ejari office

Ejari Office in Dubai: Where to Register Your Tenancy Contract

If you're a tenant or landlord in Dubai and need to register a lease, you've probably been told to "visit the ejari office." That's a bit misleading — there isn't one single ejari office. There's a network of approved typing centres and real estate service centres, plus an app that lets you skip the queue entirely.

Quick answer

Ejari (the Dubai Land Department's tenancy registration system under Law No. 26 of 2007 and its amendments) is registered through one of three channels: the Dubai REST app, an approved real estate services trustee centre, or a registered typing centre branded as an "ejari office." There's no single head office you walk into. Fees run AED 219.75 including VAT and knowledge/innovation fees when done via app, slightly more at a centre. Registration is mandatory before you can get DEWA, a residence visa, or a parking permit.^[1][2]

Where the actual ejari office locations are

The Dubai Land Department (DLD) licences private centres to handle ejari registration on its behalf. These are the offices you'll actually visit.

Real estate services trustee centres handle ejari alongside title deed and Oqood work. The main ones sit in Deira (Al Manara Real Estate Registration Trustee), Business Bay, and near the DLD headquarters on Baniyas Road. Typing centres with ejari authorisation are scattered across every community — Karama, Al Quoz, JLT, Mirdif, you name it. Look for the green "Ejari" sticker on the window.

Honestly, the typing-centre route is faster for most people. Trustee centres focus on heavier transactions and the queues reflect that.

To find your nearest authorised centre, use the DLD's service centre locator on dubailand.gov.ae or the Dubai REST app's "Find a Service Centre" feature.^[2]

What to bring to the ejari office

Don't show up half-prepared. The centre will turn you away and you'll burn an afternoon.

You need: the original signed tenancy contract, a copy of the landlord's passport (and Emirates ID if a UAE resident), the title deed of the property, the tenant's passport and visa page, the tenant's Emirates ID, a recent DEWA bill or premises number, and the security deposit receipt. If the landlord is a company, add the trade licence. If an agent signed on the landlord's behalf, bring the Power of Attorney.

Fee at a typing centre is typically AED 219.75 plus a service charge of AED 35–60 depending on the centre. Through the Dubai REST app the total is AED 219.75 with no centre markup.^[1]

Watch out: Some landlords try to register ejari themselves and charge the tenant separately. Under Article 4 of Law No. 26 of 2007, registration is the landlord's legal obligation — but in practice tenants usually pay because they're the ones who need it for DEWA and visas. Negotiate this at the contract stage.

Can you skip the ejari office entirely?

Yes. The Dubai REST app does the full registration digitally. You upload the contract, IDs, title deed, and DEWA premises number, pay by card, and the ejari certificate lands in your app within 24–48 hours — often the same day.

The catch: the landlord (or their licensed agent) needs to either initiate or approve the registration from their side. If your landlord is overseas or unresponsive, the app route stalls and you end up at a typing centre with a Power of Attorney anyway.

In my experience, app registration works smoothly when the landlord is a developer or a professional management company. With individual landlords who don't use REST, the physical ejari office is still the path of least resistance.

When you'll need the ejari certificate

The certificate isn't just paperwork that sits in a drawer. You'll need it for:

• DEWA connection (water and electricity)
• Du or Etisalat home internet
• Residence visa applications and renewals for spouses and dependents
• Salik tag and resident parking permits
• School enrolment in some Dubai zones
• Liquor licence applications

Renewal is required every year when the tenancy renews. A lapsed ejari can hold up a visa renewal at the worst possible moment.

For broader context on tenant and landlord rights once you're registered, see our tenancy law category.

Sources

^[1] Dubai Land Department — Ejari Registration Service, dubailand.gov.ae ^[2] Dubai REST app, Dubai Land Department ^[3] Law No. 26 of 2007 Regulating the Relationship Between Landlords and Tenants in the Emirate of Dubai, as amended by Law No. 33 of 2008

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