A DIFC Prescribed Company is a flexible corporate vehicle used as a holding company within wider transactions, financing or asset-holding structures. It is the DIFC's equivalent of a passive holding company or SPV: it cannot trade, employ staff or take its own office, and in exchange it carries a lighter regulatory and cost burden than a standard DIFC company.
Since July 2026, a Prescribed Company has been open to any applicant, anywhere in the world, for any holding purpose. The eligibility tests that previously applied were removed when the Prescribed Company Regulations were amended.
It is an attractive vehicle as it is exempt from many regulatory requirements which apply to other types of companies in DIFC, including:
no requirement to have its accounts audited, provided its annual turnover is not more than USD 5 million on a consolidated basis and it does not have more than 20 shareholders;
lower incorporation and licensing fees; and
no requirement to take its own office space — the company uses the registered office address of its Corporate Service Provider.
A Prescribed Company must appoint a Corporate Service Provider, such as Clara, unless it qualifies as an Exempt Prescribed Company.