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How to check a VARA licence

Before you use a crypto exchange, broker or wallet service in Dubai, check that it is licensed. VARA, Dubai's crypto regulator, asks consumers and investors to verify a firm on its public register before engaging it.[1] This page explains how to read that register, what an in-principle approval means, and which register to use outside Dubai.

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Step 1: Work out which regulator applies

  • Dubai, including its free zones, except the DIFC: firms operating in or from Dubai, or seeking to serve Dubai, need a VARA licence.[2][3]
  • DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre): firms providing financial services involving crypto tokens must be authorised by the DFSA.[4]
  • ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market): firms need a Financial Services Permission from the FSRA.[5]
  • Other emirates: firms operating from the other emirates need a federal licence from the securities regulator, now called the Capital Market Authority (CMA).[2][6]

Step 2: Search the official register

VARA's public register lists fully licensed virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and holders of an in-principle approval, with licence details and the services each firm is authorised to provide.[7] The other regulators keep their own registers.[8][9]

Official registers for checking crypto firms in the UAE
AreaRegisterNotes
Dubai (except DIFC) VARA public register Shows full licences and in-principle approvals.[10]
DIFC DFSA public register Searchable, with reference numbers and firm types.[8]
ADGM FSRA public register The FSRA notes that it cannot guarantee the register's accuracy.[9]
Other emirates Capital Market Authority Formerly sca.gov.ae.[11]

Step 3: Full licence or in-principle approval?

This is the most important detail. VARA describes an approval-to-incorporate stage followed by a full VASP licence.[3] A firm that holds only an in-principle approval may not start operations, carry on virtual asset activities or serve clients until it has a full licence.[12] A website or advert that says "approved by VARA" can therefore mean something quite different from "licensed by VARA".

Step 4: Check that the licence covers what the firm offers you

VARA has identified eight licensable virtual asset activities,[13] and a firm needs a licence for each activity it carries on.[14] The Dubai law lists, among others, operating a platform, exchange, transfer, custody and wallet services.[15] Compare the authorised services shown on the register with the service you plan to use. For example, a licence that does not cover exchange services does not cover exchanging your crypto.

Step 5: Match the name and website

Compare the legal name and the website on the register with the site or app you are actually using, and with the company named in its terms of service. A similar name or logo is not enough. If the details do not match, treat the firm as unverified.

Step 6: Check warnings and enforcement actions

VARA states that only firms it licenses may offer virtual asset services within Dubai.[16] It publishes enforcement entries with the entity, the date, the type of violation and the measure taken, such as cease-and-desist orders and fines.[17] In October 2025 it reported fines for 19 firms over unlicensed activity and marketing breaches.[18]

For businesses: getting a crypto licence in Dubai

Searches such as "crypto license Dubai" or "VARA license cost" usually come from founders. In short: a firm must be licensed before it begins virtual asset activities in or from Dubai,[3] needs a licence for each activity,[14] and must follow VARA's marketing rules, which apply to anyone marketing virtual assets in or to the UAE.[19] Those firms must keep marketing records for at least eight years.[20] Licensed providers also carry anti-money-laundering duties, such as customer checks and the travel rule.[21][22]

This page does not cover licence fees, capital requirements or the application process in detail. VARA's own licensing pages and rulebooks are the authoritative source for those.

Sources

Each note shows the source, its publisher, the date we last checked it and the status of the statement it supports. Status labels are explained in the editorial policy.

  1. VARA Investor and Marketplace Alert - Phoenixfin Pte Ltd, MEK Global Limited, Peken Global Limited and KuCoin Exchange EU GmbH commercially advertising as KuCoin, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, published 4 March 2026. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA directs consumers and investors in Dubai to verify a firm's status on the VARA Public Register before engaging it for virtual-asset services.
  2. SCA and VARA set regulatory framework for the UAE's virtual assets sector in boost to the country's global position in the field, Securities and Commodities Authority, published 5 September 2024. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: Under the SCA-VARA agreement, VASPs operating in, from, or seeking to serve Dubai need a VARA licence; VASPs operating from other emirates need an SCA licence.
  3. Licence Applications, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA states that a firm seeking to conduct virtual asset activities in or from Dubai, excluding DIFC, must be licensed before commencing operations, and describes an approval-to-incorporate stage followed by a full VASP licence.
  4. DFSA's Crypto Token Framework, Dubai Financial Services Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: A firm new to DIFC that seeks to carry out financial services involving Crypto Tokens must be authorised by the DFSA.
  5. Digital Assets, Abu Dhabi Global Market. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: Financial-services entities wishing to conduct virtual asset, fiat-referenced token, digital securities, digital-asset derivative or fund activities in ADGM must apply to the FSRA for a Financial Services Permission.
  6. Federal Decree by Law No. (32) of 2025 Regarding the Capital Market Authority, UAE Legislation. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: Federal Decree by Law No. 32 of 2025 replaces the designation Securities and Commodities Authority with Capital Market Authority wherever it appears in legislation.
  7. Public Register, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA's public register lists fully licensed VASPs and in-principle approval holders, including licence details and authorised services.
  8. Public Register, Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). Checked 29 September 2026. Confirmed Supports: The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the regulator of the Dubai International Financial Centre, maintains a searchable public register of firms with reference numbers and firm types.
  9. FSRA Public Register, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). Checked 29 September 2026. Confirmed Supports: ADGM's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) describes its public register as the official record of firms, individuals and other bodies that are, or have been, approved by the FSRA, and notes that it cannot guarantee its accuracy.
  10. Public Register, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). Checked 29 September 2026. Confirmed Supports: Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) publishes a public register of virtual asset service providers that are fully licensed or hold an In-Principle Approval, and states that IPA holders may not start operations or serve clients until they receive a full licence.
  11. Capital Market Authority, UAE Capital Market Authority. Checked 29 September 2026. Confirmed Supports: The website of the UAE's federal securities regulator, formerly at sca.gov.ae, now redirects to uaecma.gov.ae, where the authority uses the name Capital Market Authority (CMA).
  12. Public Register, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: A VARA in-principle approval holder may not initiate operations, conduct virtual asset activities or service clients before obtaining a full VASP licence.
  13. Licensed Activities, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA says it has identified eight distinct virtual asset activities for its regulatory perimeter and that a VASP must obtain a VARA licence before undertaking them in Dubai.
  14. A. Licensing Requirements, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA's current licensing rule requires entities to seek authorisation and obtain and maintain a licence for each virtual asset activity they conduct in the Emirate.
  15. Law No. (4) of 2022 Regulating Virtual Assets in the Emirate of Dubai, Dubai Legislation Portal, published 28 February 2022. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: Dubai Law No. 4 lists platform operation, exchange, transfer, safekeeping or control, wallets, and token offering or trading among activities requiring VARA permits.
  16. Unlicensed Virtual Asset Service Providers [VASPs], Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA states that only entities licensed by VARA are authorised to operate and offer virtual-asset services within Dubai.
  17. Enforcement, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA publishes enforcement entries that identify entities, dates, violation categories and measures such as cease-and-desist orders and financial penalties.
  18. VARA Steps Up Enforcement to Safeguard Dubai's Virtual Asset Market: 19 Unlicensed Firms Penalised and Public Warning Issued, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, published 6 October 2025. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA's 6 October 2025 notice says 19 firms were penalised for unlicensed VA activities and marketing breaches, with fines ranging from AED 100,000 to AED 600,000.
  19. Regulations on the Marketing of Virtual Assets and Related Activities 2024, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA's Regulations on the Marketing of Virtual Assets and Related Activities 2024 apply to marketing in or targeting the UAE by domestic or foreign entities, whether VARA-licensed or not.
  20. Regulations on the Marketing of Virtual Assets and Related Activities 2024, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: Entities marketing virtual assets or VA activities in or targeting the UAE must retain marketing and distribution records for at least eight years under VARA's Marketing Regulations.
  21. Federal Decree by Law No. (10) of 2025 Regarding Anti-Money Laundering, and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing, UAE Legislation. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: Federal Decree by Law No. 10 of 2025 requires VASPs to report suspected transactions without delay and to apply risk assessment, customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring and record-keeping controls.
  22. A. General Requirements, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Checked 13 October 2026. Confirmed Supports: VARA transfer and settlement VASPs must comply with applicable AML/CFT requirements, including FATF-specific requirements such as the Travel Rule.