations to notify

• Federal Tax Authority: if you’re VAT or Corporate Tax registered, update your registered address through EmaraTax.
• Your bank, so KYC records match your licence.
• Insurers, including property, contents and any medical insurance policies that list your address.
• Clients and suppliers: send notice, update invoices, letterheads, email signatures, your website and your Google Business Profile.
• Couriers and mail: update addresses and arrange a forwarding or collection plan for anything sent to the old office.

Get building move permits at both ends

Most commercial towers need a move-out permit from the old building and a move-in permit from the new one, issued by building management. You’ll often be asked for the moving company’s trade licence, a third-party liability insurance certificate, a list of crew names, vehicle numbers and a refundable deposit. Book the service lift and loading bay for your slot. Requirements vary by building, so request the list early. Our Dubai building move-in permit guide covers the general process.

2 weeks before: labelling and packing

Label by department and desk

A clear system is what makes an office move fast on the day.

• Give each department a colour, and each desk or room a number matching the new floor plan.
• Label every box, chair, monitor and pedestal with colour and number.
• Put matching colour signs on doors and desks at the new office.
• Keep a master spreadsheet: department, desk number, staff name, number of boxes and equipment.

Pack in stages

Start with archives, storerooms and anything not used daily. Staff pack their own desks in the last few days. IT equipment is packed last, ideally by the movers using padded crates, with cables bagged and labelled.

Move weekend

Most Dubai offices move on a weekend or after hours, so the business only loses a day or less, and because many buildings only allow moves at those times. A typical sequence:

1. Final working day ends; staff leave desks packed and labelled.
2. IT shuts down systems in a controlled way.
3. Movers load by department, in the order they’ll be unloaded.
4. At the new office, furniture is placed and reassembled first, then boxes, then IT equipment.
5. IT reconnects and tests network, phones, printers and access control.
6. The coordinator walks the floor with the floor plan before the crew leaves.

RM Movers runs commercial moves with our own trained in-house crew and closed trucks, and we work 24/7, so evening and weekend slots aren’t a problem. Workstations are dismantled, moved and rebuilt by the same team.

The week after: snagging and handover

At the new office

• Log any damage or missing items against your inventory straight away.
• Keep a snag list for the fit-out: doors, lighting, sockets, air conditioning, blinds.
• Check that every desk has power, network and the right equipment.
• Ask staff for a short list of issues after the first two days.

At the old office

• Clear everything, including the server room, kitchen and storerooms.
• Carry out any reinstatement required under the lease, such as removing partitions, patching walls and repainting.
• Arrange a professional clean before the handover inspection.
• Do a joint inspection with the landlord, return access cards and keys, and get the handover confirmed in writing to support your deposit refund.

If you need the old office repainted or cleaned before handover, our painting services and deep cleaning teams can be booked alongside the move.

Quick checklist summary

• Review old lease exit terms
• Sign new lease and register on Ejari
• Appoint fit-out contractor and get approvals
• Book mover survey and get a fixed quote
• Order internet and phone lines from du or e&
• Inform staff and appoint a move coordinator
• Update trade licence address with DET or your free zone
• Notify FTA, bank, insurers, clients and suppliers
• Get move-out and move-in permits, book lifts and loading bays
• Label by department and desk number
• Move over a weekend or after hours
• Snag the new office and hand back the old one

Get a fixed quote

If you’re planning an office move in Dubai or elsewhere in the UAE, RM Movers can survey both sites and give you a fixed price in writing, with no hidden fees and full-value damage protection. Contact us to book a survey.