Federal Law No. (9) of 2023 Concerning the Regulation of Houses of Worship for Non-Muslims
Federal Law No. (9) of 2023
Federal Law No. (9) of 2023 creates a UAE-wide framework for licensing, governing, financing, supervising and regulating houses and rooms of worship for non-Muslims, including founders, boards, bank accounts, records, prohibited activities, administrative penalties, dissolution and regularisation.
Overview
What this legislation covers
Federal Law No. (9) of 2023 creates a UAE-wide framework for licensing, governing, financing, supervising and regulating houses and rooms of worship for non-Muslims, including founders, boards, bank accounts, records, prohibited activities, administrative penalties, dissolution and regularisation.
Who or what it applies to
- Houses of worship for non-Muslim religions, sects and beliefs in the UAE.
- Rooms of worship, including those allocated at airports under the law/Executive Regulation.
- Founders, members, boards of directors and supervisors of houses of worship.
- Ministry/local competent authorities licensing and supervising houses of worship.
- Applies throughout the UAE including free zones.
Key points
Important points at a glance
Issued on 31 May 2023 and applies to houses and rooms of worship across the UAE, including free zones.
Article 33 provides effect six months after Official Gazette publication; current legal databases record effect from 31 December 2023.
Objectives include regulating houses/rooms of worship and consolidating tolerance and coexistence.
Creates a committee to determine recognised practices, worship and rituals of non-Muslim religions, sects and beliefs for purposes of the law.
Requires each competent authority to maintain a register of licensed houses/rooms of worship.
Licensing generally requires at least 20 founding members, subject to detailed eligibility requirements and competent-authority conditions.
Founders must approve articles/by-laws containing required governance, membership, financial and dissolution information.
Licence application is submitted by a temporary committee and is subject to statutory processing periods.
After initial approval, licensing requirements generally must be completed within six months, with specified extension possibilities.
Final house-of-worship licences are generally granted for a term not exceeding two years, subject to renewal rules.
A licensed house of worship acquires legal personality from issuance of the final licence.
Requires a board of directors and governance under approved by-laws.
Financial resources and external funding/transfer are tightly regulated.
Requires a UAE bank account and retention of records/books/programmes/electronic systems for at least ten years.
Article 20 contains extensive prohibitions including political interference, incitement, unauthorised external relationships/funding, unauthorised donation collection and harmful rituals.
Article 24 permits administrative penalties including warning, temporary suspension, board dismissal and fines within the statutory range.
Article 25 regulates mandatory dissolution/closure and provides a 15-day appeal window and a 30-working-day decision period.
Article 28 provides criminal fines for violations, without prejudice to more severe penalties under other law.
Article 30 requires existing houses of worship to regularise after the Executive Regulation, subject to extensions.
Cabinet Resolution No. (82) of 2024 is the Executive Regulation and became effective on 1 August 2024.
Practical explanation
Understanding the law
Purpose and practical effect
Federal Law No. (9) of 2023 creates a UAE-wide framework for licensing, governing, financing, supervising and regulating houses and rooms of worship for non-Muslims, including founders, boards, bank accounts, records, prohibited activities, administrative penalties, dissolution and regularisation.
Who / what the law applies to
- Houses of worship for non-Muslim religions, sects and beliefs in the UAE.
- Rooms of worship, including those allocated at airports under the law/Executive Regulation.
- Founders, members, boards of directors and supervisors of houses of worship.
- Ministry/local competent authorities licensing and supervising houses of worship.
- Applies throughout the UAE including free zones.
Important definitions
- House of Worship: a licensed place for practices, worship and religious rituals of covered non-Muslim religions/sects/beliefs, including attached facilities.
- Room of Worship: an authorised designated room, including at airports, under the law's framework.
- Competent Authority: the Ministry or relevant Local Authority depending on the matter.
- Founding Members: persons establishing the house of worship and satisfying statutory criteria.
- Register: the competent authority database for houses/rooms of worship.
Principal rights, duties and legal consequences
- Licensed houses of worship have legal personality from the final licence date.
- Founders/members must comply with approved by-laws and cannot claim ownership of house-of-worship funds personally.
- Competent authorities may supervise financial/administrative affairs and request information.
- Boards may use statutory grievance/appeal routes against specified closure decisions.
Practical procedure / compliance checklist
- Confirm that the religion/sect/belief and proposed practices fall within the committee/competent-authority framework.
- Form the required founding group and temporary committee and prepare compliant by-laws.
- Submit the licence application and complete any requested documents/amendments.
- After initial approval, complete construction/other licensing requirements within the statutory period or obtain an extension.
- Open the required UAE bank account and establish accounting, records and governance systems.
- Obtain prior approvals for events, governance changes and any activities/funding requiring consent.
- Submit annual budget/financial statements within the required post-year-end period.
- Existing houses must maintain regularised status under the Executive Regulation.
Important dates and deadlines
- Issued: 31 May 2023.
- Effective: 31 December 2023 according to the current legal metadata reviewed; Article 33 states six months after Official Gazette publication.
- Competent authority may request application corrections/documents within 60 days.
- Initial approval/rejection: within 60 days after completion of required data/documents.
- Complete licensing requirements after initial approval: generally within 6 months, subject to statutory extensions.
- Final licence decision: within 60 days after requirements are met.
- Licence term: maximum 2 years unless an authorised renewal exception applies.
- Financial statements: within 3 months after fiscal year-end.
- Mandatory-dissolution appeal: within 15 days; decision within 30 working days.
- Executive Regulation effective: 1 August 2024.
Enforcement and legal exposure
Competent authorities may impose administrative penalties and mandatory closure/dissolution. The law also creates criminal fine exposure for violations. Exact liability depends on the specific article, Executive Regulation and any overlapping anti-discrimination, donations, criminal or public-order legislation.
Practical scenarios
- A proposed church/temple or other covered place cannot begin worship activities before final licensing.
- A house of worship receiving funds from outside the UAE must review the statutory prohibition and any permitted route before acceptance.
- An annual event may require prior competent-authority approval even if held by a licensed house of worship.
- A board facing a mandatory closure decision should calculate the 15-day appeal period immediately.
Amendments and current-law interaction
Cabinet Resolution No. (82) of 2024 provides the Executive Regulation and became effective on 1 August 2024. Current local licensing procedures must also be checked with the competent Emirate authority.
Research and publication caution
UAE federal legislation frequently operates together with Executive Regulations, Cabinet resolutions, ministerial decisions, local competent-authority rules and later amendments. This explanation is intended as detailed practical guidance for research and website publication, not as a substitute for the official Arabic text or case-specific legal advice.
Research status
Current-law verification for this package was performed on 2026-09-07.
Practical notes
- Use the official current Arabic text for interpretation and application; the English package is a structured legal-information rendering.
- Verify the current consolidated version and related regulations immediately before a filing, transaction, enforcement decision or court submission.
- Exact penalties, thresholds, exceptions and procedural deadlines must be checked against the exact current article and implementing instrument.
- The supplied cover artwork is editorial artwork and is not a source of legal authority or evidence of government endorsement.
Legislation text
Text and provisions
Official-text notice. This file is a comprehensive structured English legal-information rendering based on the UAE sources listed in this package. It is not represented as the legally controlling verbatim English text. For interpretation and application, consult the original Arabic legislation, the Official Gazette and the latest consolidated official version. Exact offence elements, penalties, thresholds, exceptions and procedural periods must be checked against the current article and implementing instrument.
Federal Law No. (9) of 2023 Concerning the Regulation of Houses of Worship for Non-Muslims
Verified legislative metadata
| Instrument | Federal Law No. (9) of 2023 |
|---|---|
| Issued | 2023-05-31 |
| Effective | 2023-12-31 |
| Status | Active / in force |
| Official source | UAE legislation source |
Legislative purpose and scope
Federal Law No. (9) of 2023 creates a UAE-wide framework for licensing, governing, financing, supervising and regulating houses and rooms of worship for non-Muslims, including founders, boards, bank accounts, records, prohibited activities, administrative penalties, dissolution and regularisation.
Structured legislative map
Article 1 — Definitions
Defines Ministry, Local Authority, Competent Authority, Committee, religions/sects/beliefs, Houses of Worship, Rooms of Worship, Board, Members, Supervisor and Register.
Articles 2–3 — Objectives and scope
Regulate houses/rooms of worship and consolidate tolerance/coexistence; apply across the UAE including free zones.
Article 4 — Committee
Creates the committee responsible for determining practices, worship and rituals for non-Muslim religions/sects/beliefs within the State.
Article 5 — Register
Requires the competent authority to maintain the register of licensed/allocated houses and rooms of worship.
Article 6 — Licensing conditions
Sets founding-member and other eligibility/licensing conditions, including minimum founders and competence/public-order requirements.
Article 7 — Rooms of Worship
Permits allocation subject to coordination and Executive Regulation controls.
Article 8 — Articles of Association
Requires approved by-laws covering name, purpose, religion/belief, membership, finance, bank accounts, amendments and dissolution.
Articles 9–11 — Licence process
Regulates temporary founding committee, application, completion/initial approval, construction/approval extensions, final licence, licence term and renewal.
Article 12 — Legal personality
A house of worship acquires legal personality from issuance of the final licence.
Articles 13–14 — Governance
Regulates board of directors, supervisor, annual/urgent meetings and competent-authority attendance/supervision.
Articles 15–17 — Funds and bank accounts
Regulates subscriptions/gifts/bequests/grants, restricts foreign funding/transfers and requires a UAE bank account.
Article 18 — Records
Requires records/books/programmes/electronic systems to be kept at headquarters for at least ten years, subject to destruction approval.
Article 19 — Ongoing obligations
Requires lawful use of funds/premises, approval for material governance changes, provision of data, inspections and annual financial statements within three months after year-end.
Article 20 — Prohibitions
Prohibits specified misuse, political interference, strife/extremism, unauthorised proselytising/outside rituals/events, misuse of funds, unapproved external relations/funds, harmful rituals and donation collection.
Articles 21–23 — Unlicensed practice and supervision
Prohibit unlicensed establishment/practice and grant supervision/data powers to competent authorities while protecting confidentiality.
Article 24 — Administrative penalties
Provides warning, temporary suspension, dismissal of the board and administrative fines, with Executive Regulation procedures.
Articles 25–27 — Dissolution and closure
Regulate mandatory/voluntary dissolution, appeals, liquidation, disposition of funds/records and removal from the register.
Article 28 — Penalties
Provides criminal fine liability for violations without prejudice to more severe penalties under other law.
Article 29 — Judicial enforcement
Allows designated competent-authority employees to receive judicial-officer status.
Article 30 — Regularisation
Requires existing houses of worship to regularise after the Executive Regulation within the statutory period/possible extensions.
Article 31 — Executive Regulation
Requires the Cabinet to issue implementing rules; Cabinet Resolution No. (82) of 2024 is the current Executive Regulation.
Articles 32–33 — Repeal and commencement
Repeals conflicting provisions and brings the law into force six months after Official Gazette publication.
Key statutory points
- Issued on 31 May 2023 and applies to houses and rooms of worship across the UAE, including free zones.
- Article 33 provides effect six months after Official Gazette publication; current legal databases record effect from 31 December 2023.
- Objectives include regulating houses/rooms of worship and consolidating tolerance and coexistence.
- Creates a committee to determine recognised practices, worship and rituals of non-Muslim religions, sects and beliefs for purposes of the law.
- Requires each competent authority to maintain a register of licensed houses/rooms of worship.
- Licensing generally requires at least 20 founding members, subject to detailed eligibility requirements and competent-authority conditions.
- Founders must approve articles/by-laws containing required governance, membership, financial and dissolution information.
- Licence application is submitted by a temporary committee and is subject to statutory processing periods.
- After initial approval, licensing requirements generally must be completed within six months, with specified extension possibilities.
- Final house-of-worship licences are generally granted for a term not exceeding two years, subject to renewal rules.
- A licensed house of worship acquires legal personality from issuance of the final licence.
- Requires a board of directors and governance under approved by-laws.
- Financial resources and external funding/transfer are tightly regulated.
- Requires a UAE bank account and retention of records/books/programmes/electronic systems for at least ten years.
- Article 20 contains extensive prohibitions including political interference, incitement, unauthorised external relationships/funding, unauthorised donation collection and harmful rituals.
- Article 24 permits administrative penalties including warning, temporary suspension, board dismissal and fines within the statutory range.
- Article 25 regulates mandatory dissolution/closure and provides a 15-day appeal window and a 30-working-day decision period.
- Article 28 provides criminal fines for violations, without prejudice to more severe penalties under other law.
- Article 30 requires existing houses of worship to regularise after the Executive Regulation, subject to extensions.
- Cabinet Resolution No. (82) of 2024 is the Executive Regulation and became effective on 1 August 2024.
Amendments, implementing instruments and interaction with other legislation
Cabinet Resolution No. (82) of 2024 provides the Executive Regulation and became effective on 1 August 2024. Current local licensing procedures must also be checked with the competent Emirate authority.
Case-specific reading rule
This legislative map is designed for website publication and legal research. It gives a complete substantive overview of the statute's operative areas without pretending that a paraphrase can replace the controlling Arabic wording. Where the outcome depends on a defined term, penalty, exception, jurisdictional condition, transitional rule or procedural deadline, the current official article must be opened and applied directly.
Verification
Official source & references
Official legislation sourcehttps://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1963Open ↗This page is a research and educational resource. Legislation can be amended, repealed, supplemented by regulations or interpreted by courts and authorities. Obtain advice before relying on it for a live matter.