Dubai real estate advertising rules: Trakheesi and NMA permits

Dubai property advertising and UAE digital-advertising activity are administered by different authorities. DLD publishes the Real Estate Ad Permit service through Trakheesi; the NMA publishes an individual advertiser service for advertising or media content on social accounts, websites and other modern digital platforms.

Those services have different published scopes and conditions. A post may require checking both authority pages, but neither public service page provides a shortcut that declares every broker post subject to the same outcome. The details of the property advertisement, the publisher and the account matter.

This guide is a source map, not a legal conclusion. It distinguishes the DLD property-advertising workflow from the NMA publisher/account question and points to the live authority pages for decisions that can affect a listing or a business.

Use the authority pages for different questions. The table deliberately avoids predicting an outcome for an individual broker, because the published NMA exemption and the DLD property workflow each turn on facts that an article cannot verify for you.

The checks can both be relevant to the same campaign, but the official sources do not support turning that possibility into an automatic answer for every social post. Make and retain a source-backed decision for the exact campaign instead.

DLD's Real Estate Ad Permit service directs the applicant to log in to Trakheesi, choose the service, complete the information and documents, wait for review and approval, select a payment method and receive an e-permit certificate. The service page identifies electronic advertisements among its permit categories.

For listed permit types where the applicant is a broker, DLD's service lists a marketing-contract copy with the property owner among the requirements. For a ready property for sale in Dubai, DLD's Trakheesi user manual specifically requires the Contract A marketing-contract number between the owner and broker before the permit can be obtained.

The published workflow varies by permit category and property type. Do not turn the ready-sale Contract A path into a rule for rentals, off-plan property or every channel; select the live service and follow the documents it requests for the actual campaign.

DLD's public page is the controlling source for the published categories, process, documents, terms and fees. It does not turn a website, portal, social post or private message into the same factual case, so check the selected service instead of relying on a generic channel label.

The NMA's individual service permits advertising or media content through social-media accounts, websites and other digital platforms, whether for compensation or free of charge. The service page lists Digital ID, passport, personal photo and commercial licence as requirements; its live page also states the current fee and service time.

The NMA's Advertiser Permit initiative lists an exemption for individuals advertising their own products or services, or a company they own, through personal accounts. It does not expressly classify an employee, agent, brokerage-managed account or another company structure as exempt.

The NMA framework also requires permit holders to obtain approvals from relevant authorities where applicable laws require them. That is why an NMA decision does not replace the DLD property-advertising check, and a DLD permit does not decide whether the NMA's publisher/account service or exemption applies.

For a fact pattern that is not explicit in either source, do not fill the gap with an Instagram convention or a portal rule. Ask the responsible authority or a qualified adviser before publishing.

Use a factual checklist rather than a channel-by-channel promise. This avoids calling an account exempt, or a property advertisement permitted, without the information that the authority pages require.

• For the property: identify the DLD permit category, property type, documentation and channel in the live DLD service.
• For the publisher: identify the person, business and account, then compare them with the NMA individual-service scope and published own-business exemption.
• For uncertainty: obtain a direct authority or qualified-adviser answer; do not infer it from a portal's acceptance or a competitor's social post.

The public pages used for this guide do not resolve every private-sharing or unusual-account situation. Keep the decision within the facts the authority actually publishes, and ask when the facts fall outside them.

The DLD service names documents and terms as part of the application. Keep the documents you submit and the issued e-permit certificate with the campaign record, then recheck the live service before a renewal, a new category or a material change in the property campaign.

For a ready-sale property, the DLD Contract A guide says the broker enters the commission and contract duration, uploads a NOC signed by the owner, and sends the Contract A request for owner approval. The issued contract and the later permit workflow are distinct records; do not substitute one for the other.

If the live DLD route or authority gives an updated requirement, it supersedes an article checklist. This guide does not validate an uploaded document, an approval status or a campaign's validity period.

The NMA individual service expressly covers advertising or media content that is paid or free of charge. DLD expressly includes electronic advertisements in its Real Estate Ad Permit service. Neither statement authorizes an article to decide every social, portal, broadcast or private-sharing case without the facts and the active authority workflow.

Do not rely on a portal's acceptance, a competitor's post or a social-media convention as an authority decision. A campaign may involve a DLD property-advertising question and a separate NMA publisher/account question.

Where an account or content format is not explicit in the published source, ask DLD or NMA directly, or obtain qualified advice. The article's role is to preserve the official starting points, not to create a rule that the authority has not published.

Before a campaign goes live, follow the current DLD workflow for the actual property and separately check the NMA publisher/account service. The steps below are a source-led handoff, not a substitute for an authority decision.

1. 01

   Select the DLD service before publishing

   Identify the property type, permit category, documents and channel in the current Real Estate Ad Permit service. For a ready-sale property, follow DLD's Contract A and Trakheesi guidance.

2. 02

   Obtain the Trakheesi advertising permit through the DLD

   Use the login, information/document, review, payment and e-permit steps published by DLD. Record the issued certificate with the campaign documents.

3. 03

   Check the NMA service and published exemption against your account

   The NMA covers individual advertising or media content, paid or unpaid, but publishes an own-business personal-account exemption. Do not assume either conclusion without matching the actual account and business arrangement.

4. 04

   Retain the authority documents for that campaign

   Retain the records required by the selected DLD service and Contract A route, where applicable. Recheck the live requirements before a material change or a fresh application.

5. 05

   Confirm edge cases directly with the DLD or RERA

   Private sharing, one-to-one messages, and unusual channel arrangements are not fully resolved by published guidance. The right move for genuinely ambiguous situations is to ask the authority directly or work with a licensed advisor.

A reliable process begins with the authority's current service page, preserves the documents it requires, and does not extrapolate a result from a different property type, account arrangement or online channel.

Source: Dubai Land Department: real estate advertisement permit (Trakheesi)

Source: Dubai Land Department: Contract A broker workflow

Source: Dubai Land Department: Trakheesi user manual

Source: National Media Authority: advertiser permit for individuals

Source: National Media Authority: Advertiser Permit initiative and exemptions