How to Check a Dubai Property Agent Before You Transfer Money
The Dubai Land Department counted 32,294 registered brokers and 9,785 licensed brokerage offices at the end of 2025. The firm that called you is either in those registers or it is not, and finding out takes ninety seconds.
This page is about verifying the company and the person before money moves. The property itself is a separate job, covered in how to check property ownership in Dubai. Do both.
Key Takeaways
- Three numbers, not one: the firm's ORN, the person's BRN, a Trakheesi permit on every advert. All free on Dubai REST.
- The trade licence must list the right activity. A Dubai address proves nothing; a Department of Economy and Tourism licence does.
- Money goes to the project escrow account or the registration trustee. Never an agency, a person, or a third country.
- No DLD project number and no escrow account means the unit cannot legally be sold. Law No. 8 of 2007 is why.
- Recovery is poor once money has gone. Banks recall transfers minutes old, almost never days old.
The three identifiers, and what each covers
ORN — the office registration number
This belongs to the brokerage company. Check it under "Verify Licence and Permits" on the DLD site or in Dubai REST. A valid record returns the trade name, the status and an expiry date. If that name is not the one in the email signature, someone is borrowing a licence.
BRN — the broker registration number
This belongs to the individual. Every practising broker passes the Dubai Real Estate Institute exam and carries a card showing name, photograph, BRN and expiry. Use e-card verification in Dubai REST and match photo and firm to the person in front of you. A real firm can employ an agent whose card lapsed months ago, and that agent cannot lawfully act for you.
Trakheesi — the advertising permit
This belongs to the listing. Every Dubai property advert needs a permit number from the DLD's Trakheesi system before it goes live. In Dubai REST, tap Services, then Verify Permit: the record returns the status, the property reference, the agent and brokerage names and an expiry date. Print and broadcast ads carry a Madmoun QR code resolving to the same data.
Cross-referencing is the point: if the permit names a different firm or agent than the ORN and BRN you were given, stop. Advertising without a valid permit is an offence, and the DLD has fined batches of 30 firms at AED 50,000 each for missing, borrowed or expired numbers.
The trade licence, and why the activity matters
Underneath the DLD registration sits an ordinary commercial licence from the Department of Economy and Tourism, free to check on the DET portal: status, expiry, trade name and approved activities. That last field is the one people skip.
Real estate is licensed by activity: buying and selling brokerage, leasing brokerage, management supervision, valuation. A firm licensed only to manage property cannot broker your purchase, and a "valuation" from a firm with no valuation activity is marketing with a number on it.
The commonest red flag is the polished website with a Dubai address, no ORN on the page and no DET record at all. A flexi-desk address costs little; a licensed real estate activity does not. The same test applies to whoever later runs the asset — see property management in Dubai.
Run it on your own numbers. Set the price, the rent and the service charge and the calculator gives you the fees, the cash you need on day one and what the rent leaves after costs — in your own currency.
Dubai property calculator — costs, cash needed and net rent
Works from any country: pick your currency, or type your own rate. Fees follow the DLD schedule; rent figures are yours to set.
| Charge | AED | Your currency |
|---|
Fee basis: DLD transfer 4% of price, plus a DLD admin fee of AED 580 on a ready unit and AED 40 at Oqood on an off-plan one; registration trustee AED 4,000 below AED 500,000 and AED 4,200 above, plus 5% VAT; title deed and map about AED 500; agency 2% plus 5% VAT where used; mortgage registration 0.25% of the loan plus AED 290. Rates shown are indicative, read on 9 September 2026, and the pegged ones (USD and the GCC currencies) do not move — edit the rate box for anything else. This is an estimate to plan with, not a quotation, and it does not cover tax in your own country.
The money rule: where your funds may go
Buying off-plan: under Law No. 8 of 2007 your payments go into the project's escrow account, opened in that project's name at an approved bank, so money from one project cannot fund another. The developer draws in stages, each release certified by an independent project consultant, and the escrow agent holds back 5% for a year after completion.
Buying resale: nothing goes to an agency. The 10% deposit at Form F is a manager's cheque made out to the seller and held, not banked. At transfer you attend a DLD registration trustee office with manager's cheques drawn on cleared funds, one to the seller and one for the DLD fee, and the title deed issues there. The buying process runs in that order every time.
Accounts that should never receive your money: the agency's own, any individual's, anything outside the UAE, a crypto wallet, a WhatsApp payment link.
The escrow check is easy. The account number sits on the project's DLD record, and off-plan adverts must show the developer name, that number and the completion date. Pull it yourself and compare it with the invoice. One digit different is the fraud, not a typo.
Off-plan: registration, escrow, then Oqood
An off-plan project must be registered with the DLD and its escrow account open before a single unit is sold. Check it in Dubai REST under Projects: you want a registration number, a named developer and an escrow account.
Once you sign, the purchase goes onto the interim register through Oqood, giving you a registered interest in a building that does not yet exist. A "pre-launch" whose reservation form cites neither a project number nor an escrow account is not an early opportunity: the unit cannot be sold and the deposit is gone. See off-plan property in Dubai for how a real launch works.
The verification checklist
| Ask for | Check it | Pass | Fail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company ORN | DLD "Verify Licence and Permits" | Active, name matches | No record, expired, different name |
| Agent BRN and card | Dubai REST e-card check | Valid, photo and firm match | Expired, or firm differs from the ORN |
| Trakheesi permit | Dubai REST, Verify Permit | Active, names that agent and firm | Missing, expired, names someone else |
| Trade licence activity | DET portal | Active, lists brokerage | No licence, or wrong activity |
| Project registration | Dubai REST, Projects | Project number, developer, escrow | "Pre-launch", no number, no escrow |
| Payee bank details | DLD escrow record | Project escrow, exact digits | Agency, personal or overseas |
| Seller's mandate (resale) | Signed Form A | Same firm named on it | None, or a different brokerage |
The patterns that actually catch people
Nobody loses money to an obviously fake website. They lose it to a confident person at a hotel roadshow in Delhi, London or Lagos holding a floor plan and a deadline:
- A reservation fee due the same day, before you have a project number to check.
- A discount that expires tonight. Real developer incentives run for weeks and are published. Urgency exists to stop you checking.
- A payment link or details for a personal or third-country account, often called an "international collections account".
- A guaranteed net return in writing from the broker. Guarantees are the developer's to give, in the developer's contract.
- A reservation form naming no project number, no escrow account and no developer entity, just a name and a logo.
- A WhatsApp-only counterparty with no ORN and a company that resolves to nothing on DET.
The counter is dull and effective: pay nothing on the day you are asked. Take the three numbers home, check them cold, pay next week if they clear. If you cannot come to Dubai, buying without visiting sets out how a remote purchase runs.
If it has already gone wrong
- Call your bank's fraud line first. A recall has a real chance in the first hours, almost none after days.
- File against the company through the DLD's Real Estate Violations System, on Dubai REST or the DLD website. No fee, a first response usually inside five working days. Transactions older than six months may not be taken.
- If a tenancy is involved, that goes to the Rental Dispute Centre instead: 3.5% of annual rent, minimum AED 500, capped at AED 20,000.
- Report the fraud to Dubai Police through the e-crime platform at ecrime.ae, the Dubai Police app, or 901.
Be realistic. UAE authorities can freeze a suspect account quickly, but once funds leave the country recovery is unlikely, and cross-border cases run two to six months before ending in a file rather than a refund. Checking beforehand is the real protection.
For Indian buyers, the remittance is part of the defence
Pay through banking channels under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, with a Form A2 and the purpose code for acquiring immovable property abroad. Above ₹10 lakh of LRS remittance in a financial year, 20% TCS applies on the excess and is creditable against your Indian tax, so it is a cash-flow cost rather than a real one. What you get is a dated, traceable record of who was paid and for what. Anyone offering to move funds informally to save the TCS is deleting your only evidence. More in buying property in Dubai from India.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a Dubai real estate company is licensed?
Run the firm's ORN through "Verify Licence and Permits" on the DLD site or Dubai REST, then check its trade licence on the Department of Economy and Tourism portal. Both are free. Confirm the name matches and the licence lists a brokerage activity.
What is the difference between an ORN and a BRN?
The ORN identifies the brokerage office; the BRN identifies the individual broker, whose card shows name, photo, number and expiry. A valid office does not make the individual valid, so check both.
Can I pay a Dubai agency directly for an off-plan unit?
No. Off-plan payments belong in the project's escrow account under Law No. 8 of 2007, and that account number appears on the DLD project record. Compare it against the invoice before transferring anything.
What is a Trakheesi permit number?
It is the DLD advertising permit every Dubai listing must carry. Verify it in Dubai REST under Services, Verify Permit: the record returns the status, the property reference and the agent and brokerage names. An advert without one is a breach.
What if I have already transferred money to a fake agent?
Call your bank's fraud line immediately, then file with the DLD's Real Estate Violations System and report it to Dubai Police through ecrime.ae. Act within days: recall windows are short and older complaints may be refused.
Send us the company name, the ORN from their signature and the permit number on the listing, and we will run all three against the DLD registers before you sign anything.
