Key Takeaways
- Dubai Law 26 of 2007, as amended, makes Ejari registration compulsory. Its Article 4, as replaced by Law No. 33 of 2008, says every lease and every change to a lease must be registered with the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA).
- A company lease usually goes through a trustee centre and costs AED 220. The Dubai REST app or the Dubai Land Department (DLD) website costs AED 177.75, but only when tenant and landlord are both individuals (Dubai Land Department, October 2026).
- For business premises, the Ejari has to be in the licensed company's name and backed by a valid licence (DLD FAQ, October 2026).
- The DLD gives no deadline in days. Register straight after you sign the lease.
- A flexi-desk or virtual address may or may not be enough for your licence. That depends on the activity and the business centre, and the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has the final word, so check with it before you pay.
Before Dubai will license your company at an address, the office lease has to be registered in Ejari. Ejari is Dubai's official register of tenancy contracts, and the Dubai Land Department (DLD) runs it. People renting a flat use the same system. This page covers only commercial premises, and the rules are as of October 2026.
What Ejari is and who uses it
Registration isn't optional. Dubai Law 26 of 2007 requires it, as amended by Law 33 of 2008 (Article 4). That amended Article 4 also says courts and government departments won't act on a tenancy contract that hasn't been registered.
Landlords, tenants and business centres all deal with Ejari. On the DLD side, you'll find it listed as the service Register or Renew Tenancy Contract.
Business Ejari versus residential Ejari
A business Ejari must be in the name of the licensed company and match a valid licence (DLD FAQ, October 2026). Say an owner signs the office lease in their own name on behalf of the company. That lease won't meet the rule.
Business centres that rent out desks face a tougher test. According to the DLD FAQ, a business centre or incubator must itself hold a commercial tenancy of not less than 5,000 square feet, valid for 5 years. When a provider offers you a registered desk, that's the first thing to check.
Which licences need it
Most licences on the Dubai mainland, meaning anywhere in Dubai outside a free zone, need a leased address registered in Ejari. The Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai's mainland licensing office and formerly DED, confirms the rule for each activity. Press reports from March 2025 quoted a DET agent as saying a normal licence needs the memorandum of association, the founding contract between the owners, and a site lease contract. An instant licence can run on a virtual site for its first year (Khaleej Times, 15 March 2025).
Free zones have their own lease rules. Each one is an area run by its own authority, which licenses the companies there under rules it sets itself. The Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA) lists a lease agreement as a requirement at setup and again at renewal (JAFZA company formation page, October 2026). Meydan says its flexi-desk comes with the licence and you don't have to lease a physical office (Meydan, October 2026). Ask your zone whether it wants an Ejari certificate with your application.
A few licences need no commercial lease at all. Dubai's e-trader licence, for example, is a home-based licence for sole proprietors who sell online (dubai.ae, April 2026). Whether you can hold one with your nationality or residence status is for DET to confirm.
Your tenancy also turns up in other paperwork. The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) lists a valid licence and a tenancy or lease among the documents for a tax residency certificate. Mashreq asks for proof of the company's address when you open a NEO BIZ account (Mashreq, October 2026). Our bank account guide has the details.
The office can affect visas as well. On the mainland, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) sets the work-permit quota, the number of work permits your company may hold. One condition is a valid Ta'qeem report, MOHRE's check of your business before it sets that quota. MOHRE doesn't publish any formula that links office size to the quota. Get an estimate from a PRO while you're still choosing an office. A PRO is the person who handles a company's government paperwork.
Virtual and flexi Ejari, what is claimed and what is checked
A "virtual Ejari" is a product that business centres sell. Whether DET accepts one for your activity is DET's decision. Providers don't agree on this. Some say a flexi-desk with Ejari will do, while others say a mainland licence needs more than a shared desk.
You can only check some of it. Dubai Land Department rules apply to the business centre, and DET tells you what your activity needs. Each free zone answers for its own flexi-desk. Meydan, for one, says its flexi-desk meets the workspace requirement for licensing and visa applications from day one (October 2026). If you want to weigh the options against each other, see the virtual office and flexi-desk guide.
Ejari registration steps, fees and renewal
You can register the lease yourself, and it doesn't take many steps. The DLD has three channels: the Dubai REST app, the DLD website and the Real Estate Services Trustee Centres, which are approved service offices. Under the DLD's terms the app is meant for individual tenants and landlords. A company lease therefore normally goes through a trustee centre or through the landlord's or property manager's own system.
- Sign the tenancy contract in the licensed company's name, using the address that will appear on the licence.
- Pick a channel, and agree with the landlord or business centre on who submits the request.
- Get the landlord to approve the request quickly. Nothing is registered until they do.
- Pay the fees shown in the table below.
- Keep the Ejari certificate with your licence papers, and renew it whenever the lease renews.
Use this table to see what you'll pay on each channel.
| Fee | App or DLD website | Trustee centre |
|---|---|---|
| Registration fee | AED 100 | AED 100 |
| Knowledge fee | AED 10 | AED 10 |
| Innovation fee | AED 10 | AED 10 |
| Service partner fee | AED 55 | AED 95 |
| VAT | AED 2.75 | Included in the AED 220 total |
| Total as of October 2026 | AED 177.75 | AED 220 |
The registration, knowledge and innovation fees are identical on both channels. It's mostly the service partner fee that makes up the AED 42.25 gap between the totals. Keep in mind that the cheaper app is only open when tenant and landlord are both individuals. Renewals go through the same DLD service. Check which fees apply to yours when the time comes.
The DLD pages don't set a deadline in days. Guides that quote one don't point to any law. Register as soon as you've signed, and make a note of the date.
Common blockers
The most common problem is a lease in the wrong name. A commercial Ejari has to match the licensed company. If the tenancy was signed in an owner's personal name, it needs a fresh contract and a new registration. That costs another AED 220 at a trustee centre, and you lose time while it's redone.
Slow landlords cause delays too, because registration waits for their approval. A desk can also fail when the business centre doesn't hold a qualifying registered tenancy of its own.
Some free zones tie the visa quota, the number of residence visas your company may apply for, to your desk or leased area. There the type of office decides how many visas you get. Our licence renewal guide shows how an expired or mismatched Ejari can stop a renewal.
Questions for your landlord or provider
Put these to the landlord or business centre before you sign. Their answers tell you whether the address will pass the licence, visa and renewal checks.
- Is the tenancy contract registered in Ejari, and in whose name?
- Does the certificate name the licensed company as tenant, at the same address as the licence?
- For a business centre desk, does the centre hold a commercial Ejari of at least 5,000 square feet, valid for 5 years?
- Will DET accept this desk or virtual address for my activity code? Get DET's reply in writing.
- How many visas does the space support, and who confirms that?
- Who pays the registration fee now, and what will renewal cost?
An office type that doesn't fit can hold up visas and renewals later on. Confirm it with DET or your zone first. A PRO can raise the question with them and find out which quota the space supports.
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