Real Estate Brokerage Company in Dubai 2026: DET Licence, DLD Registration, Broker Cards and Costs

In short: To open a real estate brokerage company in Dubai, you obtain a DET trade licence with the activity Real Estate Buying & Selling Brokerage (6820004), Leasing Property Brokerage Agents (6820012) or both, register the licence with the Dubai Land Department through Trakheesi, and pay DLD’s annual activity fee of AED 5,000 plus AED 20. Each person who will broker then passes DLD’s annual broker exam and gets a broker card (AED 500), which stays valid only while the trade licence is valid. Advertising needs a DLD permit for each campaign or listing type, and the firm must register for anti-money laundering reporting on goAML.

This guide is for agents who want to open their own firm, investors who want to own a brokerage without brokering themselves, and founders abroad who are comparing Dubai with other markets. It covers the licence activities, how DET and DLD fit together, the person-level cards, advertising permits, anti-money laundering duties and a cost model built only from published fees. Every figure links to an official source, checked on 12 October 2026.

What licence does a real estate brokerage need in Dubai?

Mainland businesses in Dubai are licensed by activity. The official activity search from Invest in Dubai (DET) lists two brokerage activities for property:

Both activity pages cite Law No. 19 of 2017, which amended Law No. 13 of 2008 on the interim real estate register, and both list “Business License” as the licence type. Because these are professional activities, the rules in our professional licence guide on legal forms and local service agents apply. Check the legal forms offered for your activity on the DET portal when you apply, as the options shown can change.

How do DET and the Dubai Land Department fit together?

DLD’s own service card for the real estate activity licence sets the order: apply for the licence through DET, register in the Trakheesi system on the DLD website, then apply for a Real Estate Activity Practice Card once the licence is approved. Trakheesi is DLD’s online system for real estate licensing, cards and permits.

The two authorities do different jobs:

• DET (Invest in Dubai) reserves the trade name, issues the initial approval and the trade licence, and needs a registered business address, as for any mainland company.
• DLD reviews the real estate activity, collects its annual activity fee, keeps the brokers register and issues the practice cards and advertising permits. DLD lists the service time for the activity licence as 1 working day and accepts credit card, e-Dirham and Noqodi payments.

The legal backbone is older than most guides admit. Law No. 13 of 2008 defines a real estate broker as a person who carries on brokerage under Bylaw No. 85 of 2006 regulating the real estate brokers register in Dubai, and its Article 9 says a developer that markets a project through a broker must contract with a certified broker and register that contract with DLD.

What are the steps to open a real estate brokerage company?

Who needs a broker card, and how is it issued?

DLD’s practice card service is clear that nobody may practise a licensed activity until they have registered and obtained the card for it. For brokers, the published conditions are:

Two points follow. First, a licence owner who will not broker personally does not need a broker card for the firm to exist, but someone in the firm must hold one before any brokerage is done. Second, because the card dies with the trade licence, a late licence renewal stops every broker in the firm, so put the renewal date in the compliance calendar. Our expired licence guide explains what an expired licence blocks.

What rules apply to advertising property?

DLD’s real estate ad permit service, also run through Trakheesi, covers 14 types of advertising, from newspaper, SMS, outdoor, electronic and classified advertisements to open house events, promotional campaigns, exhibitions and project launches.

For most permit types DLD requires brokers to attach a copy of the marketing contract with the property owner. For exhibitions, documents must be filed at least one month ahead, sales are not allowed during the exhibition (only preliminary reservations), and off-plan property not registered with DLD’s escrow account department may not be shown. The service time is 1 working day. Do not run campaigns before the permit is issued, and keep the permit number with the advertisement.

What anti-money laundering duties does a brokerage have?

Real estate agents and brokers are designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) under UAE anti-money laundering law, and the Ministry of Economy is their supervisor. In August 2022 the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Justice and the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit announced that all real estate agents, brokers and law firms must report freehold sales and purchases to the FIU when the payment, for part or all of the price, includes:

• single or multiple cash payments of AED 55,000 or more;
• a virtual asset; or
• funds derived from a virtual asset.

The firm must obtain and record the identification documents of the parties, for individuals and companies alike, and reports are filed through the FIU’s goAML system. In practice this means a new brokerage needs a goAML registration, a compliance officer, written customer due diligence procedures and records from its first deal. Corporate buyers also raise beneficial ownership questions; our UBO register guide covers the company side.

How much does it cost to open a real estate brokerage in Dubai?

The largest costs are the office, staff and marketing. These are the government lines that are published today:

DET’s activity pages show an activity-related fee of AED 5,000 against each brokerage activity. If you hold both sales and leasing brokerage, confirm at the payment stage whether one or two DLD fees apply to your licence.

Illustrative first-year model (not a quote)

This example adds up only published lines. It assumes one activity (sales brokerage) and two people who sit the exam and take broker cards, and it leaves out the DET licence fee, office rent and Ejari, visas, medical tests, Emirates ID, insurance and any service provider’s fee.

For the DET side, our mainland setup cost guide lists each government fee with its source, and the business setup cost planner builds a budget line by line.

What office do you need?

Every mainland business needs a physical address, and at renewal DET reads the registered rent for your premises from the Ejari system. For a brokerage, the office is also where clients meet your agents and where your records are kept, so it carries more weight than for a holding company. Before you sign a lease or a business centre agreement, ask DET and DLD whether that premises type is accepted for a real estate brokerage, and keep the tenancy registered for the full licence year. Our office space guide compares business centres and offices, and our Ejari service handles the registration.

Can a free zone company broker Dubai property?

Possibly, but not on the free zone licence alone. DLD’s real estate activity licence service states that free zone licences need a no-objection certificate from the licensing authority, and that for licences in freehold areas a no-objection letter from the licensing entity must be attached. The issued document for free zone applicants is that NOC. Ask the free zone in writing whether its licence allows real estate brokerage for property outside the zone, then follow DLD’s registration and card steps. Founders who want to work with the public across Dubai usually find the DET mainland route simpler.

Illustrative scenarios

These are illustrative examples to show how the rules apply. They are not real client cases.

• Example 1: two agents start a boutique firm. Two experienced agents leave an agency to open a sales and leasing brokerage. They reserve the name, take both activities, register in Trakheesi and pay the DLD fees. Their existing cards are tied to their old employer’s licence, so they plan the visa and card changes for the day the new licence is issued, and they do not advertise until the new firm’s ad permits are in place.
• Example 2: an investor in London who will not broker. A UK-based investor wants to own a leasing brokerage and hire a licensed manager. The licence can be set up with a representative, but no brokerage can happen until at least one employee passes the exam and holds a broker card. The investor budgets for the manager’s visa and card before the launch date.
• Example 3: a lettings business that wants to collect rent. A founder plans to find tenants and then manage the units for landlords. Leasing brokerage (6820012) ends once landlord and tenant agree, so collecting rent and managing units for others needs the separate leasing and management activity, with the AED 15,000 DLD fee and the AED 5 million bank guarantee. The founder starts with brokerage only and revisits management later.

Can you open a Dubai brokerage while living abroad?

Yes, for the company set-up, but not for the brokering. Founders in the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand can reserve the name, and apply for initial approval and the licence online or through a representative. What you cannot do remotely is take a broker card yourself: the card needs an Emirates ID, a Dubai Police good conduct certificate and the exam. Plan who will be the first card holder, and remember that the UAE is UTC+4 with government offices working Monday to Friday. Our business setup service runs the DET and visa side for founders who are not yet in the UAE.

Common mistakes when opening a real estate brokerage

• Advertising listings before the firm and the broker are registered with DLD and the ad permit is issued.
• Taking leasing brokerage and then collecting rent and managing units, which is a separate DLD activity.
• Letting the trade licence lapse, which also ends every broker card tied to it.
• Signing an office lease before checking that the premises are accepted for the activity.
• Skipping goAML registration because the first deals are small, then receiving a cash or crypto-funded deal with no process in place.
• Assuming a free zone licence lets you broker mainland Dubai property without a DLD NOC.

What about tax?

• VAT: registration is mandatory once taxable supplies pass AED 375,000, and voluntary from AED 187,500. Commission income counts towards the threshold, so track it monthly.
• Corporate tax: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above that. Every company must register; see our corporate tax registration guide.

Questions people ask