Most founders think the trade license is the finish line. For a real estate company in Dubai, it is step one of three. The company that issues your Department of Economy and Tourism (DET, formerly DED) license cannot let you list a single property, sign an agency agreement with a developer, or close a deal. That permission comes from a separate registration with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA), followed by an individual broker card for every agent who will transact. Skip that sequence and you spend three to six weeks legally unable to trade, often after you have already told developers you are open.
This guide walks the full path: the activity to register, the structure that actually works, the real all-in cost (not the headline number), and the order of operations that decides whether you are trading in two weeks or stuck for two months. The figures are the ones we quote in client consultations as of June 2026.
This article covers business registration costs and regulatory compliance, which carry real financial and legal consequences. It is general information, not legal or financial advice. Fees set by the DET, RERA, and Dubai Land Department are reviewed periodically; confirm current rates with the relevant authority before you budget or commit.
To start a real estate brokerage in Dubai, you need a mainland DET commercial license with real estate brokerage as the registered activity, a separate RERA company registration, and an individual RERA broker card for every agent. The license can be ready in days; the company is not legally allowed to trade until RERA registration and broker cards are complete, which typically adds three to six weeks per agent.
The mistake that costs founders weeks: treating the DET license as the finish line
The most expensive and most common error we see is assuming the company is operational the moment the trade license is issued. It is not. For a real estate brokerage, the DET license is the prerequisite, not the permission to trade. Here is the actual sequence.
- Step one: the DET mainland trade license
You apply to the Department of Economy and Tourism for a mainland commercial license with real estate brokerage as the primary registered activity. Because brokerage is a regulated activity, this is not a single-authority approval: the DET requires external sign-off from RERA before it will issue the license. The chain runs DET initial approval, then RERA clearance on the activity, then DET license issuance. Map your activities to the DET activity list correctly before you submit. Adding the wrong activity, or missing a secondary one you will need later, triggers an amendment cycle that adds days or weeks.
- Step two: RERA company registration
Once the DET license exists, the company must be registered with RERA as a brokerage. This is a separate application, a separate fee, and a separate approval, not a box ticked during the license process. RERA company registration typically takes one to two weeks from the DET license date. Without it, the company holds a license but cannot operate as a broker.
- Step three: individual RERA broker cards
This is the step founders forget to budget time for. Every person who will negotiate, list, or close a transaction, including the owner if they plan to sell, needs a personal RERA broker card. To get one, the agent completes the RERA Certified Training for Real Estate Brokers (the four-day classroom course delivered through approved RERA training providers), passes the RERA exam, and then applies for the card. No agent can legally transact without a valid personal card, regardless of the company's status. Plan three to six weeks per agent, driven by training scheduling and exam availability rather than paperwork.
The trap is the gap. Founders sign agency agreements, list properties, and take client inquiries during the window between license issuance and broker card issuance. Operating as an unregistered broker in that window is a RERA violation that carries fines and can complicate your final registration. If you already hold a personal RERA broker card from a previous employer, you can transfer it to your new company far faster than starting the training from scratch, which is why agents going independent often move quickest.
Why a free zone is the wrong structure for a Dubai brokerage
This is where a lot of money gets wasted, so it is worth being blunt: a free zone company cannot hold a RERA brokerage registration. We see founders arrive having been pitched a SHAMS or IFZA media or consultancy license as the faster, cheaper route. For a Dubai brokerage, that route is a dead end. RERA registers mainland entities; the DET commercial license, the RERA registration, and the ability to list on DLD-regulated platforms are all conditional on a mainland license.
If you set up in a free zone and then try to broker property in Dubai, the company has to be wound down and a new mainland DET entity set up from scratch. Every dirham spent on the free zone setup is gone. The correct structure for a brokerage is a mainland Limited Liability Company, and that decision should be confirmed before you pay for any license. (Free zone setups can make sense for adjacent real estate services that do not involve transacting on a client's behalf, which is a different question covered below.)
For a side-by-side on the two routes generally, see our guide to free zone vs mainland in Dubai.
What type of real estate business should you start?
"Real estate company" covers several different licenses and obligations. Decide which activity you are registering before anything else, because it changes whether you even need a RERA broker card.
Brokerage is the most common: buying, selling, and renting property on behalf of clients. It requires the full DET plus RERA plus broker card sequence. Property management handles maintenance, tenant relations, and rent collection for owners, and where it involves holding client funds it triggers trust account obligations. Development acquires and builds, and suits founders with capital and construction expertise. Consultancy and advisory covers market insight, leasing strategy, project feasibility, snagging and inspection, and mortgage consulting. These advisory services are in genuine demand and, because they do not involve transacting on a client's behalf, do not require a brokerage registration, which is the one case where a non-mainland route can be viable.
Be deliberate here. Many founders ask us for a brokerage license when what they actually plan to do is leasing advisory, which carries a lighter regulatory load. Others ask for "just brokerage" when they intend to manage rentals too, which needs the activity added up front rather than bolted on later.
Who can start a real estate company in Dubai?
Dubai is open to both UAE nationals and foreign founders. The eligibility bar is low; the regulatory bar is where the work is.
You must be 21 or older (applicants under 21 need guardian consent and authority approval). No specific university degree is required to own the company, but RERA training and exam completion are mandatory for anyone acting as a broker. Foreign founders can own 100% of a mainland real estate company for the relevant brokerage activities, a change from the old local-sponsor requirement, though specific specialised activities can still carry conditions depending on DET classification. Confirm ownership terms for your exact activity at application, because the activity code, not the sector label, determines the rule.
How much does it cost to start a real estate company in Dubai?
Here is the honest version, because the cost is where founders get the biggest surprise. The number a competitor quotes you, typically AED 15,000 to AED 25,000, is almost always the DET license alone. It does not include RERA company registration, individual broker cards, the office, or visas. A founder who budgets from that headline arrives at the bank needing roughly twice what they planned.
These are the figures we use in quotations as of June 2026. Treat each as "confirm current rate at setup," because RERA and DET fees are adjusted periodically.
| Cost Item | Amount (AED) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DET mainland trade license (brokerage) | 10,000 - 18,000 | Varies by activities, office type, approvals. License only. |
| RERA company registration | 5,020 | Confirm exact fee with RERA at application. |
| RERA Certified Training (per broker) | 3,000 - 4,000 | Four-day course. Exam fee separate. |
| RERA broker card (per individual) | 2,250 | Per licensed broker. |
| Investor visa (medical + Emirates ID) | 4,000 - 5,500 | Per person. |
| Mainland office, Ejari registered | 20,000 - 40,000 / yr | Flexi-desk is not sufficient for a brokerage. |
The headline figure versus the real number
Add it up and the picture is clear. A realistic all-in first year for a solo-founder brokerage, covering the DET license, RERA company registration, one broker card with training, an investor visa, office, establishment card, and PRO processing, lands at AED 55,000 to AED 85,000 depending on office cost and whether the founder already holds a qualifying RERA broker card. A three-agent brokerage, adding two more broker cards, training, and employee visas, runs AED 80,000 to AED 130,000 all-in for year one before operating costs.
The counterintuitive part: founders who pay more at setup often spend less over the first 12 months, because they avoid the amendment, re-registration, and bank-compliance fixes that a license-only setup runs into. For a broader view of setup budgeting across sectors, see the cost of starting a business in Dubai.
How long does it take to start trading?
Days for the license. Weeks before you can legally transact. The DET license can be ready in as little as two working days when documentation is clean and the activities are mapped correctly up front. RERA company registration adds roughly one to two weeks from the license date. Broker cards are the variable: each one needs training completed and the exam passed before the card application can even be filed, so plan three to six weeks per agent. The honest answer to "when can I start earning" is the broker card date, not the license date. We map that timeline at the first consultation precisely because it determines when the company is revenue-ready rather than merely incorporated.
Step-by-step: the full setup process
The sequence below is the order that avoids rework. Each step assumes the previous one is complete.
- Confirm structure and activity. Mainland LLC, real estate brokerage as primary activity, secondaries (property management, consultancy) mapped to the DET list now, not later.
- Reserve the trade name and file DET initial approval. Submit passport and visa copies.
- Obtain RERA activity clearance. Required before the DET will issue a brokerage license.
- Secure office space and register the lease with Ejari. A physical address is mandatory for a RERA brokerage.
- Pay for and collect the DET trade license.
- Complete RERA company registration. Separate application and fee, one to two weeks.
- Enrol each agent in RERA Certified Training, sit the RERA exam, obtain a Good Conduct Certificate from Dubai Police.
- Apply for individual RERA broker cards for every transacting agent.
- Open a corporate bank account, and a separate RERA-compliant client trust account if you will hold client funds.
- Register with the Federal Tax Authority for VAT and corporate tax where applicable, then begin trading.
Legal and compliance requirements
Compliance in Dubai's property market is enforced, not nominal. Get these in place before you take a single client payment.
A RERA-registered brokerage that handles client money (rental payments, sales deposits) must maintain a designated client trust account at a UAE-regulated bank. Commingling client funds with company operating funds is a serious breach. Anti-money-laundering obligations apply: real estate is a monitored sector, and brokerages must meet RERA's AML and marketing-approval requirements. On tax, the UAE applies 5% VAT on commercial property transactions, a 4% DLD property transfer fee on deals, and 9% corporate tax on profits above AED 375,000; register with the Federal Tax Authority to stay compliant (Federal Tax Authority, tax.gov.ae). Professional indemnity insurance and the standard establishment-card and labour registrations round out the obligations. For licensing terms and definitions straight from the regulator, the Dubai Land Department publishes its real estate activity licensing details at dubailand.gov.ae.
A caveat worth stating plainly: the exact compliance load depends on your activity mix. A pure leasing-advisory consultancy does not carry the trust-account obligation a transacting brokerage does. Decide the activity first; the compliance follows from it.
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How Best Solution sets up real estate companies in Dubai
We have run company formations from Business Bay since 2014, under founder Essa Al Harthi, with more than 5,000 companies formed and over 4,500 corporate bank accounts opened. The Business Bay base is not incidental for real estate: the DLD headquarters, the RERA offices, and most of Dubai's brokerage community sit in the same cluster, which matters when the in-person stages of RERA registration need handling.
A recent example: STARWAY Group, founded by Roman Starikovich from Cyprus, set up as a Dubai mainland LLC covering real estate, tourism, and corporate services. The license was issued in two working days, the setup came in roughly 20% below the rate the client had been quoted elsewhere, and since incorporation the company has secured one investor visa and more than twenty employee visas as it has grown. The two-day timeline was possible because the documentation was clean before submission and the activity structure was mapped to the DET list correctly the first time, avoiding the amendment cycles that stretch otherwise simple setups.
"Success in Dubai's real estate sector comes from understanding its people and adhering to ethical standards," says Essa Al Harthi, CEO of Best Solution Business Setup.
Our own 2024 client data shows the pattern clearly: DET initial approval typically lands in about 48 hours, but RERA exam preparation is the most common bottleneck, averaging around 10 days for candidates without a prior real estate background. The work that makes a formation genuinely useful is coordinating the full DET-to-RERA-to-broker-card chain, including trust account setup with a bank that handles RERA-compliant client accounts, rather than handing over a license and leaving the RERA layer to be figured out alone. Best Solution holds the RAKEZ Best Business Partner Award (2021, 2022, and 2025) and a BNI Dubai board membership.
When you are ready, book a free consultation and we will map your exact sequence, timeline, and all-in cost before you spend a dirham.
