• In a civil society Association The number of founders must not be less than ten (10), two (2) of whom are UAE nationals. As an exception to this rule, the Director General may increase or decrease the minimum number of UAE-national founders required for incorporation of the Civil Society Association. A civil society Establishments contain of one or more founders based on allocating property to any non-profit activity
• A founder member must not be less than twenty-one (21) years of age at the time of submitting the incorporation application;
• have full legal capacity;
• Be of good character and repute and not have been convicted of any felony or other crime affecting honour or trustworthiness, unless he has been rehabilitated;
• Be a resident of the UAE, where he is a national of any of the Gulf Cooperation Council states;
• For non-UAE nationals, hold a valid UAE residence permit and have resided in the UAE for at least three (3) years;
They must submit the Civil Society Association’s Charter, which is consistent with the provisions of this Law and the resolutions issued in pursuance hereof. The Charter must include:
• The proposed name of the Civil Society Association, which must be indicative of the objectives for which the Civil Society Association is established, must be distinguishable from the names of other Civil Society Associations that conduct similar activities, and must be approved by the CDA;
• The proposed premises and geographic scope of work of the Civil Society Association;
• The objective for which the Civil Society Association is established, its activities, and the categories targeted by these activities;
• The names, nationalities, occupations, and places of residence in the UAE, of founder members;
• Requirements and types of membership, procedures for acceptance and revocation of membership, and rights and duties of members; The rules and regulations governing the convention and functions of ordinary and extraordinary General Assemblies; the procedures for convoking General Assembly meetings and conditions for the validity of these meetings, and the methods of passing General Assembly decisions;
• The method of forming the Board of Directors and its functions;
• Conditions for the forfeiture and cessation of membership;
• Rules of amending the Charter of the Civil Society Association; and procedures for establishing and closing down its branches and centres, and for its merger with other Civil Society Associations in the Emirate;
• The financial resources of the Civil Society Association and the methods of utilisation and allocation of these resources; the methods of controlling the expenditure of the Civil Society Association and the beginning and end dates of its Financial Year; the imprest system, if any, and the imprest amount maintained to meet contingent expenditure;
• The conditions for voluntary dissolution, and rules for liquidation, of the Civil Society Association; and
• Any other information the CDA deems necessary. For a Civil Society Association to be licensed, it must not be a branch of an association licensed outside of the UAE.