Non-Alcoholic Beer Rules in the UAE, Including Dubai
In the United Arab Emirates, we could not find a federal law that sets the alcohol level at which a drink becomes alcoholic. For customs, the UAE uses the Harmonized System, which classes a drink at 0.5% alcohol by volume or less as non-alcoholic and gives non-alcoholic beer its own heading.
Checked on 2 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice: laws change, so confirm with the regulator before you rely on a rule.
The rules in the United Arab Emirates at a glance
- At what alcohol level does a drink count as alcoholic in the United Arab Emirates?
- Not found in UAE law we could read. Customs uses the Harmonized System, which treats 0.5% or less as non-alcoholic.
- What may a label call a non-alcoholic beer in the United Arab Emirates?
- The Gulf regulation is GSO 1027:2021, "Malt Beverage" (شراب الشعير). Whether the UAE has adopted it, and its alcohol limit, are not verified.
- Who may sell or buy non-alcoholic beer in the United Arab Emirates?
- Alcohol may be brought in and sold only through authorised establishments. We found no age or licence rule for non-alcoholic beer.
The detail, with sources
The six Gulf states share a technical regulation for these drinks, GSO 1027:2021, which calls the product a malt beverage (شراب الشعير, "barley drink"). Its alcohol limit is in the part of the text that is sold rather than published, and we have not verified it, or whether the UAE has adopted it under its own code.
According to the US Department of Agriculture's 2025 report on the UAE, food labels must be in Arabic, and any other language on the label must give the same information. The same report says the UAE checks alcohol residues in food against UAE.S/GSO 2538:2021, which allows up to 0.1% in juices and 0.02% in most other foods, and that alcohol may be brought in and sold only through authorised establishments. We found no official rule on an age limit or a licence for buying non-alcoholic beer.
- Primary source: GSO 1027:2021 Malt Beverage, GCC Standardization Organization catalogue
- Primary source: Harmonized System Nomenclature 2022, Chapter 22, Note 3 and subheading 2202.91, World Customs Organization
- Secondary source: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, FAIRS Country Report, United Arab Emirates (TC2025-0008), 21 November 2025
Common questions
Do you need a licence to buy non-alcoholic beer in the UAE?
We found no official rule that requires a licence, or sets an age limit, for buying non-alcoholic beer in the United Arab Emirates. Alcohol itself may be brought in and sold only through authorised establishments, and food labels must be in Arabic, according to the US Department of Agriculture's 2025 report on the UAE.
Elsewhere in the Middle East
The six Gulf states share a technical regulation for non-alcoholic malt beverages, GSO 1027:2021, which calls the product a malt beverage rather than beer. Its alcohol limit sits in the part of the text that is sold rather than published. The figures that are public for the region are lower than in Asia: 0.05% in US government reports on Kuwait and Qatar, and in Jordan's 2025 draft standard. Several Gulf facts below rest on US government reports that are more than ten years old, and each row says so.
| Country or territory | A drink counts as alcoholic from |
|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | No numeric line found. The import of alcoholic beverages is prohibited. |
| Kuwait | Alcoholic beverages, and foods that contain alcohol, may not be brought into the country. |
| Qatar | The import of alcoholic beverages is restricted to one organisation. |
| Bahrain | Not verified. |
| Oman | Not verified. Alcohol is limited to licensed import companies. |
| Egypt | Not verified. |
| Jordan | Not verified. |
| Türkiye | Not verified. The law we read gives no number. |
Across the whole region
- All 27 countries and territories in one table
- What halal authorities have published
- What regulators say about drink-driving laws and non-alcoholic beer
- The same rows as JSON or CSV, free to reuse with credit
If a rule for the United Arab Emirates has changed, or a source no longer says what we say it does, write to getsoma.store@gmail.com and we will correct it.
Who publishes this page
SOMA is a non-alcoholic craft beer brand founded in Bangalore, India, and its beers are under 0.5% ABV. Our first deliveries will be in Bangalore, and we do not ship outside India. We keep these pages because the rules on non-alcoholic beer differ a great deal between countries, and many pages online state them without a source.
To learn how non-alcoholic beer is made and what is in it, read Non-Alcoholic Beer 101.