Broker License Lookup: How to Verify a Dubai Real Estate Agent Before You Sign Anything
Why this matters before you sign anything
Dubai's secondary market runs on brokers you meet for the first time at a viewing. Most are legitimate. Some are not licensed at all, or their license lapsed months ago. Either way, if you hand over a deposit or sign an MOU with someone who isn't properly registered, you have no real recourse if the deal goes wrong — and you may still owe commission to a brokerage that never authorized the person showing you the unit.
DLD publishes a public Broker Details dataset that lets you check this yourself, for free, in about a minute. Here's what's in it and how to use it.
What DLD's Broker Details dataset actually contains
Under the "Broker Details" section of DLD's Real Estate Data portal, you can search and download broker records that include:
- Broker Number — their unique license ID
- Broker Name
- Gender
- License Start Date
- License End Date
- Website, Phone, Fax
- Real Estate Number and Real Estate Name — the brokerage they're registered under
You can filter by gender and by a date range, then search or download the results as a CSV.
The 60-second check
Before you sign an MOU, pay a reservation deposit, or hand over passport copies, do this:
- Get their full name and broker number. A licensed agent should give you this without hesitation — it's usually on their business card or in their WhatsApp signature.
- Search the Broker Details dataset on DLD's open data portal using their name or broker number.
- Compare three things against what they told you:
- Does the Real Estate Name on file match the brokerage they claim to work for?
- Is today's date before the License End Date? If the license has expired, treat them as unlicensed regardless of what their card says.
- Does the record exist at all? No match is itself a red flag.
- Cross-check the brokerage separately if the deal involves a developer directly — DLD's Developer Details records (registration date, license number, license expiry) work the same way for verifying the company side of an off-plan deal.
If any of this doesn't line up — expired license, mismatched brokerage, no record — that's your cue to walk away or ask the person to explain the discrepancy before you go any further.
What the dataset won't tell you
DLD's Broker Details fields stop at license status and the brokerage of record. The source data does not include disciplinary history, complaint records, or a live "verified/flagged" status beyond the start and end dates listed. If you want to confirm something the dataset doesn't cover — a specific complaint, for instance — you'll need to go through DLD's own complaint or support channels rather than guess based on this dataset alone.
Why this is worth the minute it takes
An expired or fabricated license doesn't just risk fraud — it affects your budget. If you're buying, remember the licensed broker's ~2% commission (resale deals) sits alongside the DLD transfer fee (~4% of the price), a trustee registration fee, and, if you're financing, a mortgage registration fee plus a bank valuation fee. Paying that commission to someone who turns out not to be properly licensed is money you're unlikely to recover.
Before you get to the paperwork stage, it's worth running the numbers on the full transaction with a mortgage calculator or comparing buy-vs-rent scenarios with our rent vs. buy guide. And if you're shortlisting agents or brokerages more broadly, browse verified profiles under agents and developers on Keyva, or run a quick check through our own verify tool.
Quick reference
| Check | Where to look | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| License is current | License End Date field | Date is in the past |
| Brokerage matches claim | Real Estate Name field | Name doesn't match what they told you |
| Record exists | Broker Number search | No match found |
| Developer legitimacy (off-plan) | Developer Details dataset | Missing or expired license number |
Source: DLD Real Estate Data — Broker Details
This article is informational, not legal or financial advice. DLD's own data portal is the authoritative source — always verify directly there before relying on any third-party summary, including this one.