Becoming a Real Estate Agent in Dubai
The RERA Licence, the Exam, and What DLD Actually Charges
Two licences stand between you and a legal commission in Dubai: the firm’s and your own. This guide follows the path the regulator actually sets out — the brokers register under Bylaw No. (85) of 2006, the Dubai Land Department exam, the practice card, and the published fees — and is explicit about the one cost nobody publishes.
What a “RERA Licence” in Dubai Actually Is
Almost everyone searching for a RERA licence is looking for one thing and will be handed two. There is the firm’s licence — a trade licence plus entry in the real estate brokers register that the regulator maintains — and there is the individual’s practice card, issued in your own name and carrying your registration number. You cannot legally broker a Dubai property with only one of them.
The governing instrument is Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 Regulating the Real Estate Brokers Register in the Emirate of Dubai. Article 3 is the operative prohibition: no person may engage in real estate brokerage activities in the Emirate unless he is licensed by the competent entities and entered in the Register. That single sentence is why the card matters more than any business card, and why verifying the card is the first thing a careful buyer does.
The bylaw splits registrants into two categories, with Category A covering experienced brokers already registered and Category B covering those requiring licensing by the competent entities. For a Category B entry, Article 6 sets out what must be produced: a valid trade licence, a Dubai Chamber of Commerce membership certificate, a passport copy, an office title deed or tenancy contract, a good conduct certificate for the owner and managing directors, confirmation that no director has been declared bankrupt or convicted of a crime affecting trustworthiness, real estate training course completion certificates, and a pass in the test administered by the Department.
Read that list again and one thing stands out: an office title deed or tenancy contract. The bylaw assumes a firm with premises. This is the structural reason an individual cannot simply buy a broker card and start working — the card hangs off a licensed business, and the Dubai Land Department states plainly that the validity of the card is linked to the validity of the trade licence.
The Dubai Broker Licence at a Glance
What the regulator requires
What the Land Department Charges, Line by Line
These are the Dubai Land Department’s own charges for issuing a real estate activity practice card. They are the regulator’s fees only. Training delivered by a third-party institute sits outside this schedule and is priced separately — a point we return to below, because it is the one number in this process that is not published.
| Item | Fee as Published by DLD | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Real estate broker card | AED 500 | The core card |
| Broker exam | AED 700, plus AED 10 knowledge fee and AED 10 innovation fee | Per sitting |
| ERES fee | AED 50 + VAT | Small add-on |
| Real estate consultant card | AED 500 | Separate activity |
| Mortgage broker card | AED 500 | Separate activity |
| Other practice cards | AED 500 each | Per activity |
| Real estate evaluator card | AED 5,000 | Valuation only |
| Certified training course | Not published by DLD | Confirm with provider |
| Stated service delivery time | 5 minutes | DLD published figure |
Source: Dubai Land Department, “Request for issuing a real estate activity practice card” e-service page, dubailand.gov.ae, retrieved 7 October 2026. Fees are the regulator’s own published charges and exclude third-party training costs and any VAT not shown. Confirm current fees with DLD before applying. The full DLD transaction fee schedule for buyers and sellers is set out in our DLD fees guide.
Six Steps From Nothing to a Broker Card
The order matters. Five of these six steps are cheap and quick; one of them is the reason the process takes months rather than weeks.
Checking whether the agent advising you is actually carded?
Send TruHauz the name and the listing. We will tell you what the register shows, which firm the card sits under, and whether the advertisement carries a valid permit.
What the Bylaw Puts on You Once You Are Registered
A broker card is not a qualification you hang on a wall. It is entry into a register that carries continuing duties, and a disciplinary scale attached to them.
You Are a Discloser, Both Ways
Article 17 obliges a broker to disclose the details of the negotiation, and Article 19 requires faithful disclosure even though the broker represents one party. Article 15 requires transaction records to be maintained. The duty does not switch off because the other side is unrepresented.
The Brokerage Agreement Is Not Optional
Article 26 requires every brokerage agreement to be in writing, naming the parties, specifying the property and setting the brokerage terms. Article 27 leaves remuneration to agreement between the parties, falling back on prevailing practice only where there is none. Article 28(1) earns the fee only if a contract is concluded.
The Disciplinary Scale Is Real
Article 39 runs from notice and warning through suspension for up to six months to blacklisting. Article 40 permits cancellation of registration for ethics breaches, gross violations, or where a broker accumulates three black points, with a fifteen-day right of grievance.
Not legal advice. This article summarises Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 and fees published by the Dubai Land Department as retrieved on 7 October 2026. Article numbering, fees, exemptions and procedure can change, and the regulator applies them to individual facts. Confirm your own position with the Dubai Land Department or a licensed UAE legal adviser before acting.
Frequently Asked Questions
The questions people ask most often about getting a RERA licence and broker card in Dubai.
Work With a Licensed Team
Whether you are entering the profession or checking the person who claims to be in it, TruHauz is a RERA-registered brokerage and will tell you plainly what the register shows.
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