Getting licensed in Dubai
What to establish before you become a Dubai broker: the brokerage, the exam, the broker card, and the residence and work requirements, with the fees we cite sourced to their publisher.
The short answer
Becoming a Dubai broker means joining a licensed brokerage and holding an individual broker card with a Brokers Registration Number. The Dubai Land Department lists a broker exam with published exemptions, and residence and work requirements apply as well. The brokerage's own ORN is separate and is what you should check first.
Questions about this
The ones that come up most often, answered without a pitch.
A brokerage holds the business licence and an ORN, and each broker holds an individual broker card with a BRN. The Dubai Land Department lists a broker exam that some applicants are exempt from, and residence and work requirements apply as well. The card is one requirement before you start brokerage activity, not the only one, so choose a licensed firm and confirm what applies to you before you pay for anything.
The Dubai Land Department's training page lists the Real Estate Brokerage Exam at AED 772.50, and its practice-card page separately itemises the exam and associated charges and lists AED 500 for issuing the broker card (both read on 21 and 22 October 2026). These are separate charges, not the cost of joining, so ask for an itemised quote and confirm what each amount includes.
A Brokers Registration Number identifies an individual licensed broker and is tied to the brokerage they work for. The firm holds a separate Office Registration Number. The Dubai Land Department lists AED 500 for issuing the practice card.
Residency is among the requirements the Land Department lists for adding a broker, and the card service asks for a copy of the Emirates ID. The sources we checked do not set one order for everyone, and the right route depends on your arrangement. A firm can tell you whether it sponsors, and what happens to that sponsorship if you leave.
The Dubai Land Department publishes the exemptions, which include applicants above 55 years of age and brokers with five consecutive years at the same office. The practice-card page also lists having passed the annual test to practise the mediation profession among its terms. It does not describe the test or its timing, so confirm the current requirements with the Department.
Written by House Of Orange, a licensed Dubai brokerage that also recruits agents
House Of Orange Real Estate is a licensed Dubai brokerage, ORN 49865. We publish this because we recruit, and we would rather you put the questions on these pages to us than take our word for anything. If a firm cannot answer them, that is the answer.