DNFBP (Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions) is a category of businesses that are not financial institutions but must comply with AML/CFT requirements on par with banks: real estate agents, dealers in precious metals and stones, trust and company service providers, accountants, auditors, lawyers, notaries, and commercial gaming operators.

Every company registered on the UAE mainland or in a commercial free zone must maintain a register of beneficial owners and a register of partners or shareholders, and file their data with the Registrar — the licensing authority of its own jurisdiction. The requirement sits in Cabinet Decision No. 109 of 2023 on Regulating the Beneficial Owner Procedures. A separate obligation, covering a different population, is registration on the Financial Intelligence Unit’s goAML platform: it applies to financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) and virtual asset service providers.