Dubai Land Department is the authority that registers Dubai property ownership, off-plan sales and mortgages and oversees core real-estate regulation. For a standard completed sale, DLD currently lists a 2% registration fee for the buyer and 2% for the seller. Oplus International Realty explains which DLD service a buyer actually needs and what to verify before money moves.

Dubai Land Department: What Buyers Actually Need It For

Most property buyers do not need to understand every department inside DLD.

They need to know which official service applies at each stage.

Buyer Task	DLD Service / System
Check whether foreigners can buy the property	Property Status Enquiry
Verify an existing title deed	Title Deed Verification
Check broker or advertising permit	Verify Licenses and Permits / Trakheesi
Check an off-plan project	Project Status / Mashrooi
Check project escrow account	Dubai REST / Project Status
Register a completed property purchase	Property Sale Registration
Complete eligible digital resale	Dubai Now
Register an off-plan purchase	Oqood / Provisional Register
Register a mortgage	Mortgage Registration
Find a transfer centre	Real Estate Registration Trustee Centres
Check first-home benefits	First-Time Home Buyer Programme

This is a better way to understand DLD than treating it simply as the office that collects a “4% fee”.

What Does Dubai Land Department Do?

Dubai Land Department — usually shortened to DLD — is the government entity responsible for major parts of Dubai’s real-estate registration and regulation system.

Its current official service areas include:

• registration of real-estate transactions;
• issuing title deeds and ownership documents;
• registering off-plan sales;
• mortgage registration;
• property valuation;
• leasing registration through Ejari;
• broker and developer regulation;
• real-estate licensing;
• escrow oversight;
• jointly owned property regulation;
• property information and market data.

For a buyer, the most important role is straightforward:

DLD is where the legal property record must reconcile with the transaction you believe you are making.

DLD vs RERA: They Are Not the Same Thing

Dubai Land Department and the Real Estate Regulatory Agency are closely connected but perform different functions.

Dubai Land Department

DLD handles the wider real-estate registration ecosystem, including:

• ownership records;
• title deeds;
• property transfers;
• mortgages;
• valuation;
• off-plan registration;
• rental registration systems.

Real Estate Regulatory Agency

RERA is affiliated with Dubai Land Department and performs regulatory functions including:

• real-estate licensing;
• regulating brokerage activities;
• supervising development escrow accounts;
• regulating development activities;
• jointly owned property standards;
• oversight of property-management activities.

For a typical buyer:

DLD records the transaction.

RERA regulates important participants and activities around it.

Calling DLD “the legislature” and RERA “the regulator” is too simplistic and has been removed from this guide.

The DLD Property Sale Registration Fee

For DLD’s current standard completed-property sale-registration service, the official fee schedule lists:

Seller

2% of sale value

Buyer

2% of sale value

Additional DLD and service-partner charges apply.

This is important because many Dubai property discussions simply say:

“The buyer pays a 4% DLD fee.”

That may describe how transaction costs are commercially allocated in a particular deal.

It is not how DLD’s current standard service schedule itself divides the statutory sale-registration percentage.

Always separate:

DLD’s published fee allocation

from:

who your SPA or sale agreement requires to bear the cost.

Current DLD Fees for a Standard Ready-Property Sale

For a completed property transferred through a Real Estate Registration Trustee Centre, DLD currently lists:

Fee	Current DLD Amount
Seller registration	2% of sale value
Buyer registration	2% of sale value
Title deed	AED 250
Apartment/villa map	AED 250
Unified land map under Dubai Municipality	AED 225
Land map outside Dubai Municipality jurisdiction	AED 100
Knowledge fee	AED 10 where applicable
Innovation fee	AED 10 where applicable
Trustee/service-partner fee ≥ AED500K transaction	AED 4,000 + VAT
Trustee/service-partner fee < AED500K	AED 2,000 + VAT

The relevant map fee depends on the property.

Do not add every map fee in the table to one transaction.

AED 2 Million Property Example

Assume a completed apartment sells for:

AED 2,000,000

Under DLD’s current published standard fee allocation:

Buyer’s 2% registration portion

AED 40,000

Seller’s 2% registration portion

AED 40,000

Title deed

AED 250

Apartment map

AED 250

Registration Trustee service-partner fee

Because the transaction exceeds AED500,000:

AED 4,000 + VAT

plus applicable knowledge and innovation fees.

This example does not determine what the buyer and seller agree between themselves.

The contract can make one party responsible for costs that DLD’s schedule displays against the other party.

How Long Does a Standard DLD Transfer Take?

DLD’s current Property Sale Registration service lists an estimated service time of:

25 minutes

once the parties are at the registration stage with the required documentation and transaction ready to process.

That does not mean the entire property purchase takes 25 minutes.

The wider transaction can involve:

• negotiations;
• Form F / sale agreement;
• mortgage settlement;
• bank valuation;
• developer NOC;
• manager’s cheques;
• trustee booking;
• document preparation.

The 25 minutes refers to the DLD registration service stage.

What Documents Does a Ready-Property Buyer Need?

For individuals, DLD’s current standard completed-sale registration service lists:

• Emirates ID for seller and buyer for identification; or
• valid passport for a non-resident foreign buyer;
• electronic NOC from the developer in freehold areas.

A legally authorised representative can also act where the required power-of-attorney documentation is in place.

The ability to use a passport is important for overseas buyers.

A non-resident does not need to assume that every Dubai property-registration service requires a UAE Emirates ID.

Real Estate Registration Trustee Centres

Most standard completed transfers are processed through authorised:

Real Estate Registration Trustee Centres.

DLD provides a live official directory showing the currently authorised centres, their:

• location;
• working days;
• telephone;
• email;
• Makani number.

Use DLD’s live directory instead of relying on an old blog post for trustee-centre working hours.

The authorised-centre list can change.

Dubai Now: A Different Digital Sale Route

Dubai Land Department also currently offers an eligible digital resale route through:

Dubai Now.

The service is available 24/7 and can produce the electronic title deed after the transaction is completed.

But it is not available for every transaction.

Who Can Use Dubai Now for a Property Sale?

DLD currently restricts the service to eligible transactions where:

• the parties are individuals with UAE ID;
• the property is in a freehold area;
• the property has no mortgage;
• there are no property restrictions;
• the asset is a subdivided unit such as an apartment, office or townhouse;
• the transaction satisfies DLD’s applicable terms.

That means a non-resident foreign buyer using only a passport should not assume the Dubai Now route applies.

The standard Trustee Centre route may be the relevant service instead.

Dubai Now vs Registration Trustee: The Fee Difference

This is one of the most useful current DLD comparisons.

For an eligible transaction of AED500,000 or more:

Standard Registration Trustee service-partner fee

AED 4,000 + VAT

Dubai Now service-partner fee

AED 1,000 + VAT

Both routes still carry the applicable:

• buyer/seller registration percentages;
• title deed;
• map;
• other DLD charges.

So the digital route can materially change the service-partner fee for an eligible transaction.

It does not remove the property-registration fee.

Dubai Now Uses an Escrow Account for the Sale Amount

Under the current digital process, the parties:

1. create the sale request;
2. generate and sign the SPA;
3. transfer the purchase amount and service fees to the approved escrow account;
4. receive/view the title deed and receipt after completion.

This structure is separate from the project escrow account used for off-plan development.

“Escrow” can refer to different controlled money flows depending on the transaction.

Buying Off-Plan: DLD Uses Oqood

A completed resale and an off-plan purchase do not use the same registration route.

For off-plan property, DLD’s:

Oqood provisional-registration system

records units sold before completion.

DLD describes the service as registration of:

• off-plan units;
• land whose value has not yet been fully paid;

in the provisional register.

The 90-Day Oqood Rule

DLD’s current initial-sale registration service requires the Sale and Purchase Agreement to be registered in the provisional register within:

90 days of signing

The service is performed through the Oqood / Real Estate Developers Portal.

The purchaser then receives a:

Provisional Registration e-Certificate.

A buyer should not treat an SPA sitting only in an email inbox as a substitute for the required provisional registration.

Who Registers the Off-Plan Sale?

The current DLD service channel is the:

Real Estate Developers Portal — Oqood.

In practice, the developer processes the provisional registration through that system.

Buyers should still verify that registration actually occurred.

Do not simply assume:

“The developer will take care of it.”

Ask for the registration evidence.

DLD Fees for Initial Off-Plan Registration

DLD’s current Oqood service lists:

Seller

2% of sale value

Purchaser

2% of sale value

plus:

• AED10 Knowledge Fee;
• AED10 Innovation Fee;
• applicable developer self-registration charge within Oqood.

Again, the commercial arrangement in the SPA can determine which party ultimately bears particular transaction expenses.

How to Check an Off-Plan Project Before Buying

DLD’s Project Status / Mashrooi service is one of the most important buyer tools.

The current official interface can provide project information including:

• project status;
• developer details;
• project number;
• completion;
• inspection details;
• management company;
• escrow bank and account information.

Dubai REST also provides current project monitoring.

Oplus recommends treating this as a pre-payment check, not something you look at only after a project is delayed.

For wider off-plan due diligence, use the Dubai off-plan market guide.

Dubai REST: What Buyers Can Verify

Dubai REST is DLD’s primary smart property platform.

Current DLD information says off-plan buyers can access information including:

• project completion percentage;
• actual project images;
• escrow-account number;
• payments due;
• project status.

The platform also provides access to information about:

• brokers;
• brokerage offices;
• developers;
• property-management companies;
• valuations;
• rental information;
• service-charge indicators;
• ownership information.

That makes Dubai REST a due-diligence tool, not simply a place to pay government fees.

Verify the Title Deed

DLD provides a free/instant:

Title Deed Verification

service through its website and Dubai REST.

The user can validate the property using information such as:

• title deed number;
• title deed year;
• property type.

DLD’s verification interface can also validate owner-and-property information.

For a resale buyer, a PDF or screenshot sent by somebody on WhatsApp should never be the end of the ownership check.

Use DLD’s official verification service.

Check the Property Status

DLD’s Property Status Enquiry can search using:

• title deed/certificate information;
• property number;
• Makani number;
• municipality number;
• map/location data.

The service also explains one of the most important ownership distinctions:

Freehold

Purchase allowed for all nationalities.

Non-Freehold

Purchase allowed for GCC nationalities.

For an international buyer, property-status verification should happen before the purchase decision becomes emotional.

Verify the Broker and Advertising Permit

DLD also provides a:

Verify License and Permits

service through its website and Dubai REST.

The service validates DLD-issued real-estate licences and permits through the Trakheesi system.

Use it when you need to verify:

• a real-estate activity licence;
• an advertising permit;
• the legitimacy of the transaction information supplied by a real-estate practitioner.

A logo, Instagram profile or WhatsApp business account is not a regulatory verification.

The Advertising QR Code Matters

Dubai’s real-estate advertising system uses Trakheesi permits and advertising QR codes.

The permit is tied to the regulated advertisement.

For a current property advertisement, check that:

• the QR code works;
• the property information matches;
• the advertiser details reconcile;
• the advertised price/unit/project is consistent.

A permit belonging to another project or old advertisement is not evidence for the property being promoted now.

Mortgage Registration With DLD

A mortgage is also registered with Dubai Land Department.

The current DLD mortgage-registration fee is:

0.25% of the mortgage value

Additional charges currently include:

• AED250 title-deed issuance where applicable;
• knowledge and innovation fees;
• service-partner fees.

DLD currently lists:

AED4,000 + VAT

as the ordinary service-partner mortgage fee and:

AED5,000 + VAT

for provisional/Oqood mortgage service-partner processing.

AED 1.6 Million Mortgage Example

Assume the registered mortgage is:

AED 1,600,000

DLD mortgage-registration percentage:

0.25%

Calculation:

AED 1,600,000 × 0.0025 = AED 4,000

That AED4,000 is the mortgage-registration percentage.

It should not be confused with the separately listed registration-trustee/service-partner fee.

For full affordability rules, read the Dubai mortgage eligibility guide.

Selling a Property That Still Has a Mortgage

DLD has a separate process for:

Registering the Sale of a Mortgaged Property.

The current service includes:

• mortgage-release steps;
• sale registration;
• possible new mortgage registration;
• trustee-centre handling.

DLD’s current fee schedule for this service includes:

• AED315 registrar fee for releasing the mortgage;
• sale-registration fees;
• mortgage-registration fee where a new mortgage is registered;
• applicable title/map and trustee charges.

So a mortgaged resale should not be modelled as though the seller already owns the property free and clear.

First-Time Home Buyer Programme

DLD also operates Dubai’s current:

First-Time Home Buyer Programme.

The programme currently requires the applicant to:

• be at least 18;
• be a UAE resident of any nationality;
• not currently own freehold residential property in Dubai;
• seek a property below AED5 million.

Current benefits include measures such as:

• priority access to selected new launches;
• preferential prices from participating developers;
• selected flexible payment arrangements;
• tailored financing products from participating banks.

The programme does not replace DLD registration or mortgage rules.

It sits alongside them.

Non-Resident Buyer vs UAE Resident: Which DLD Route Changes?

Nationality and residency can affect the service channel.

Non-resident foreign buyer

DLD’s standard completed-sale registration service accepts a valid passport for identification.

UAE resident / citizen with Emirates ID

May also qualify for digital channels such as Dubai Now if the property and transaction meet that service’s specific conditions.

This is a practical difference many generic DLD guides miss.

“Dubai is digital” does not mean every buyer can use every digital transfer service.

DLD vs Developer NOC

These are different parts of the transfer.

For a completed property in a freehold development, DLD’s current sale-registration service requires an electronic:

No Objection Certificate from the developer.

The developer NOC does not itself transfer ownership.

It confirms that the developer has no objection under the relevant project/account conditions.

The legal ownership record changes through DLD registration.

DLD vs Title Deed

DLD is the authority/system.

The title deed is the ownership document issued through the registration process.

A buyer should distinguish:

• SPA / sale agreement;
• NOC;
• DLD registration;
• title deed.

Signing the sale agreement does not itself mean the title deed has already transferred.

DLD vs Oqood

Title deed

Used for completed/registered ownership.

Oqood provisional registration

Used to record relevant off-plan interests before completion.

An Oqood certificate is not simply a temporary PDF that has no importance.

It is part of the formal provisional-registration framework for off-plan property.

DLD vs Ejari

These systems also serve different purposes.

DLD ownership registration

Records ownership and property dispositions.

Ejari

Registers tenancy contracts.

Buying a property does not create an Ejari automatically.

Owning and renting are separate legal relationships.

Seven DLD Checks Before Buying Any Dubai Property

Step 1 — Verify the location and ownership status

Confirm whether the property is freehold for your nationality.

Step 2 — Verify the title deed or project

Ready property:

Title Deed Verification.

Off-plan:

Project Status / Mashrooi.

Step 3 — Verify the broker and permit

Use DLD’s licence and permit verification systems.

Step 4 — Confirm the correct registration route

Ready resale, Dubai Now, Oqood and mortgaged resale follow different processes.

Step 5 — Calculate DLD costs from the correct service

Do not automatically apply one generic “4% + fee” formula to every transaction.

Step 6 — Verify money-flow instructions

For off-plan, verify project escrow details.

For eligible Dubai Now transfers, follow DLD’s approved sale escrow process.

Step 7 — Obtain the issued registration document

Title deed for completed ownership or provisional registration evidence for the relevant off-plan transaction.

The Biggest DLD Fee Mistake

The most common budgeting shortcut is:

“DLD fee = 4%, buyer pays it.”

That may eventually be the buyer’s contractual cost in a particular transaction.

But the DLD service schedule itself currently shows:

2% seller

and:

2% buyer.

Then it adds property- and channel-specific costs.

The more accurate buyer budget therefore has separate rows for:

• sale-registration percentage;
• title deed;
• map;
• trustee/digital service partner;
• mortgage registration;
• NOC;
• bank;
• brokerage;
• any other transaction-specific costs.

The Biggest Off-Plan Mistake

The biggest off-plan DLD mistake is believing that:

SPA signed = everything registered.

DLD currently requires the SPA to enter the provisional register within 90 days.

Buyers should obtain evidence of that registration.

They should also verify the project, developer, completion and escrow data through DLD rather than depending solely on the project’s sales deck.

The Biggest Resale Mistake

For a ready property, do not let the viewing become the entire due-diligence process.

Check:

• ownership;
• title deed;
• property status;
• mortgage/restrictions;
• developer NOC requirements;
• exact transfer channel.

A beautiful apartment with unresolved registration problems is still a problematic purchase.

Dubai Land Department Contact Details

DLD’s current official contact information lists:

Call centre: 8004488

Location: Dubai Land Department, Baniyas Road, Dubai

Customer-service hours:
Monday–Thursday: 7:30 AM–3:30 PM
Friday: 7:30 AM–12:00 PM

Phone/email/chat support:
Monday–Friday: 7:30 AM–4:30 PM

For live service-centre locations and hours, use DLD’s current website or Dubai REST rather than an archived list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Use DLD Before You Rely on the Sales Material

A Dubai property transaction should reconcile across:

property → owner/developer → broker → permit → registration → money flow → final DLD record.

For the complete purchase sequence, continue with Oplus’s Buying Property in the UAE guide.

If financing is involved, use the Dubai Mortgage Eligibility Guide before signing a transaction dependent on bank approval.

Off-plan buyers should also review the Dubai Off-Plan Market and Buyer Guide.

For help understanding which documents and DLD steps apply to a proposed property transaction, contact Oplus International Realty.

Written by: Oplus International Realty Editorial Team
Last reviewed: 15 September 2026

Disclaimer: This guide is informational and does not replace legal, regulatory, mortgage or transaction-specific advice. DLD service requirements and fees can change; verify the live service before completing a transaction.

Sources

• Dubai Land Department — About Dubai Land Department
• Dubai Land Department — Property Sale Registration
• Dubai Land Department — Buy or Sell Property via Dubai Now
• Dubai Land Department — Request to Register the Initial Sale
• Dubai Land Department — Mortgage Registration Application
• Dubai Land Department — Registering the Sale of a Mortgaged Property
• Dubai Land Department — Property Status Enquiry
• Dubai Land Department — Title Deed Verification
• Dubai Land Department — Project Status / Mashrooi
• Dubai Land Department — Verify Licenses and Permits
• Dubai Land Department — Dubai REST
• Dubai Land Department — Real Estate Registration Trustee Centres
• Dubai Land Department — First-Time Home Buyer Programme
• Dubai Land Department — Contact Us