Set Up a Property Valuation Company in Dubai, UAE: RERA Valuer Registration, RICS & Tax (2026)

Property valuation is one of the most tightly regulated professional activities in Dubai, and most guides get the basics wrong before they start. A trade licence, on its own, does not let you issue a valuation that a bank, a court or the Dubai Land Department will accept. To do that, both the individual valuer and the firm must be registered with RERA, the regulatory arm of the Dubai Land Department (DLD). That is the real gate, and it is where the barrier to entry sits.

Two more corrections matter up front. Many pages cite the wrong law, and many repeat a "you need 10 valuers" figure as if it were the price of entry. Neither is right. The framework is Executive Council Resolution No. 37 of 2015, with Administrative Resolution No. 67 of 2020 for the detail, under the DLD's mandate in Law No. 7 of 2013. And the base requirement is that the firm employs at least one registered valuer to manage it, not ten. The ten-valuer number is the threshold to open a branch, not to exist.

This guide covers the two registrations, the RICS and experience barrier, the difference between valuation and surveying, a foreign-ownership question you genuinely must verify, and the tax point almost everyone gets backwards. Since 2013, our team has set up professional and regulated firms across the UAE, so the traps here come from real files. This is a guide, not legal, tax or valuation advice on your specific licence.

Why is a trade licence not enough for a valuation firm?

Because valuation is a RERA-registered profession, and the registration, not the licence, is what makes a valuation count. Under Executive Council Resolution No. 37 of 2015, no person or firm may practise real property valuation in Dubai without being registered and authorised by RERA [1]. A DET or free-zone trade licence lets you incorporate a company; it does not let you sign a valuation a bank or court will rely on.

There are two separate registrations, and both run through RERA and the DLD, not the economic department:

• The individual valuer must be entered on RERA's Roll of Valuers.
• The firm must be separately authorised by RERA to practise, and it must employ a registered valuer to manage its operations [1].

A subtle but important point: the official valuation certificate, often called the Taqeemi certificate, is generated by the DLD itself. Your firm's report is the professional work that supports the DLD's official product. So a recognised valuation is a two-part thing: your registered firm's report, feeding the DLD's certificate.

Common Mistake: Assuming a DET or free-zone licence with a "real estate valuation" activity lets you start valuing property. It does not. Without both the firm's RERA authorisation and a registered valuer on the Roll, your reports carry no official weight. The trade licence is the easy first step, not the finish line.

Is it true you need 10 valuers to start?

No, and this is the most repeated misquote in the sector. The base requirement under Executive Council Resolution No. 37 of 2015 is that the firm employs at least one registered valuer to manage its operations [1]. That is the entry point.

The ten-valuer figure comes from a different rule. Under Administrative Resolution No. 67 of 2020, a head office needs at least 10 valuers and at least 20 completed valuations in the prior year to open a branch [2]. That is a growth milestone, not a condition of existing. Competitors who present "10 valuers" as the barrier to entry are quoting the branch rule as if it were the licensing rule. You can start as a one-valuer firm and build.

What qualifications and experience do valuers need?

Real ones, and this human-capital barrier is the true moat. Under the 2015 and 2020 resolutions, an individual valuer needs full legal capacity, good conduct, the academic qualifications set by the Director-General, and either around two years of valuation experience or completion of the DLD-accredited valuation training, plus a pass in the DLD's accredited valuation course [1][2]. Registration is valid for one year and renewable.

On top of the RERA registration sits the professional standard the market actually runs on. Dubai valuations follow the International Valuation Standards and the RICS "Red Book", and banks lend against an independent market value from a RICS-registered, bank-panel valuer [3]. The market leaders market themselves as both RICS-accredited and RERA-registered, and that dual credential is the barrier: you cannot staff a recognised valuation firm with generalists. You need chartered-surveyor-grade valuers on the RERA Roll, which is scarce and expensive.

Pro Tip: Build the firm around the qualified valuer, because that person is the licence. Whether it is you or a hire, the registered, experienced, ideally RICS-qualified valuer is what unlocks bank panels and court work. Plan the RICS pathway and the RERA registration as the core of your setup, not an afterthought. Get your valuation firm scoped around the accreditation→

Valuation, surveying or brokerage: which are you setting up?

Three different things that people blur, and only one triggers the RERA valuer regime. Naming yours correctly avoids the wrong licence.

• Real estate valuation, or appraisal, estimates market value. It is the RERA-registered, panel activity that banks, courts and the DLD recognise, and the subject of this guide.
• Surveying, quantity surveying, cost estimation, and building or condition surveying such as snagging, is measurement and construction work. It falls under a separate "Surveying and Evaluating Services" activity and is not under the RERA valuer-registration regime.
• Brokerage, selling and leasing property, is a separate RERA regime with its own broker registration, and it cannot be combined with valuation. A valuer cannot also be a broker, and a brokerage cannot provide valuations except through a separately licensed valuation company [1].

Our real estate brokerage setup and real estate development setup guides cover the neighbouring activities. Because the broking side is carded separately rather than registered on the Roll of Valuers, our RERA broker license guide sets out the registration a broker holds instead of a valuer registration. If recurring fee income rather than per-report work is what you are after, a property management company sits in the same property chain on a very different revenue model, and a mortgage brokerage sits directly alongside valuation, since every bank-financed purchase needs both an arranged loan and a panel valuation.

Can a foreigner own a valuation firm? Verify this one

This is the honest, unresolved question, and any guide that answers it with a flat "yes, 100%" is overreaching. Here is the tension. The general rule under Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 is that most mainland activities allow 100% foreign ownership. But Executive Council Resolution No. 37 of 2015, as drafted, carried UAE-national language for the individual valuer and the firm owner, with an exemption route for non-nationals holding around five or more years of experience [1].

In practice, the Dubai market is dominated by foreign-owned RICS firms that are RERA-registered, which suggests the exemption route and the 2021 reform have opened the activity. But the interaction between the older nationality language and the newer ownership law is not clearly documented in public sources. So the responsible position is: do not assume, and confirm the current ownership eligibility for the valuation activity directly with the DLD and RERA before you commit. This is exactly the kind of nuance a good setup partner checks for you rather than glossing over.

One thing about the structure is not uncertain, and that is where the licence has to sit. Because RERA valuer registration is a Dubai emirate regime and the reports UAE banks, the courts and the DLD accept come only from DLD-listed valuation companies, the entity that signs those reports is a mainland professional licence, not a free-zone one, so our mainland company setup page walks through the DET route this business actually runs on, including the professional-licence form and the office requirement that goes with it.

Should you set up in a free zone?

No, not for DLD-recognised valuation. RERA valuer registration is a Dubai emirate regime tied to the DLD, and only DLD-listed valuation companies can issue valuations recognised for banks, courts and the DLD [1]. Free zones will sell a surveying or advisory licence, but no public source confirms that a free-zone-only entity can obtain RERA valuer accreditation or issue DLD-recognised valuations, and the entire market of recognised firms sits on the DLD register. So for the valuation business that actually earns, plan for a mainland presence with RERA registration.

There is a real use for a free zone here, but it is a second entity with a different job. If your plan includes an advisory, research or consultancy arm that sells market studies, feasibility work, portfolio advice or investment research without ever signing a DLD-registered valuation, that arm can sit on a free-zone licence, and our free zone company setup page covers what that licence can and cannot do. Keep the two strictly separate in your marketing and your engagement letters, because advisory opinion presented as a registered valuation is exactly what the RERA regime exists to stop. Our free zone versus mainland guide covers the trade-off.

Is valuing a property subject to VAT, even for a foreign client?

Yes, at 5%, and this is the tax point most guides get backwards. Because a valuation is a service directly related to real estate, the place of supply is where the property sits, in the UAE. So valuing a UAE property is standard-rated at 5% VAT even if your client is overseas [7]. The export-of-services zero-rating and the 30-day rule that help other consultancies do not rescue a UAE-property valuation. Only genuinely non-real-estate advisory exported to a foreign client could be zero-rated, a narrow carve-out. Our VAT registration and compliance guide covers the mechanics.

For corporate tax, the standard regime is 0% on the first AED 375,000 of profit and 9% above, with Small Business Relief while revenue stays at or below AED 3 million, for periods up to the end of December 2029. The free-zone 0% rate does not apply: valuation is a professional service, not a Qualifying Activity under Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, so a free-zone valuation firm is taxed at 9%, not 0% [8]. Our corporate tax filing guide covers the conditions.

What does it cost, and is it worth it?

The licence is modest; the qualified valuer is the real investment. Here is a realistic 2026 picture in AED.

A lean one to two valuer firm can be set up all-in for roughly AED 45,000 to 90,000 in the first year, and the binding constraint is the registered, experienced valuer, not capital. The market case is exceptional right now: Dubai real estate set records in 2025 with hundreds of billions of dirhams in transactions, and over 50,000 mortgage deals, each of which needs a bank-panel valuation, plus a steady stream of Golden Visa valuations at the AED 2 million threshold [8]. And the supply side is thin, with only around 78 registered valuation offices and 118 valuers serving that volume. A new entrant realistically starts in residential mortgage and Golden Visa work, then earns commercial and panel mandates as its RICS accreditation and reputation build.

Is a property valuation company a profitable business in Dubai?

It can be, and the demand side is unusually good, because a valuation is a mandatory step in transactions that happen tens of thousands of times a year. The honest counterweight is that bank panel access, not the licence, decides whether that demand ever reaches you, and panel fees are set by the lender rather than by you.

Five distinct revenue streams feed a registered valuation firm, and they do not all move with the same market cycle. Mortgage valuations are the volume engine, because no UAE bank releases a home loan without an independent market value from a panel valuer, and Dubai recorded over 50,000 mortgage deals in 2025 [8]. Golden Visa valuations are the steady second stream, since an applicant relying on property needs a valuation evidencing the AED 2 million threshold. Portfolio and financial-reporting valuations are the institutional line, where funds, developers, family offices and audited groups need annual or half-yearly market values prepared to the RICS Red Book and International Valuation Standards to support their accounts [3]. Court, dispute, divorce and inheritance valuations are the counter-cyclical stream that arrives whether the market is rising or falling, and it is often the best-paid work per report. Developer, REIT and insurance reinstatement instructions sit on top for firms with the staff to take them.

The supply side is the other half of the case. Around 78 registered valuation offices and 118 registered valuers serve that entire volume [8]. In most professional services a ratio like that would guarantee comfortable margins, and it is the single strongest argument for entering this activity.

Real Talk: What stops it being easy money is that the demand does not walk through your door, it is routed through bank panels. A lender's panel is a closed commercial list, reviewed on the bank's own cycle rather than open to applications at any time, and a newly registered firm with no track record can sit outside every panel for months while the mortgage volume everyone quotes flows to the incumbents. Fee pressure is the second constraint: panel work is priced by the bank, commonly around AED 2,500 to 3,500 a report, and a new entrant cannot charge a premium for being new. The third is capacity. Your registered, ideally RICS-qualified valuer is simultaneously the licence and the production line, so revenue is capped by how many reports qualified people can properly inspect and sign, and that person is scarce and expensive to hire.

The table below sets valuation against the two property businesses founders most often weigh it against, so the economics are visible side by side.

Read that table as a choice about how you want to be paid. Valuation earns the highest fee per unit of work and carries the highest credential barrier, which is precisely why the barrier protects you once you are through it. Where a free zone fits is the advisory layer: a research, feasibility or consultancy arm that sells market studies and portfolio advice without issuing DLD-registered valuations can sit on a free-zone licence, and our free zone company setup page covers that lighter route alongside the mainland entity that does the registered work.

Based on our experience, the firms that make money here decide early whether they are a volume shop chasing mortgage panels or a specialist practice doing commercial, litigation and financial-reporting work at higher fees per instruction. The ones that stall are those built for panel volume that then spend a year waiting for a panel seat that never opened, with a qualified valuer on payroll and nothing to sign.

What documents and steps does it take to start a valuation company?

A trade licence carrying the valuation activity, then RERA authorisation of the firm, then at least one valuer entered on the Roll, then the bank panels. The company paperwork itself is ordinary. The two registrations, and the qualified person behind them, are what set the real timeline.

Here is the document checklist we work from on a valuation file:

• Shareholder documents: passport copies and photographs of every shareholder and manager, the reserved trade name, DET initial approval, and the Memorandum of Association for the company.
• Premises: an Ejari-registered office in Dubai, which a mainland DLD-recognised valuation firm needs as a real address, not a flexi-desk afterthought.
• Firm registration: the RERA and DLD valuation company registration application, with the licence showing the correct valuation activity, the firm's details and the manager it nominates.
• The registered valuer: at least one valuer to manage operations, evidencing full legal capacity, good conduct, the academic qualifications set by the Director-General, and either around two years of valuation experience or completion of the DLD-accredited valuation training [1][2].
• Professional credentials: RICS membership or an equivalent chartered credential for the valuers who will sign bank and institutional work, since that is what panels and auditors look for even though RERA does not compel it [3].
• Taqyeem training and exam: enrolment and a pass in the DLD's accredited valuation course, which sits behind the individual registration and is renewed on the DLD's cycle.
• Individual valuer registration: the application entering each valuer on RERA's Roll of Valuers, valid for one year and renewable [2].
• Professional indemnity insurance: cover appropriate to the values you will be reporting on, which banks and institutional clients routinely ask to see before instructing.
• Report methodology: a sample valuation report and a written statement of methodology showing how you reach market value under the International Valuation Standards and the RICS Red Book, plus your inspection, evidence and file-retention practice.
• Trainee valuers: if you intend to train, the DLD trainee registrations, noting the one-year supervised training under a valuer with five or more years of experience [2].

The sequence matters more than the paperwork, because the fast steps come first and the slow ones come last.

Common Mistake: Sequencing the bank panels last and treating them as an administrative formality. Panel onboarding is the longest and least controllable step in this entire project, and it is commercial rather than regulatory, so no fee accelerates it. Start the panel conversations while the RERA registration is still in progress, and build your first year's cash-flow plan around private, Golden Visa and corporate instructions rather than assuming panel work from month one. Talk to a setup expert→

What are the ongoing costs and compliance for a valuation company?

Annual renewals on two registrations rather than one, insurance, record-keeping and the standard tax filings. This is a light-capital business to start and a genuinely regulated one to run, and the registrations expire in a way an ordinary trade licence does not let you forget.

The renewal stack is the first recurring cost. The trade licence and the Ejari renew annually, as with any mainland company. On top of that, both the firm's RERA authorisation and each individual valuer's entry on the Roll of Valuers are valid for one year and renewable, so a firm with three valuers is managing four separate registration renewals every year, not one [2]. If a registered valuer resigns and you have no other registered valuer to manage operations, the firm has a live compliance problem regardless of how healthy the trade licence looks, which is why succession on the registered headcount matters from day one.

Professional development and credentials are the second running cost. RICS members maintain their continuing professional development and pay an annual subscription, and DLD-accredited training and refresher requirements sit alongside the annual RERA renewal. Professional indemnity insurance is the third, and it is not a token policy: it is priced against the values you report on and the type of work you take, so litigation and high-value commercial instructions raise the premium. Budget it as an annual line that grows with the practice rather than a setup fee.

Record retention is the compliance obligation that founders most often underestimate. A valuation report is a professional opinion that a bank lent against or a court relied on, and the working file behind it, the inspection notes, the comparable evidence, the assumptions and the sign-off, is what defends you if the opinion is challenged years later. Keep the full file, not just the issued PDF, and keep it retrievable.

Quick Math: On tax, VAT is the line to watch, because every valuation of a UAE property is standard-rated at 5% regardless of where the client sits [7]. A firm issuing 12 mortgage reports a month at AED 3,000 crosses the AED 375,000 mandatory VAT registration threshold inside the first year on that stream alone, so plan the registration and the periodic returns rather than being caught by them. Corporate tax then runs at 0% on the first AED 375,000 of taxable income and 9% above, with Small Business Relief while revenue stays at or below AED 3 million for periods up to the end of December 2029 [8].

Alongside the tax filings sit the standard corporate obligations: keeping the Ultimate Beneficial Owner register and filings current with the licensing authority, maintaining the establishment card and staff visas, running payroll under the Wages Protection System, and confirming whether any Economic Substance obligation applies to your activity and financial year rather than assuming either way. These renewals, registrations and filings are precisely the recurring work our post-setup services handle, so the RERA authorisation, the valuer registrations and the VAT returns stay current while your valuers spend their time on instructions.

Can you open a corporate bank account for a valuation company?

Yes, and a registered valuation firm is a relatively comfortable file for a UAE bank, but expect the normal onboarding rather than an instant account. UAE banks do not open corporate accounts fully remotely, so plan for in-person know-your-customer meetings with the shareholders and authorised signatory once the licence is issued.

What works in your favour is the shape of the business. A professional licence with a named regulator behind it reads far better to a compliance team than a general trading licence, and being able to show the RERA firm authorisation and a valuer on the Roll makes the activity easy for the bank to understand and easy to justify internally. The cash flow helps too: valuation income arrives as fee payments by transfer from banks, developers, law firms and corporate clients, which is traceable, invoiced and low risk, with no cash handling and no client money held on account.

Practically, bring the trade licence, the Memorandum of Association, the Ejari, shareholder passports and Emirates IDs, a short business plan showing your intended client mix and expected turnover, and any panel or client correspondence you already have. Expect a maintained minimum balance and expect the process to take weeks rather than days. A useful side effect is worth noting: the same banks whose valuation panels you want to join are potential account providers, and a clean, well-documented account relationship does no harm at all when your panel application lands on a desk in the same institution.

Real Client Stories

The firm that could not sign a valuation. A founder set up a company with a "real estate valuation" activity on a trade licence and won a bank referral, then discovered nothing he produced would be accepted, because neither the firm nor any valuer was RERA-registered. We completed the RERA firm authorisation and got a qualified valuer onto the Roll. The licence had never been the thing that let him work.

The ten-valuer myth. A client abandoned his plan after reading he needed ten valuers to start. He did not; that is the branch rule. The base requirement is one registered valuer to manage the firm. Once he understood the real threshold, he launched as a single-valuer practice and grew from there.

The foreign client who was quoted zero VAT. A client valuing a Dubai apartment for an overseas buyer assumed the work was a zero-rated export of services. Because valuation is directly related to UAE real estate, it is standard-rated at 5% regardless of where the client sits. Correcting it avoided an exposure on his return. The property's location, not the client's, decided the rate.

Set up your Dubai valuation company the right way

Property valuation rewards firms that build around a registered, RICS-qualified valuer and respect the RERA regime, and it frustrates those who treat it as an ordinary licence. Since 2013, BusinessDubai.ae has completed 700+ company registrations across the UAE, including professional and regulated firms. We will help you license the valuation activity, complete the RERA firm authorisation and valuer registration, plan the RICS pathway, verify the ownership position for the valuation activity with the DLD rather than guess, and get the VAT and corporate tax treatment right, all with clear itemised pricing. Talk to a setup expert→ for a plan built around your valuer. Our real estate brokerage setup guide covers the separate brokerage activity, and post-setup services covers ongoing renewals and compliance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a real estate valuation licence in Dubai?

Set up a company with the valuation activity, then obtain RERA authorisation for the firm and register at least one valuer on RERA's Roll of Valuers. A trade licence alone does not let you issue recognised valuations; the RERA registration is the real gate [1].

How do I become a RERA-registered valuer in Dubai?

Meet the qualification and conduct requirements, hold around two years of valuation experience or complete the accredited training, pass the DLD's accredited valuation course, and register on RERA's Roll of Valuers. Registration is valid one year and renewable [1][2].

Do you really need 10 valuers to start a valuation firm?

No. That is the requirement to open a branch, along with at least 20 completed valuations in the prior year, under Administrative Resolution No. 67 of 2020. To operate, the firm needs at least one registered valuer to manage it [1][2].

Do I need RICS to value property in Dubai?

Not strictly for RERA registration, but in practice yes for the valuable work. Banks lend against a RICS Red Book market value from a panel valuer, and the leading firms are both RICS-accredited and RERA-registered. RICS is the credibility differentiator [3].

What is the difference between RERA and RICS?

RERA is Dubai's regulator that registers valuers and firms and makes a valuation legally recognised. RICS is the global chartered-surveyor body whose Red Book standard banks and institutions require. Recognised firms hold both [1][3].

What is a Taqeemi valuation certificate?

It is the official valuation certificate generated by the Dubai Land Department. A RERA-registered firm prepares the professional report that supports the application, and the DLD issues the official Taqeemi certificate [1].

Can a real estate broker also be a valuer in Dubai?

No. A valuer cannot simultaneously be a broker, and a brokerage firm cannot provide valuations except through a separately licensed valuation company with separate staff. The two activities are kept legally apart [1].

How much does it cost to start a valuation company in Dubai?

Roughly AED 45,000 to 90,000 all-in for a lean one to two valuer firm in the first year, driven mainly by the office, the qualified valuer's registration and RICS pathway, and visas. RERA and DLD registration fees should be confirmed directly.

Can a foreigner own a property valuation company in Dubai?

It is genuinely uncertain and must be verified. The general 2021 rule allows full foreign ownership, but the 2015 valuation resolution carried UAE-national language with a non-national experience exemption. Confirm the current position for the valuation activity with the DLD and RERA [1].

Do I need a physical office to license a valuation firm?

For a mainland firm, yes, with an Ejari-registered office. Since DLD-recognised valuation is effectively a mainland activity, plan for a physical office as part of the setup.

Which law governs property valuation in Dubai?

Executive Council Resolution No. 37 of 2015 on regulating the real property valuation profession, with Administrative Resolution No. 67 of 2020 for the detailed requirements, under the DLD's mandate in Law No. 7 of 2013 [1][2].

Is a valuation subject to VAT even for a foreign client?

Yes, at 5%. A valuation is directly related to real estate, so the place of supply is where the property sits, in the UAE. Valuing a UAE property is standard-rated at 5% even for an overseas client; export zero-rating does not apply [7].

Does a valuation firm get the free-zone 0% corporate tax rate?

No. Valuation is a professional service, not a Qualifying Activity under Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025, so a free-zone valuation firm's income is taxed at the standard 9%, not 0% [8].

Can I run a valuation firm from a free zone?

Not for DLD-recognised valuation. RERA registration is tied to the DLD, and only DLD-listed companies issue recognised valuations. Free zones may license surveying or advisory, but confirm with RERA that they cannot confer valuer accreditation [1].

How do I get on a bank's valuation panel in Dubai?

Build a RERA-registered firm with RICS-qualified valuers, a track record and professional standards, then apply to lenders' panels. Panel status unlocks recurring, high-volume mortgage valuation work at bank-set fees.

How much can a property valuer charge per report?

Mortgage valuations commonly run around AED 2,500 to 3,500 per report at bank-set panel fees, with private and commercial valuations negotiated higher, plus 5% VAT. Golden Visa valuations are a separate recurring stream.

What is the difference between valuation and surveying?

Valuation estimates market value and is the RERA-registered, panel activity. Surveying, including quantity, cost and condition surveying, is measurement and construction work under a separate activity and is not subject to the RERA valuer regime [1].

How long is a Dubai property valuation valid?

Valuer registration and firm authorisation are each valid for one year and renewable. A valuation report itself has a limited shelf life for lending and official purposes, so lenders typically require a recent valuation [2].

What is the demand for valuation in Dubai right now?

Very strong. Dubai set transaction records in 2025 with over 50,000 mortgage deals, each needing a panel valuation, plus Golden Visa valuations, against a thin supply of around 78 offices and 118 valuers [8].

Do I need to register trainee valuers?

Yes, through the DLD system. A trainee undergoes a one-year supervised training under a valuer with five or more years of experience, and a firm may train a limited number of trainees at once under the 2020 resolution [2].

What standards must Dubai valuations follow?

The International Valuation Standards and the RICS Red Book, alongside RERA's rules. Banks and institutions require reports prepared to these standards by a registered valuer, which is why the professional qualification is the barrier [3].

Who can sign a property valuation report in Dubai?

Only an individual entered on RERA's Roll of Valuers, working within a firm that holds its own RERA authorisation. Both registrations must be live at the date of the report. An unregistered employee may assist with inspection and research, but the signing valuer carries the opinion and the liability [1].

Do I need both RICS and RERA registration, or is one enough?

RERA registration is the legal requirement and RICS is the commercial one. RERA makes the valuation recognised by banks, courts and the DLD; RICS registration signals Red Book competence to lenders, auditors and institutional clients. You can operate on RERA alone, but the better-paid mandates usually ask for both [1][3].

How long does it take to get onto a bank's valuation panel in Dubai?

Realistically months, not weeks, and it is not guaranteed. Panels are closed commercial lists that lenders review on their own cycle, and they assess the firm's registration, its valuers' credentials, indemnity cover, report quality and turnaround. Plan first-year cash flow around private and corporate instructions instead.

What do valuers charge for different types of valuation in Dubai?

Bank panel mortgage reports commonly run around AED 2,500 to 3,500 at lender-set fees. Golden Visa valuations sit in a similar bracket. Commercial, portfolio, litigation and reinstatement valuations are negotiated per instruction and price considerably higher because of the complexity and liability. All carry 5% VAT [7].

What is the difference between a mortgage, court and audit valuation?

The purpose changes the scope and the liability, not the underlying market value. A mortgage valuation serves the lender's security decision and follows its panel format. A court or dispute valuation must withstand challenge and may require the valuer to defend it. An audit or financial-reporting valuation follows the Red Book and IVS basis the auditor accepts [3].

What is Taqyeem and do valuers need to register with it?

Taqyeem is the Dubai Land Department's real property valuation function, covering the accredited valuation training, the examination and the valuer registration that sits behind the Roll of Valuers. Every individual valuer completes the accredited course and registers through the DLD, and the registration is renewed annually [1][2].

What is a desktop valuation and can a Dubai firm issue one?

A desktop valuation is prepared from records and comparable evidence without a physical inspection, and it is normally used for indicative or portfolio purposes. Banks, courts and the DLD generally expect a full inspected valuation, so state the basis and any assumptions clearly and never present a desktop opinion as an inspected report [3].

Does a valuation company need professional indemnity insurance in Dubai?

It is not something to skip. A valuation is a professional opinion that lenders and courts rely on, so an inaccurate figure can become a claim years later. Banks and institutional clients routinely ask to see indemnity cover before instructing, and premiums scale with the values and the type of work you take on.

References

[1] Executive Council Resolution No. 37 of 2015 on Regulating the Real Property Valuation Profession in the Emirate of Dubai (RERA registration of valuers and firms, the requirement to employ a registered valuer to manage the firm, and the valuer-broker separation), under the Dubai Land Department's mandate in Law No. 7 of 2013. Dubai legislation

[2] Administrative Resolution No. 67 of 2020 determining the requirements and procedures of the real property valuation profession (qualification and training, one-year renewable registration, the 10-valuers-and-20-valuations branch rule, trainee valuers). Dubai legislation

[3] RICS Registered Valuer scheme and the RICS Red Book and International Valuation Standards used by UAE banks and institutions. RICS Valuer Registration

[4] Dubai Land Department register of approved valuation companies. Dubai Land Department

[5] Distinction between valuation, surveying and brokerage activities. egsh property valuation guide

[6] Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies (general 100% foreign ownership), and the ownership question specific to the valuation activity to verify with the DLD. u.ae

[7] VAT on services directly related to real estate: place of supply is where the property is located, so valuing a UAE property is standard-rated at 5% even for a foreign client. FTA Real Estate VAT guidance

[8] Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 on Qualifying Activities (valuation is not a Qualifying Activity), and Dubai 2025 real estate and mortgage volumes and the number of registered valuation offices and valuers. Ministry of Finance and Dubai Media Office