How to Get Your RERA Broker Card in Dubai: A Practical Guide for 2026

Before you begin any of the steps below, make sure you meet all of the following. RERA is straightforward about eligibility — if you tick every box, the process is predictable.

• Age: You must be at least 21 years old
• Valid UAE residency: You need a UAE residence visa — sponsored by a RERA-registered brokerage, or by your own licensed company if you are setting up independently
• Education: A high school diploma is the minimum requirement. It must be fully attested — this is the step most people underestimate
• Clean record: A Good Conduct Certificate (police clearance) is required
• Brokerage affiliation: You must be employed by or registered under a RERA-licensed real estate company
• Training: Completion of the DREI Certified Training for Real Estate Brokers
• Examination: Passing the RERA exam with a minimum score of 70–75% (confirm the current threshold directly with DREI when you register)

The Full Process — Step by Step

The RERA Broker Card process has eight distinct steps. They need to happen in roughly this order — some can run in parallel, which saves time significantly if you plan ahead.

Step 1 — Secure Your Brokerage Affiliation

If you are joining an existing firm, this is simply a matter of getting your employment contract in place before anything else, since your visa and card will be sponsored through them.

If you want to run your own brokerage, this is a bigger step — you need a mainland DED trade licence with a real estate brokerage activity, followed by RERA registration for your company. Freezone companies cannot operate as real estate brokerages in Dubai under any circumstances. RERA only registers and issues cards to entities holding a valid DED mainland licence.

Step 2 — Get Your UAE Residence Visa

Your visa must be sponsored through your brokerage employer or your own licensed company. If you are arriving from overseas without a visa, this step comes before the rest of the process. The visa processing time varies but typically takes two to four weeks from document submission. Your Trakheesi application will require a valid visa copy, so do not try to shortcut this step.

Step 3 — Attest Your Educational Certificate

This is the step that catches the most people off guard — and the one that causes the most delays. It is also the reason we recommend starting the RERA Broker Card process earlier than you think you need to.

Your educational certificate must go through a complete attestation chain: notarisation in the country where it was issued → authentication by that country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs → attestation by the UAE Embassy in that country → final UAE MOFA attestation after arrival in Dubai.

For overseas degrees, this takes two to four weeks as a realistic estimate — sometimes longer depending on the issuing country. We manage this process for many of our broker card clients and handle each step through our established network, so the process runs in parallel with your other preparation rather than holding everything else up.

Step 4 — Obtain Your Good Conduct Certificate

UAE residents can apply for a Dubai Police Good Conduct Certificate directly through the Dubai Police app — straightforward and fast. If you have not yet been a UAE resident, you will need to obtain a police clearance certificate from your home country or the country where you have lived most recently. Requirements vary by country.

Step 5 — Complete the DREI Training Course

The Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI) runs the Certified Training for Real Estate Brokers — the mandatory pre-licensing course before you can sit the RERA exam. Register at drei.ae.

The course covers UAE property law, DLD regulations, off-plan property rules, sales ethics, contract procedures, and how to use the Trakheesi system. It runs over four to five days and is available in both English and Arabic, with in-person and online formats.

This is genuinely useful training, not just a box to tick. The agents who invest attention here tend to pass the exam more comfortably and avoid procedural mistakes in their first few months of practice.

Step 6 — Pass the RERA Examination

After completing DREI training, you sit the RERA exam. The minimum passing score is 70% to 75% — confirm the current threshold with DREI when you register, as it is reviewed periodically.

The exam covers property law, RERA regulations, off-plan rules, ethics, and market conduct. People who pay attention during the DREI course and review the official RERA materials generally find it manageable.

Note: Exemptions from the exam exist for individuals above 55 years of age, and for brokers who have maintained five or more consecutive years of service at the same real estate office.