How to Become a Real Estate Agent in Dubai (2026): Steps, Costs, the Exam

To work as a real estate agent (broker) in Dubai you need a real estate licence held by an office, that licence registered in DLD’s Trakheesi system, a certificate of good conduct from Dubai Police, a pass in the broker exam (the RERA exam), and then a broker card issued through Trakheesi. The DLD broker exam fee is AED 720 (AED 700 + AED 10 knowledge + AED 10 innovation). The Dubai Land Department (DLD) charges AED 500 for the card, plus the same two AED 10 fees and an ERES fee of AED 50 plus VAT. Unless one of DLD’s three listed exemptions applies, you must pass the exam before the card is issued. The card’s validity is linked to the validity of the trade licence, and the annual test is required for card renewal unless an exemption DLD lists applies. This page sets out each step in order, what every official fee is, who is exempt from the exam, and what the official pages do not say about visas, experience and freelancing.

DLD broker card and real estate ad permit e-services, read 28 October 2026. AED 720 is our sum of the three exam fees.

RERA’s 2024 Real Estate Brokerage Practice Guide gives the route in four lines under “How to Obtain a Real Estate Broker Card”: a real estate licence is first obtained from the licensing authorities; the licence is registered in the Trakheesi system on DLD’s website; the broker card application is submitted through Trakheesi; and once the fees are settled, the electronic card is issued. DLD’s broker card e-service page adds the two personal conditions: a certificate of good conduct issued by the Dubai Police, and that “The applicant must have passed the annual test to practice the mediation profession”.

Two lines on the card page settle a question many people ask first. “No person shall have the right to practice the activity registered in the license except after registering and obtaining the card designated for the type of activity.” And Bylaw No. (85) of 2006, Article (3): “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.” So the card is not optional, and it is not a personal licence that floats free of an office: DLD’s page lists the “Residency Status” for the service as “Company”, and the card is applied for through the licensed office’s Trakheesi account. The power behind the card is in RERA’s current law, Law No. (4) of 2019, which superseded Law No. (16) of 2007: RERA is to register the persons conducting real property activities and “issue identification cards for individuals engaged in Real Property Activities” (Article 5).

The DLD broker exam fee is AED 720 (AED 700 + AED 10 knowledge + AED 10 innovation). The sources we read do not specify retake fees or conditions, so confirm them with DLD before booking another attempt, and sit a full timed mock before you book the first. Our exam format, fee and pass mark guide covers the card application, the pass mark and renewal in more detail.

DLD’s e-service pages do not state a pass mark, and we found no statement of the number of questions or a time limit in the official sources reviewed. RERA Circular 31/2014 sets the pass mark at 85% on the initial licensing exam and the annual renewal exam. The circular is dated 04/11/2014, took effect on 1 April 2015 and is listed on DLD’s rules and regulations page. The exam is also separate from DLD’s training courses: DLD’s training page says “there is no exam after the training” and that exams are conducted separately for certain categories such as brokers, and it lists “Multiple Attempts” among its features. RERA’s 2024 Practice Guide shows sample questions under two domain headings, “Real Estate Mathematics” and “Laws and Legislation”, with the conversion 1 sqm = 10.764 sqft used in its worked area sums.

RERA’s 2024 guide describes everyday broker procedures and links to the Brokers Register bylaw; the exam topics around it are the laws behind that work: land registration, escrow, rent, the DLD contracts and the ethics rules. Our guide to Form F, Form A, Oqood and Ejari covers the contracts; our commission and ethics guide covers remuneration, cold calling and anti-money laundering duties; and our 14-day plan lays the topics out day by day. If you want that plan done for you, the Dubai RERA Broker Exam Complete Pass Pack has its own 14-day practice plan, about 75 minutes a day on average (days 12 and 13 are each a separate 70-question full mock with a 120-minute limit), 6 timed practice mocks of 70 questions with a 120-minute limit (our practice format, not a confirmed official one), 8 topic drills and 6 scenario drills, Revise fast answer cards whose explanations cite the law, bylaw or official DLD/RERA guidance behind them, a plain-English revision kit PDF and the Annual Renewal Refresher, with no expiry. You can try 4 free questions first.

The card is the start of a set of duties. RERA’s 2024 guide requires brokers to use the smart contracts A, B and F for marketing and sales, to obtain a Trakheesi permit for any real estate advertisement and display the permit number, and to download the Dubai REST app; it also says brokers may not contact owners not on the green list. Under DLD Circular 02-2026, direct contact with owners or investors to offer, market or purchase properties is prohibited, except for clients with duly documented prior transactions with the office, supported by an approved record available to RERA on request; the circular does not mention the green list, so green-list inclusion alone is not a stated exception. Bylaw No. (85) of 2006 adds the record-keeping and disclosure duties: a broker must record every transaction in a private register and keep the documents (Article 15), and disclose negotiation details to the client (Article 17). The Bylaw’s penalties run from notice and warning to suspension for up to six months and blacklisting (Article 39); registration is cancelled for breaching the code of professional ethics, a gross violation, or three black points (Article 40).

If you are about to book, the Dubai RERA Broker Exam Complete Pass Pack provides its own 14-day practice plan, about 75 minutes a day on average (days 12 and 13 are each a separate 70-question full mock with a 120-minute limit), and you can try 4 free questions first; our worked sample questions show the style too.

Independent — not affiliated with or endorsed by the Dubai Land Department or RERA.