Document archiving in the UAE starts with one rule of thumb: keep corporate tax records for at least seven years after the tax period they relate to, keep VAT records for at least five years, and keep anything tied to real estate for longer. Company formation papers and ownership records stay for the life of the business. Once you know the period for each record type, the job becomes practical: box files by tax period, date every box, and keep them somewhere cool, dry and secure, which for many SMEs means off-site space that keeps company files out of the working office.
This guide sets out the retention periods UAE businesses most often work to, a simple way to schedule them, and how to store and retrieve archive boxes without losing a day to searching. It is general guidance, so confirm the periods that apply to your licence and sector with your accountant.
Document Archiving in the UAE: How Long Must Records Be Kept?
For most companies the longest routine period is seven years, driven by Corporate Tax. VAT and sector rules sit alongside it.
Corporate Tax. Both taxable and exempt persons must keep relevant records for at least seven years from the end of the tax period they relate to, as set out in the Federal Tax Authority's reminder on record retention for Corporate Tax. That covers transactions, assets, liabilities and shares held at the end of the period.
VAT. General VAT records are kept for at least five years after the end of the tax period. Records relating to real estate are held for fifteen years.
A worked example. A mainland company with a calendar financial year had its first Corporate Tax period in 2024. Its records for that year stay until at least 31 December 2031, and nothing from 2024 should be shredded before then.
Which Documents Belong in the Business Archive?
Anything that supports a figure in your accounts or a tax return belongs in the archive, plus the papers that prove who owns and runs the company.
Tax and accounting. Ledgers, bank statements, sales and purchase invoices, credit notes, customs declarations, VAT and Corporate Tax returns, and the working files behind your financial statements.
Contracts and leases. Supplier and customer agreements, warehouse and office tenancy contracts, and their renewals. Keep them until the contract ends, then for as long as the tax records they support, since payments under them feed your returns.
People files. Employment contracts, payroll records and end of service calculations. Ask your HR adviser how long your free zone or MOHRE expects these to be kept.
Company records. Memorandum of association, licences, board resolutions and share registers stay for as long as the company exists. Firms clearing a crowded office often move these with space for surplus office kit and paperwork during a refit.
Build a Retention Schedule Before You Box Anything
A retention schedule is a one-page table that tells anyone in the company how long each type of record is kept and when it can go. Write it before packing, not after.
Keep it simple. For each record type, note:
- The record type, such as purchase invoices or payroll
- The rule it follows, such as Corporate Tax or VAT
- When the clock starts, usually the end of the financial year
- The destroy-after date, worked out from those two
- Who in the business approves its destruction
Use the longest rule that applies. A purchase invoice supports both VAT and Corporate Tax, so it follows the seven-year rule, not the five-year one. If you are unsure which rule applies, keep the record for the longer period and ask your accountant at year end.
Label Every Box With a Destroy-After Date
The single most useful thing you can write on an archive box is the year it can be destroyed. It turns an annual clear-out from a guessing game into a ten-minute job.
One period per box. Never mix financial years in the same carton. When 2024 expires, the whole box goes, and nobody has to sort through it page by page.
Four lines on every label. Company or branch name, record type, financial year, and destroy-after year in large print. Write it on two sides so it is readable however the box is stacked.
Match boxes to an index. Give each box a number and keep a spreadsheet listing number, contents and shelf position. For layout, our guide to planning aisles and stack heights inside a unit applies just as well to archive cartons.
Size the space to the boxes. Seven years of files for a small trading company often fits in space for twenty or thirty archive cartons rather than a full room.
Running out of room for seven years of company files? Tell us roughly how many archive boxes you hold and how often you need them, and we will suggest a size that fits. Ask about space for your company archive
Where Should Business Archives Be Kept in Dubai and Sharjah?
Archives need to be cool, dry, secure and reachable within a day. The usual office options in the UAE fail at least one of those.
The office cupboard. Fine for the current year, but archive boxes soon take over desk and filing space the team needs every day.
The warehouse mezzanine. Common in Al Quoz, Ras Al Khor and Sharjah industrial areas, and usually the hottest spot in the building from May to October. Paper yellows, cartons soften and ink on thermal receipts fades.
A staff member's villa. It happens more than people admit, and it leaves company records outside company control.
Paper reacts to heat and humidity the same way whether it is a family certificate or a VAT invoice, as our guide to protecting paper from Dubai's humidity explains.
For records you must keep seven years or more, a cooled unit that keeps paper flat and dry in August is the safer choice.
Paper or Digital: What Should You Keep as Originals?
Scanning cuts the number of boxes, but it does not remove the need for an archive. Some documents only carry weight as signed or stamped originals.
Keep the originals of signed contracts and leases, title deeds, attested certificates, notarised powers of attorney and anything carrying a government stamp you may need to show again.
Scan before you box. A searchable PDF of every invoice batch makes it far easier to answer an auditor's query, even when the paper sits elsewhere.
Check before you shred paper you have scanned. Ask your accountant which records the FTA and your auditors will accept in digital form, and how the files must be kept. Until you have that answer in writing, keep the paper.
Getting Files Back When the FTA or an Auditor Asks
The point of an archive is retrieval. If a tax query lands, you want the right box in hand the same day, not a week of searching.
Name two keyholders. Register at least two people who can visit the unit, so a query does not wait for one person's leave to end.
Keep the index with finance. A shared copy of the box list lets anyone find, for example, Q3 2025 purchase invoices in minutes.
Know the access rules. Check opening hours and how visits are logged. It helps to understand how CCTV, access control and visitor records work at a facility before you trust it with company files.
Track what leaves. Note any box taken back to the office, and return it once the query closes.
Destroying Old Records Safely
Records can go once the longest applicable period has passed and nothing is still open. Destroying them carelessly creates a new risk.
Check for open matters first. A tax audit, a court case, an insurance claim or a disputed invoice can mean keeping the relevant boxes longer than your schedule says.
Shred, do not bin. Invoices and payroll files carry names, bank details and Emirates ID numbers. Use cross-cut shredding or a destruction service that issues a certificate.
Log it. Record box numbers, dates and who approved the destruction, and keep that log with your company records.
Make it annual. Pick one fixed point, such as the month after your accounts are signed off, to pull expired boxes and add the new year's.
If your files have outgrown the office, StorageKeys keeps business archives in secure, climate-controlled units at our facilities in Al Quoz, Dubai and Sharjah, with access for the staff you register.
Related guides
Seven years of files, out of the office and easy to find
Keep company records cool, dry and secure, with registered staff able to pull any box when an auditor asks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do businesses need to keep records in the UAE?
Corporate Tax records must be kept at least seven years after the tax period ends. General VAT records are kept five years, and real estate VAT records fifteen.
Can business records be stored off-site in the UAE?
Yes, provided you can produce them promptly when the FTA or an auditor asks. Keep an up-to-date box index so any file can be found quickly.
Can I keep only scanned copies of business documents?
Often, but confirm with your accountant which records the FTA accepts digitally. Keep signed originals of contracts, title deeds and attested documents.
When can old business records be destroyed?
Once the longest applicable retention period has passed and no audit, dispute or claim is open. Shred them securely and log what was destroyed.