A Dubai Shopping Festival promotion needs a certificate of participation before it runs. The certificate comes from Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), part of the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), through the DET Connect portal. DET states 3 to 5 business days for processing, longer for some permit types, and the certificate arrives by email.
The dates come from DET's Retail Calendar. Its 2026 edition dated the festival from 5 December 2025 to 11 January 2026, and for the next edition the only dates to plan against are the ones DET publishes. Your business or its PRO files the application. The rules for the other promotion formats are in our guide to Dubai promotion permits.
Where the DSF dates come from
DFRE published its 10th Retail Calendar on 25 November 2025, with 18 citywide events for 2026. It dated Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) from 5 December 2025 to 11 January 2026, and Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) from 3 July to 30 August 2026. The release named the DSF Final Sale as the festival's "ultimate highlight", and DSS closes with a Final Sale of its own.
That release is dated 10 days before DSF opened. A plan that waits for it leaves little room for DET's 3 to 5 business days. So prepare the offer and the creative ahead, and fix the launch date once DET's dates are out. To find them, check DET's newsroom, where the 2026 calendar was announced, and the participation calendars menu on DET Connect, where you choose the festival you are applying for. The release itself pointed businesses to DET Connect to register their interest, explore event details, apply for certificates of participation and reach DET's marketing opportunities.
What the certificate covers during the festival
DET lists its users as "Retailers, companies, shopping centres, distributors, e-stores, tourist attractions or restaurants holding a valid DET or free zone trade licence." An e-store can take part, and so can a restaurant, whose festival campaigns our restaurant and event marketing page covers. The promotion types DET lists under the certificate:
- Price deals, such as sales, discounts, rebates or clearance.
- Special offers, such as bulk bundles or a gift with purchase.
- Raffles and contests.
- Pop-up kiosks and stands, where a kiosk also needs a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the venue.
The order of the work on DET Connect shapes the plan. The fee is paid before the promotion details can be submitted, online or at an Al Ansari Exchange branch, hence the finance sign-off sits on the critical path. DET publishes no fee table. Its service page gives the price as "Various", and the fee is displayed when you select the festival.
A paid Retail Calendar participation is valid for 12 months and covers the seasonal windows DET specifies. DSF and DSS are among them. You select each festival you want and submit its promotion details separately. If an offer changes after approval, DET amends the certificate on a request to retailcalendar@dubaitourism.ae, and the creative changes once the amendment is through.
Prices need the same care. The only official fee and fine schedule we found for Dubai sales and raffles is Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011, written for DET's predecessor, the Department of Economic Development (DED). Among its violations were failing to attach the approved price tags to sale goods, and any discrepancy between the approved price list and the displayed prices. We read it as history, since we found no current DET text that confirms its terms. The practical point stands either way. The list you file is DET's record of your offer, so the prices in your ads and on your tags should match it.
Raffles, the part of DSF with the most rules on record
Raffles run at scale during the festival. For DSF's 30th edition, DET counts more than AED 50 million in prizes awarded to 1115 winners through 295 raffles. A raffle is a promotion type under the certificate, and the draw is where the official record holds the most rules.
The 2011 schedule is the only official text we found that sets rules for draws. It listed these among its violations:
- Selling promotional campaign coupons without a permit.
- Conducting a raffle draw without a DED representative present.
- Failing to keep to the timetable of raffle draws.
- Failing to hand over prizes, or pay cash prizes, within the period DED set.
- Rigging the results of a draw.
Its permit categories included a single permit for 1 to 5 raffle draws, and a category of its own for promotional campaigns during DSF or DSS.
Because that text is historical, confirm the draw's current conditions with DET before you fix the mechanics. They decide the draw date and the prize terms printed on each coupon, so the artwork waits for the answer. A printed draw date is also a commitment, since the 2011 schedule treated a missed draw timetable as a violation.
The festival's logo and posters on your creative
The same schedule listed 2 more violations that bear on creative: using the DSF or DSS logo without a permit, and using the festivals' posters and advertising materials without a permit. As with the draws, the current position is a question for DET. Until DET confirms that your use of the festival mark is covered, brief the key visual with and without it. The marked version runs only after DET's answer.
The festival branding DET does supply comes with approval. Approved permit holders "will also have their promotions showcased through DET's targeted marketing channels and receive limited point of sale (POS) to highlight their participation". We plan paid search and social around that showcase. The Final Sale, which DET's release calls the festival's highlight, deserves a budget line of its own.
Kiosks and events beyond the store
A kiosk or stand in a mall runs on the same certificate, and a kiosk also needs the venue's NOC. Entertainment or an event at the stand moves to DET's e-Permits portal, a separate system with rules of its own:
- An entertainment, sport, charity, religious or business event needs an event permit. Fees depend on the event type and category, and DET considers an application only once payment is made in full. The permit follows within 5 business days of approval and payment.
- Recurring activations in a venue, such as shows or a temporary play area, need an activity permit. It is filed at least 1 working day ahead and lasts from 1 day to 3 months.
- An activation that uses tickets, registrations, invitations or a guest list, free or paid, needs a Ticketed Event permit and then ticketing approval. Ticketing is free unless the application is filed within 24 hours of the event.
- Registration on e-Permits costs AED 300 a year plus AED 20 in innovation and knowledge fees, and the trade licence must carry activities that match the permit.
The 2 portals ask for different licences. DET Connect accepts a DET or free zone trade licence for the certificate, while DET says only companies holding a Dubai trade licence can use e-Permits. A free zone retailer should check its licence against both before an activation depends on them.
Listing differs too. The official Dubai Calendar lists events for free, processed within 2 business days, but DET will not list "Branded product launches or in-store promotions". An in-store DSF offer reaches DET's audience through the showcase that comes with the certificate.
Outside your own premises, DFRE runs signature events where brands apply to trade, such as Beach Canteen and Modesh World. Applying is free and participation is paid. DET encourages vendors to apply at least 2 months before the event, and participation "carries contractual obligations to market the event across your social channels", so those posts belong in your content calendar from the day you apply.
Sources
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Apply for a promotion certificate of participation for retailers and vendors, 2026
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai unveils 2026 Retail Calendar, press release, 25 November 2025
- Dubai Legislation Portal, Executive Council Resolution No. 13 of 2011, 2011
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Apply for an event permit, 2026
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Apply for an activity permit, 2026
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Apply to sell event tickets, 2026
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Register on e-Permits, 2026
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, List an event on Dubai Calendar, 2026
- Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Participate in festivals and events, 2026
Last reviewed 23 October 2026.
