Quick answer: A real estate license in Dubai costs AED 5,020 a year in Dubai Land Department fees for a brokerage (AED 5,000 plus AED 20), on top of a DET trade licence. Each broker then needs a card at AED 500 plus AED 20, after the broker exam (AED 700 plus AED 20). Every property ad needs a permit at AED 1,000 plus AED 20.
Key takeaways
- Opening a brokerage takes two licences: a trade licence from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), then a real estate activity licence from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) through its Trakheesi system.
- DLD charges AED 5,020 a year for the brokerage activity licence, AED 520 per broker card and AED 720 per broker exam (DLD service pages, checked October 2026).
- The office needs a registered lease. Registering it costs AED 177.75 online or AED 220 at a trustee centre.
- No one may broker until they hold a card, and a card is only as valid as the company's trade licence.
- Ongoing: yearly renewals, goAML registration for anti-money laundering, and a DLD permit for every property ad.
- Whether a free zone company can broker mainland Dubai property is not spelled out by DLD. Get it in writing before you sign anything.
Last checked: 12 October 2026.
This guide is for someone opening a brokerage in Dubai, not for an individual agent joining an existing one (that route is in how to become a real estate agent in Dubai). It covers the real estate license Dubai cost line by line, the requirements, how long it takes, and what you pay every year after. Every government fee below links to the page it came from. Where a figure is not officially published, we say so instead of guessing.
What licences do you need to open a real estate brokerage in Dubai?
A real estate brokerage licence in Dubai is not one document. It is two licences and a set of personal registrations that sit on top of each other:
- A trade licence from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the company's commercial licence, applied for through the Invest in Dubai portal.
- A real estate activity licence from the Dubai Land Department (DLD), which DLD issues through Trakheesi after DET. DLD's own service page says the order is: submit the licence application through DET, register in Trakheesi, then apply for a Real Estate Activity Practice Card immediately after the licence is approved.
- A broker card for every person who will broker. DLD's card page is blunt: no person may practise the activity on the licence until they are registered and hold the card for that activity.
The legal basis is Bylaw No. 85 of 2006 Regulating the Real Estate Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai. Article 3 says no one may engage in real estate brokerage in Dubai unless they are licensed by the competent entities and entered in the Register. RERA (the Real Estate Regulatory Agency, DLD's regulatory arm) keeps that register. For the wider legal picture, including the rules on commission and contracts, see our summary of Dubai real estate laws in 2026.
DLD's activity licence page lists 21 activities. The two that matter to a brokerage are real estate sales and purchase brokerage and real estate leasing brokerage. Leasing and management of other people's property is a separate, much more expensive activity (more on that below), so a brokerage that only finds tenants should not apply for it by accident.
What are the requirements to open a real estate company in Dubai?
Article 6 of Bylaw 85 lists what an application to the Brokers Register must include. The process has moved online since 2006, but these are still the building blocks DLD asks about:
| Requirement | What it means in practice | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Valid trade licence | Issued by DET for the brokerage activity | Bylaw 85, Art. 6(1) |
| Chamber membership | Certificate of membership in the Dubai Chamber | Bylaw 85, Art. 6(2) |
| Passport copies | Of the owner or partners | Bylaw 85, Art. 6(3) |
| An office | Title deed of the office or a tenancy contract | Bylaw 85, Art. 6(4) |
| Good conduct | Certificate of good conduct for the owner and the managing director(s) | Bylaw 85, Art. 6(5) |
| Clean record | No director or manager declared bankrupt or convicted of a crime affecting honour or trustworthiness | Bylaw 85, Art. 6(6) |
| Training | Completion certificate for DLD accredited broker training | Bylaw 85, Art. 6(7) |
| Exam | Proof of passing the DLD brokerage test | Bylaw 85, Art. 6(8) |
For each broker card, DLD's current service page adds its own conditions: a certificate of good conduct issued by Dubai Police, a pass in the broker exam, a personal photo and an Emirates ID copy. So every broker needs UAE residency and an Emirates ID before a card can be issued.
Rule: The office is not optional. Article 6(4) asks for the title deed or the tenancy contract of the brokerage office, and a desk at home or a co-working day pass will not give you either.
Mainland or free zone?
DLD's activity licence page lists a separate condition for free zone licences: the company must obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from its free zone licensing authority, and DLD issues an NOC back for free zone licences. That tells you DLD does register some free zone companies for real estate activities. Meydan Free Zone, for example, says a real estate consultancy set up there can be registered with DLD and RERA (Meydan Free Zone, updated October 2026).
What DLD's service page does not say is whether a free zone company may broker sales and rentals of mainland Dubai property. Consultancies disagree, and none of them cite a DLD rule. Watch out: before you pay a free zone for a "real estate" package, get written confirmation from both the free zone and DLD (through Trakheesi or DLD's support line) that the exact activity on your licence lets you sign Form A and Form B contracts on the properties you plan to sell. The mainland route through DET is the one DLD's page describes step by step.
How much does a real estate license in Dubai cost?
Here is every fee we could verify on an official page, as of October 2026. Knowledge and innovation fees are small government surcharges that sit on most DLD services.
| Item | Fee | How often | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLD real estate activity licence (brokerage falls under "other activities") | AED 5,000 + AED 20 = AED 5,020 | Yearly | DLD, Real Estate Activity License |
| Broker exam | AED 700 + AED 10 + AED 10 = AED 720 | Per sitting | DLD, Practice Card issue |
| Broker card, issue | AED 500 + AED 10 + AED 10 = AED 520 | Per broker | DLD, Practice Card issue |
| ERES fee | AED 50 + VAT | Listed with the card | DLD, Practice Card issue |
| Broker card, renewal | AED 500 + AED 10 + AED 10 = AED 520 | Yearly, per broker | DLD, Practice Card renewal |
| Office lease registration (Ejari) | AED 177.75 online, AED 220 at a trustee centre | Each lease, each renewal | DLD, Register or Renew Ejari Contract |
| Property ad permit (Trakheesi) | AED 1,000 + AED 20 = AED 1,020 | Per ad | DLD, Real Estate Ad Permit |
| DET trade name reservation | AED 620 (an English name reportedly AED 2,000 extra) | Once | Khaleej Times, March 2025 (DET publishes no fee page we could reach) |
| DET initial approval | AED 120 | Once | Khaleej Times, March 2025 |
| DET trade licence for brokerage | Depends on activity and licence type | Yearly | Quoted by DET when you apply |
| Broker training course | Set by the approved training provider | Per person | Not published by DLD |
A note on the activity licence: DLD's fee list names specific activities (valuation, leasing and management for others, development, registrar trustee) and then "other activities" at AED 5,000 a year. Sales and leasing brokerage are not named in that list, so they fall under "other activities". The Al Tamimi law firm summary of Bylaw 85 gives the same figure, AED 5,000 a year for companies.
Watch out: "Real estate leasing and management services for others" is AED 15,000 a year and needs a bank guarantee of AED 5 million, according to the same DLD page. If you only want to find tenants for landlords, leasing brokerage is the activity. Managing property for owners is the expensive one.
What is not in the official fee list
Several costs are real but have no official published figure, so we do not put a number on them:
- The DET trade licence fee itself. DET calculates it from the activities and licence type when you apply through Invest in Dubai.
- Dubai Chamber membership, which Article 6(2) requires.
- The broker training course. DLD's card page requires the exam but publishes no course fee; approved providers set their own prices.
- Office rent, which depends entirely on location and size. A small fitted office in Business Bay and one in Al Barsha are different budgets.
- Residence visas for the owner and each broker. Every card needs an Emirates ID, so every broker needs a visa, through your company or another sponsor.
- Dubai Police good conduct certificates for the owner, manager and each broker.
What does it cost to open a brokerage with three brokers? A worked example
Say you open a small brokerage in Business Bay with yourself and two other brokers, all three needing the exam and a card, and you plan ten property ads in the first month. Here are the official DLD fees plus the two DET fees reported in the press:
| Line | Calculation | AED |
|---|---|---|
| DLD activity licence | 5,000 + 20 | 5,020.00 |
| Broker exams | 3 x 720 | 2,160.00 |
| Broker cards | 3 x 520 | 1,560.00 |
| ERES fee | 3 x (50 + 5% VAT) | 157.50 |
| Office lease registration | At a trustee centre | 220.00 |
| Trade name and initial approval | 620 + 120 | 740.00 |
| Licensing subtotal | 9,857.50 | |
| Ad permits, first month | 10 x 1,020 | 10,200.00 |
| Total before DET licence, chamber, course, rent and visas | 20,057.50 |
Two things stand out. First, the licensing fees that are published come to under AED 10,000 for three brokers, less than most people expect (the DET licence fee comes on top). Second, ad permits overtake it within a month if you list actively. A brokerage putting 30 new listings a month on the portals pays AED 30,600 a month in permits alone, which is why the listing pipeline deserves as much planning as the licence. Our Trakheesi permit guide explains what each permit covers.
The ERES line assumes the AED 50 plus VAT is charged once per card application. DLD lists it on the card page without saying how often it applies, so treat it as an estimate.
How to open a real estate company in Dubai, step by step
Step 1: Reserve a trade name and get initial approval (DET)
Apply through the Invest in Dubai portal. Khaleej Times (March 2025) reported AED 620 for the trade name and AED 120 for initial approval, and that a DET agent said an English trade name costs AED 2,000 extra. Initial approval lets you continue setting up; it does not let you trade.
Step 2: Lease the office and register the lease
Article 6(4) of Bylaw 85 needs the office's title deed or tenancy contract, and DET will want the office address for the licence. Register the lease through DLD's Ejari service: AED 100 plus AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees plus the service partner's fee, which DLD totals at AED 177.75 online or AED 220 at a trustee centre. DLD lists the trustee centre route at 25 minutes, not counting waiting time.
Step 3: Get the DET trade licence
Choose the brokerage activities (sales and purchase brokerage, leasing brokerage, or both), pay the licence fee DET quotes, and join the Dubai Chamber.
Step 4: Register with DLD and get the real estate activity licence
Create a Trakheesi account on the DLD website, apply for the real estate licence, upload the documents, wait for approval and pay AED 5,020. DLD's stated service time is one working day after a complete application. Bylaw 85 gives the regulator seven days to ask for missing documents (Article 7) and seven working days to refer the application to its committee (Article 9), so a messy file takes longer.
Step 5: Train, sit the exam and issue the broker cards
Each broker completes the accredited broker course, passes the exam (AED 720) and applies for a card (AED 520) with a photo, Emirates ID and a Dubai Police good conduct certificate. The card itself takes five minutes once approved and is printed from Trakheesi. DLD exempts from the exam people over 55, brokers with five consecutive years in the same office, and holders of a start-up licence. The full card process is in our RERA broker card guide.
Step 6: Register for anti-money laundering on goAML
Real estate brokers are Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professions (DNFBPs) under the Ministry of Economy, which says all DNFBPs must register on the goAML portal and that failing to do so can bring severe penalties. Do this before your first deal, not after.
Step 7: Get a permit for every ad
Before a listing goes on Property Finder, Bayut, Dubizzle, your website or Instagram, request an ad permit in Trakheesi with a copy of the marketing contract with the owner. AED 1,020 per permit, one working day.
How long does it take to get a real estate license in Dubai?
| Stage | Official or stated time | Source |
|---|---|---|
| DLD activity licence | 1 working day | DLD service page |
| Review of a Brokers Register application | Up to 7 days to request documents, 7 working days to refer to committee | Bylaw 85, Art. 7 and 9 |
| Broker training course | 4 days | Meydan Free Zone, October 2026 |
| Broker card | 5 minutes after approval | DLD service page |
| Office lease registration | 25 minutes at a trustee centre | DLD service page |
| Ad permit | 1 working day | DLD service page |
The government steps are quick. What takes time is everything around them: agreeing an office lease, visas and Emirates IDs for each broker, the good conduct certificates, a course date and an exam pass. Plan in weeks, not days, and do the visa and course bookings in parallel with the DET application rather than after it.
Can you apply for a real estate license in Dubai online?
Yes, almost entirely. The DET side runs through the Invest in Dubai portal. Every DLD step in this guide (the activity licence, broker cards, exam, renewals and ad permits) runs through Trakheesi on the DLD website, and card renewals and lease registration also run through the Dubai REST app. DLD also accepts licence applications through Invest in Dubai. You can check any office or broker's licence on DLD's public licensed offices and licensed brokers search, which is worth doing on every broker you hire.
What does a brokerage pay every year after opening?
| Obligation | Cost or rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| DLD activity licence renewal | AED 5,020 a year | DLD |
| Brokers Register renewal | Apply at least 30 days before the registration certificate expires | Bylaw 85, Art. 13 |
| Broker card renewal | AED 520 per broker a year; DLD says the applicant must have passed the annual test and all sales staff must hold cards | DLD |
| Trade licence renewal | As quoted by DET; card validity is tied to it | DLD card page |
| Office lease registration renewal | AED 177.75 or AED 220 | DLD |
| Ad permits | AED 1,020 per ad | DLD |
| goAML reporting | Report suspicious transactions; file a Real Estate Transaction Report for freehold deals with AED 55,000 or more in cash, or paid in virtual assets | Ministry of Economy; Circular 5 of 2022 |
For the same three-broker office, the yearly DLD renewal comes to AED 5,020 plus 3 x 520, which is AED 6,580, before ad permits, the DET licence and rent.
Watch out: the card validity is linked to the trade licence. Let the DET licence lapse by a week and every broker card on it lapses with it, which means nobody in the office may legally broker until it is renewed.
Anti-money laundering is a standing job
The UAE replaced its 2018 AML law with Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025, in force from 14 October 2025 (Al Tamimi, October 2025). The Real Estate Transaction Report rule comes from Ministry of Economy Circular No. 5 of 2022, in force from 1 July 2022: brokers and agents must file through goAML when a freehold purchase involves physical cash of AED 55,000 or more, in one payment or several linked ones, or is paid with virtual assets (Afridi and Angell, September 2022). Name a compliance officer, keep client ID and source of funds on file for every deal, and keep a record of every transaction, which Article 15 of Bylaw 85 already requires.
Losing the registration
Article 41 of Bylaw 85 lists the ways a broker loses registration, including suspending the business for more than 12 months in a row without a valid reason, breaking the bylaw, and registration obtained with false information. The brokerage committee can also warn, suspend for up to six months or blacklist (Article 39, as summarised by Al Tamimi).
Real estate license Dubai cost vs the cost of running the business
The licence is the smallest cheque you will write. The money in a Dubai brokerage goes on rent, visas, portal subscriptions, ad permits and, above all, on leads that nobody answers. Three habits are cheaper to start on day one than to retrofit after a year:
- Company numbers on the official WhatsApp API. If every client conversation lives on agents' personal phones, it leaves with them. Our guide to the WhatsApp Business API for real estate covers how a company or per-agent number works, and how to stop agents taking clients covers the rest.
- Portal accounts under the company. Property Finder, Bayut and Dubizzle accounts belong to the brokerage, with each agent as a user, so the listings and the leads stay when someone leaves.
- One place for every lead. Portal enquiries, WhatsApp, Instagram and website forms in one pipeline, with a rule for who answers a new lead and how fast.
That last point is what Majlis CRM is built for. Leads from Property Finder, Bayut, Dubizzle, WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram lead ads and your website land in one pipeline, and lead rotation passes a lead to the next agent if nobody calls in time. Listings go to Bayut and Dubizzle from the CRM, and a listing cannot be sent to the portals without its DLD permit number, which keeps the permit habit enforced from the first listing. When an agent leaves, their leads and contacts move to a shared pool instead of walking out the door. If you are setting up a new brokerage, book a demo and we will show you how a new office is set up.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a real estate license in Dubai?
The DLD real estate activity licence for a brokerage is AED 5,020 a year (AED 5,000 plus AED 20), as of October 2026. On top of that you pay for a DET trade licence, and each broker pays AED 720 for the exam and AED 520 for the card. Office rent, visas and the training course are extra.
What are the real estate license Dubai requirements?
Under Article 6 of Bylaw 85 of 2006 you need a DET trade licence, Dubai Chamber membership, an office with a title deed or tenancy contract, good conduct certificates for the owner and managers, a clean record, accredited training and a pass in the DLD exam. Each broker also needs an Emirates ID and a Dubai Police good conduct certificate for the card.
How much is the real estate broker license in Dubai for one agent?
For an individual joining a licensed brokerage, DLD's official fees are AED 720 for the exam and AED 520 for the broker card, then AED 520 a year to renew. The training course is extra and priced by the training provider. The agent cannot hold a card without a licensed brokerage behind it, because the card's validity is tied to the company's trade licence.
Can a free zone company open a real estate brokerage in Dubai?
DLD registers some free zone companies for real estate activities with an NOC from the free zone authority. DLD's service page does not say whether such a company may broker mainland Dubai property, and advisers disagree. Get written confirmation from the free zone and DLD for your exact activity before you commit.
Do I need a physical office to open a brokerage in Dubai?
Yes. Article 6(4) of Bylaw 85 requires the title deed of the brokerage office or a tenancy contract, and DLD registers the lease through Ejari for AED 177.75 online or AED 220 at a trustee centre.
Is a real estate brokerage in Dubai required to register on goAML?
Yes. The Ministry of Economy lists real estate brokers and agents as DNFBPs and says all DNFBPs must register on goAML. Brokers must also file a Real Estate Transaction Report for freehold purchases involving AED 55,000 or more in cash or any payment in virtual assets.
How long is a Dubai real estate licence valid?
DLD charges the activity licence as an annual fee, Bylaw 85 requires yearly renewal of the broker registration at least 30 days before expiry, and broker cards are renewed yearly. Card validity follows the trade licence, so renew DET and DLD together.
This is general information, not legal advice. Fees and rules change; confirm them with DET and the Dubai Land Department before you apply.
Sources
- Real Estate Activity License, Dubai Land Department, checked October 2026.
- Request for Issuing a Real Estate Activity Practice Card, Dubai Land Department, page updated 7 October 2026.
- Request for Renewal of a Real Estate Activity Practice Card, Dubai Land Department, checked October 2026.
- Register or Renew Ejari Contract, Dubai Land Department, checked October 2026.
- Real Estate Ad Permit, Dubai Land Department, checked October 2026.
- Licensed Real Estate Brokers Offices, Dubai Land Department.
- Bylaw No. 85 of 2006 Regulating the Real Estate Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai, English text via LegalAdviceMe, issued 30 May 2006.
- Brokers 101: What Every Property Purchaser Must Know About Real Estate Agents in Dubai, Al Tamimi and Company.
- Dubai trade licence: types, application process, verification explained, Khaleej Times, 15 March 2025.
- How to get a RERA approval for your real estate licence, Meydan Free Zone, updated 2 October 2026.
- Does your company fall under the DNFBP?, UAE Ministry of Economy, checked October 2026.
- New reporting requirements for specific real estate transactions, Afridi and Angell, September 2022.
- Shifting burdens and accountability: the new UAE AML law, Al Tamimi and Company, 28 October 2025.