Who licenses real estate agents and brokers in the UAE?
Real estate agents and brokers in the UAE must be licensed. The Land Departments or municipality of each emirate and each commercial free zone grant licences in the mainland and commercial free zones. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the Dubai Financial Services Authority license real estate agents in the financial free zones.
Licensing and AML supervision are separate questions with different answers. In the mainland and commercial free zones, licensing sits with the land department or municipality while AML supervision sits with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism. In the financial free zones, the FSRA and DFSA do both.
That split explains why a UAE broker can hold a valid trade licence and still be non-compliant. The land department licence does not certify anything about AML controls, and the Ministry’s inspection regime runs independently of it.
Legal Reference (source document):
· Supplemental Guidance for Real Estate Agents and Brokers, Ministry of Economy and Tourism, March 2026
· Cabinet Resolution No. 134 of 2025, Executive Regulations of Federal Decree-Law No. 10 of 2025
Scope note: as set out in the MoET Supplemental Guidance for Real Estate Agents and Brokers, March 2026.
Further reading: AML regulations for UAE DNFBPs
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