# Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025 Regarding the Central Bank, Regulation of Financial Institutions and Activities, and Insurance Business

Source page: https://protegra.io/licensing/laws/ae-federal-decree-law-6-2025/

Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025 is the UAE's consolidated Central Bank law. It governs CBUAE licensing of banks, exchange houses, payment/remittance providers, stored-value and virtual-asset payment-token issuers, open finance, and insurers, replacing the 2018 Central Bank Law and 2023 Insurance Law.

## At a glance

| Official title | Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025 Regarding the Central Bank, Regulation of Financial Institutions and Activities, and Insurance Business [1] |
| --- | --- |
| English title | Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025 Regarding the Central Bank, Regulation of Financial Institutions and Activities, and Insurance Business |
| Citation | Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025 |
| Jurisdiction | [United Arab Emirates](https://protegra.io/licensing/jurisdictions/uae/) |
| Type | act |
| Adopted | 2025-09-08 |
| In force from | 2025-09-16 |
| Status | in force |

## Full text

**Official full text:** [Federal Decree-Law No. (6) of 2025 Regarding the Central Bank, Regulation of Financial Institutions and Activities, and Insurance Business (PDF, en)](https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Federal-Decree-Law-No.-6-of-2025-Regarding-the-Central-Bank-Regulation-of-Financial-Institutions-and-Activities-and-Insurance-Business.pdf) [1] · 633 KB · file checked 2026-09-24

Official page: [rulebook.centralbank.ae](https://rulebook.centralbank.ae/en/rulebook/federal-decree-law-no-6-2025-regarding-central-bank-regulation-financial-institutions-and) [2]

## Summary

This decree-law re-establishes the Central Bank of the UAE's mandate and consolidates regulation of banks, insurance, payments and financial market infrastructures. It requires a Central Bank licence for taking deposits, credit and funding facilities, open finance, currency exchange and money transfer, payment services using virtual assets, stored value/retail payment/digital money services, dealing as principal, and insurance/reinsurance business, explicitly extending jurisdiction to virtual-asset payment tokens, DeFi and technology platforms facilitating such activities (Art. 61-62). It sets licensing procedure and criteria (fit-and-proper, minimum capital), grounds for licence suspension/withdrawal, prior-approval requirements for controlling-interest holders, and administrative, civil and criminal penalties for unlicensed activity, false representation and other breaches. It repeals the 2018 Central Bank Law and 2023 Insurance Decree-Law.

Summary written by the Atlas from the official text; the law itself prevails.

## Main articles

- **Art. 61**: Lists financial activities requiring Central Bank licence, including payment services using virtual assets.
- **Art. 62**: Extends licensing/oversight to virtual-asset payment tokens, DeFi and enabling technology platforms.
- **Art. 63-65**: Licence application, fit-and-proper/capital criteria, and power to impose licence conditions.
- **Art. 66**: Grounds for suspension, withdrawal or revocation of a licence.
- **Art. 120**: Prior Central Bank approval required to hold or increase a controlling interest in a licensed institution.
- **Art. 161-171**: Art. 170 punishes unlicensed activity under Art. 61 (imprisonment, fine AED 50,000-500,000,000); Art. 161 sets Financial Market Infrastructure violation rules; Art. 171 covers confidentiality breaches, not unlicensed activity.
- **Art. 184-185**: One-year reconciliation period; repeals Decretal Federal Law No. 14/2018 and Federal Decree-Law No. 48/2023.
- **Art. 188**: Law takes effect the day following its publication in the Official Gazette.

## Licences it governs

- [Bank · United Arab EmiratesCommercial Bank LicenceCBUAE](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/bank/uae-commercial/)

## Regulators that apply it

- [United Arab EmiratesCentral Bank of the UAE (CBUAE)The Central Bank of the UAE is the apex monetary and financial supervisory authority of the United Arab Emirates, established to promote mon](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/cbuae/)

## Sources

1. [mof.gov.ae: Federal Decree Law No. 6 of 2025 Regarding the Central Bank (PDF)](https://mof.gov.ae/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Federal-Decree-Law-No.-6-of-2025-Regarding-the-Central-Bank-Regulation-of-Financial-Institutions-and-Activities-and-Insurance-Business.pdf): retrieved 2026-09-24
2. [centralbank.ae: legislation](https://www.centralbank.ae/en/legislation/): retrieved 2026-09-24

Last verified 2026-09-24 · Author: Danil Marmysh · Reviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova · © Protegra. Data: CC BY 4.0, cite "Protegra Licensing Atlas". Not legal advice.