Does your wedding need an event permit?

It may, if you have live entertainment or a tent. The venue or your organiser usually applies, but the fees can fall on you, and a missing permit can stop the event.

What does Abu Dhabi require?

Sources: TAMM private party permit¹ and TAMM event tent permit.²

What happens in Dubai?

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism says “a permit is required for any venue or organiser who wishes to organise entertainment, sport, charity, religious or business events”, applied for through its e-Permit portal.³ An event that needs a tent needs a separate permit, also through ePermits.⁴ Neither page lists fees or processing times.

At a hotel, the venue may apply for you. Sofitel Dubai Downtown applies under its own licence for non-ticketed events and charges the client. Its published terms:⁵

• “All live performances require permits/permissions” from the tourism department, and the client must make sure they are in place.
• The permit can take 3 to 6 working days, longer around holidays.
• Charges it lists: AED 520 submission per event, AED 810 per entertainment day, AED 750 per entertainer, a 10% handling fee, and an e-permit fee of AED 200, or AED 700 if requested less than 5 days before the event.
• Entertainers must be over 21.
• “The Hotel reserves the right to cancel the Event if DTCM permissions are not in place.”

These are one hotel’s terms and may differ at your venue. Ask your venue for its own list of permit fees.

Insurers ask about permits too. ADNIC’s event cancellation form asks whether “all necessary licenses, visas and permits, and authorizations” have been obtained.⁶

Ask your venue in writing which permits your entertainment needs, who applies, and the last date to send performer documents.