UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2023 Concerning the Regulation of the Space Sector
UAE federal decree-law that replaced Federal Law No. 12 of 2019 as the principal statute regulating the space sector. Article 8 keeps space-resource exploration, exploitation and use under a Cabinet-set permit regime, with permits granted by the UAE Space Agency board. Article 39 repealed the 2019 law while keeping Agency regulations in force until replaced.
Facts
- Level
- National statute
- Scope
- National
- Country
- United Arab Emirates
- Citation
- Federal Decree-Law No. (46) of 2023 Concerning the Regulation of the Space Sector; Official Gazette No. 760 (29 September 2023)
- Adopted
- 2023-09-28
- In force
- 2023-10-29
- Status
- In forceFederal Decree-Law No. (46) of 2023, issued on 28 September 2023, published in Official Gazette No. 760 on 29 September 2023 and effective 29 October 2023, per the UAE Legislation portal entry read from its April 2025 Internet Archive copy, which lists the legislation state as Active (so in-force status is attested as of that copy). Its Art. 39(1) repealed Federal Law No. 12 of 2019, and Art. 39(2) keeps earlier Agency regulations in force until replaced.
Resource provisions
A paraphrase followed by the source wording.
Art. 1 defines Space Resources as any non-living resources present in Outer Space, including minerals and water. Art. 8(1) leaves the conditions for permits covering exploration, exploitation and use of Space Resources (including acquisition, purchase, sale, trade, transportation, storage and related logistical space activities) to a Cabinet resolution; Art. 8(2) says those permits are granted by a resolution of the Agency board. The decree itself does not state an ownership rule for extracted resources.
The conditions and controls relating to Permits for the exploration, exploitation and use of Space Resources, including their acquisition, purchase, sale, trade, transportation, storage and any Space Activities aimed at providing logistical services in this regard shall be determined by a resolution issued by the Cabinet or whomever it delegates.
Open evidence gaps
- Live uaelegislation.gov.ae remains Cloudflare-blocked from this host; text was read from the April 2025 Internet Archive capture (English portal translation; Arabic text prevails).
- The decree-law's own entry-into-force article was not quote-confirmed; the 29 October 2023 effective date comes from the portal's metadata.
- The current Cabinet resolution on space resources (reported as No. 204 of 2025) has not been verified from primary text; this dataset records no UAE space resources permit.
Sources
6 sourcesThe conditions and controls relating to Permits for the exploration, exploitation and use of Space Resources, including their acquisition, purchase, sale, trade, transportation, storage and any Space Activities aimed at providing logistical services in this regard shall be determined by a resolution issued by the Cabinet or whomever it delegates.
The Permits referred to in Clause (1) of this Article shall be granted by a resolution of the BOD.
The aforementioned Federal Law No. (12) of 2019 concerning the Space Sector shall be repealed, as well as any provision that violates or contradicts the provisions of this Decree by Law.
The regulations and resolutions in force at the Agency shall continue to be implemented until what replaces them is issued in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by Law, to the extent that they conflict with its provisions.
Space Resources: Any non-living resources present in Outer Space, including minerals and water.
Issued Date 28 Sep 2023 Effective Date 29 Oct 2023 Official Gazette Date 29 Sep 2023 Official Gazette No 760 Legislation State Active
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2023 Concerning the Regulation of the Space Sector”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/laws/uae-space-sector-2023.html. Record checked 2026-10-29.