BRN, ORN and the broker card in Dubai
The short answer
A BRN identifies an individual licensed broker, while an ORN identifies the brokerage. To check a broker, search the Dubai Land Department's licensed-brokers directory by name and compare the broker number and firm shown. The directory also accepts an ORN to search for the brokerage.
Your number identifies you; the firm's number identifies the business. They are not interchangeable, and each is checked on its own record. The difference matters most when you verify a brokerage before joining, and when you work out what changes if you move between firms.
By House Of Orange editorial. A licensed Dubai real estate brokerage, ORN 49865, at The Opal Tower, Business Bay. About the firm
Key points
- BRN is the broker's, ORN is the firm's
- Two different numbers. A broker's directory entry names the firm; the firm itself is checked by its ORN
- Where to check
- The Dubai Land Department's licensed-brokers directory, searchable by broker, office, mobile number, area or ORN
- The card fee
- AED 500 for issuing a real estate broker card. Exam and other fees are listed separately. DLD, checked 20 Oct 2026
- Linked to the firm's licence
- The Department links the card's validity to the brokerage's trade licence
BRN and ORN: what the two numbers are
A Brokers Registration Number (BRN) identifies you as an individual licensed to broker in Dubai. An Office Registration Number (ORN) identifies the brokerage as a licensed business. The Department's directory labels an individual's number "Broker Number"; in this guide it is called the BRN.
Because the Department links a card's validity to the brokerage's trade licence, the two are related, but each identifies something different: the BRN the broker, the ORN the firm. A broker's directory entry names the firm. To check the brokerage itself, search the directory for its ORN or office.
Ask any brokerage you are considering for its ORN, and look it up yourself rather than relying on a number printed on its website.
BRN, the Brokers Registration Number
Yours. Identifies you as a licensed individual broker.
ORN, the Office Registration Number
The firm's. Identifies the brokerage as a licensed business. Check this one before you join.
Where to look each one up
The Dubai Land Department publishes a directory of licensed real estate brokers. It can be searched by broker, office, mobile number, area or ORN. To check a broker, search for their name and compare the broker number and the firm shown with what you have been told. To check a brokerage, search for its ORN or office name.
Finding a record in the directory is different from verifying a document. The Department's separate Verify License and Permits service lets a customer verify the electronic copy of a licence or permit issued through its Trakheesi system. It is available through the Department's website or app.
How clients check an agent, and what an agent can show a client, has its own guide.
What the card costs and what it requires
The Dubai Land Department's service page for issuing a real estate professional practice card lists AED 500 for a real estate broker card. On the same page it lists AED 700 for the broker exam, with an AED 10 knowledge fee and an AED 10 innovation fee, and an ERES fee of AED 50 plus VAT. The page notes that terms and conditions apply. Checked 20 October 2026. Confirm the fees that apply to your application on the Department's current service page.
The documents the service lists include a personal photo and a copy of your Emirates ID. Among the eligibility conditions are a certificate of good conduct from Dubai Police and having passed the annual test for the mediation profession.
The Department's published service time for issuing the card is five minutes. That is the time for the issuance service only. It does not include training, the exam or any other requirement before you can start work.
The service terms also state that the validity of the card is linked to the validity of the trade licence, and that no one may practise the activity registered in the licence except after registering and obtaining the card for it. Checking the brokerage's licence before you join is therefore part of checking your own position.
What to establish when you change brokerage
The Dubai Land Department links the card's validity to the brokerage's trade licence. Before changing firms, ask your current and prospective brokerages which registration steps apply to your case and confirm those requirements with the Department. Establish who handles each step and when you can start brokerage activity with the new firm.
The negotiation around leaving, including deals in flight and the clauses worth reading before resigning, has its own piece in the section on the job itself.
Keeping it current
The Department's renewal service lists AED 500 for renewing a real estate broker card, and its terms say the applicant must have passed the annual test for the mediation profession. Card validity remains linked to the firm's trade licence. Checked 20 October 2026.
Confirm current renewal requirements with the Dubai Land Department rather than with an employer or an article, because requirements can change. The renewal guide covers the steps.
Keep your own copy of your card and number, so you can show them without asking anyone else.
If you are unsure which registration steps apply to you, ask the Department. Questions about work permission or employment terms, where they apply, are for MOHRE, and the pieces on withheld visas and unpaid commission cover the employment side.
What this page relies on
Government bodies and regulators only. Each link carries the date we last read it against the text above.
- Dubai Land Department, Issuance of a real estate professional practice card (fees, service time, documents, service terms)
- Dubai Land Department, Renewing a real estate professional practice card (fee and annual test condition)
- Dubai Land Department, Licensed Real Estate Brokers (the public directory, searchable by broker, office, mobile number, area or ORN)
- Dubai Land Department, Verify License and Permits (verifies the electronic copy of licences and permits issued through Trakheesi)
Questions about this
The ones that come up most often, answered without a pitch.
A BRN (Brokers Registration Number) identifies an individual licensed broker. An ORN (Office Registration Number) identifies the brokerage as a licensed business. The Dubai Land Department's licensed-brokers directory shows a broker's number beside the firm's name and accepts an ORN in its search, so each can be looked up. A broker's entry names the firm; to check the firm itself, search for its ORN.
The Dubai Land Department lists AED 500 for issuing a real estate broker card. On the same page it lists AED 700 for the broker exam, with an AED 10 knowledge fee and an AED 10 innovation fee, and an ERES fee of AED 50 plus VAT, and notes that terms and conditions apply. Its published service time for the card issuance service is five minutes. Checked 20 October 2026; confirm current figures on the DLD service page.
To find a broker or a brokerage, search the Dubai Land Department's licensed-brokers directory by broker, office, mobile number, area or ORN. To verify the electronic copy of a licence or permit you have been given, use the Department's Verify License and Permits service, which is available through its website or app. How clients check an agent has its own guide.
Whether a broker can be registered with more than one brokerage is a question for the Dubai Land Department. The Department links a card's validity to the brokerage's trade licence, so confirm the position for your case with the Department before relying on any arrangement.
Which registration steps apply to a move, and who must take them, is for the Dubai Land Department to establish, so ask the Department. Employment questions, where they apply, are for MOHRE, and the guides on withheld visas and unpaid commission cover that side. Ask both brokerages which steps apply, who handles each one, and when you can start work, before you resign.
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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.