What is Oqood? Dubai's off-plan registration explained (2026)

Oqood is the Dubai Land Department's interim register for off-plan property, and the online system developers use to record sales on it. When you buy a home that is not built yet, your purchase is registered on Oqood rather than on the main Property Register.

The word is Arabic for "contracts", which describes what it holds. Law No. 13 of 2008 defines the interim register as the record in which sale contracts, off-plan sales and other off-plan dispositions of property are registered before they are included in the Property Register.

So Oqood does a specific job for a specific period. It covers the years between signing and completion, when there is a contract and a payment plan but no finished unit. At completion the Oqood entry gives way to a title deed, which our guide to the title deed in Dubai covers in detail.

Because without it your purchase does not exist in law. Article 3 of Law No. 13 of 2008 says any sale or other disposition of a unit sold off-plan must be entered on the interim register, and is void unless it is.

That makes the Oqood certificate the most important document you receive in the first weeks after booking. A signed SPA and a receipt show that you agreed and paid. The Oqood registration shows that the Dubai Land Department has recorded the sale.

It also connects your purchase to the rest of the protection system. The project must be registered with DLD before units are sold, and Article 4 of the law says a developer may not sell off-plan before taking possession of the land and obtaining the required approvals. Your instalments go into the project's escrow account under Law No. 8 of 2007. How the pieces fit together is in our guide to off-plan buyer protection in Dubai.

The developer does. DLD's initial sale registration service is used by the developer through the Oqood portal, and the certificate is emailed to the buyer. You do not need to visit DLD.

DLD lists four steps:

1. The developer logs in to the Oqood portal and selects the provisional sale registration service.
2. It selects the property, fills in the details, attaches the documents and chooses a payment method.
3. It submits the application online.
4. The output, a provisional registration e-certificate, is sent by email to the purchaser.

The conditions. The SPA must be signed by both the developer and the purchaser. If the purchaser is a minor, the guardian signs and attaches their passport or ID. And the contract must be registered in the provisional register within 90 days of the signing date.

Payment. DLD lists two payment methods for this service: the developer's Noqodi wallet, or deduction from the escrow account. The developer collects the fee from you and pays DLD.

For an individual buyer: a copy of the signed SPA, a copy of a valid Emirates ID, and a copy of a valid passport if you are not a UAE resident. Companies provide more.

If you are buying through a company, prepare these papers before you book. Translation and ratification can take longer than the 90 days the registration allows.

The main cost is the 4% DLD fee. DLD's initial sale page lists 2% for the seller and 2% for the purchaser, AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees, and a developer self-registration fee of AED 1,000.

Who pays the 4%. Executive Council Resolution No. 30 of 2013 splits the fee equally unless the parties agree otherwise, and Article 9 of the 2010 bylaw says the developer and purchaser pay their shares of registration fees unless agreed. On off-plan sales the developer collects the full 4% from the buyer in most contracts. DLD said in 2021 that developers register after the buyer hands over fees equal to 4% of the property's value.

When it is paid. Usually with or soon after the booking payment. In May 2021 DLD told developers to pay registration fees within a maximum of 60 days and warned of penalties for delay.

Developer charges. Some developers add an administration or Oqood processing charge. Article 8 of the 2010 bylaw says a developer may not charge purchasers any amounts other than those approved by DLD, so ask for the figure and its basis before you sign.

The fee is paid once. When the Oqood converts to a title deed at completion, only issuance fees apply. The full picture, including waivers and the First-Time Home Buyer instalment option, is in our guide to the DLD fee in Dubai.

Yes. The Oqood registration follows the SPA, so whoever is named on the SPA, with the shares written there, is who is registered. Decide this before you sign.

Joint buyers. Each buyer provides their own identity documents, and each is named on the registration. Agree the shares in writing at booking, because the title deed at completion is issued from the same record. Adding a name later is a new registered transaction with its own fee, and before completion it also needs the developer's agreement.

A minor. DLD's conditions say that where the purchaser is a minor, the guardian signs the contract and attaches a copy of their passport or ID.

A company. DLD lists separate document sets for sole establishments, limited liability companies, foreign companies and GCC companies, set out in the table above. A foreign company's memorandum must be translated into Arabic and ratified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which takes time.

A power of attorney. Where someone signs for you, DLD's answers say a power of attorney issued outside the UAE must be formally ratified before it is accepted, and that one for a purchase is valid for five years from notarisation.

That it names you correctly and describes the right unit and sale. Check every field against your SPA the day it arrives.

1. Your name and details, spelt exactly as in your passport, with every co-buyer included.
2. The unit, including the building, unit number and project.
3. The sale, including the price in your SPA.
4. The developer, matching the company you signed with.

If anything is wrong, raise it with the developer in writing straight away. Names and shares on the Oqood flow through to the title deed, and correcting them later is slower and can cost more.

Check the project as well. The Dubai REST app shows each registered project's status and certified completion percentage. Our guides to the Dubai REST app and to checking an off-plan project show how.

Ask the developer for the registration status in writing, then go to DLD if it does not move. An unregistered sale is void, so do not let it drift.

DLD's answers say that if a developer refuses or delays registering a sale contract, an application can be made to register it with the Real Estate Registration Assurance section. Article 3 of the 2010 bylaw adds that where a developer applies late, DLD registers the disposition and fines the developer AED 10,000.

Keep paying instalments into the project's escrow account while you resolve it, and keep every receipt. Payments into escrow are traceable; payments to an individual or a personal account are not.

You can sell it, mortgage it or otherwise deal with it. Article 6 of Law No. 13 of 2008 says units on the interim register may be disposed of by sale, mortgage or any other legal disposition.

Sell it before handover. This is called an assignment, and DLD records it as a transfer from one Oqood registration to another. DLD says resale is possible after obtaining a no objection certificate from the developer. The new buyer pays the 4% DLD fee on the price they pay, and takes over your remaining instalments and handover date. The full process and costs are in our guide to selling off-plan before handover.

Developer charges on a resale. Article 7 of the law says a developer may not charge any fees on a sale, resale or other disposition of units except administrative costs approved by DLD. Ask for the NOC fee, the minimum percentage paid and any lock-in period in writing before you buy.

Mortgage it. DLD registers mortgages on provisional, Oqood, properties. Its mortgage registration page lists a developer e-NOC obtained through the Dubai REST app and a service partner fee of AED 5,000 plus VAT, against AED 4,000 plus VAT on a title deed. Lending limits are in our guide to off-plan mortgages.

Use it for residence. For the ten-year Golden Visa, an Oqood registration is read as proof of ownership in place of a title deed. The conditions are in our guide to the Golden Visa through property.

Both are Dubai Land Department registrations, made under different laws for different stages. Oqood covers the off-plan years; the title deed takes over at completion.

It is replaced by a title deed. Article 8 of Law No. 13 of 2008 says developers must enter completed projects in the Property Register once they receive the completion certificate, including registering sold units in the names of buyers who have fulfilled their contractual obligations.

If the developer does not do it, DLD may register the unit in your name at your request or on its own initiative, provided you have met all your obligations. Article 7(1) of the 2010 bylaw adds that once a project is complete, the developer may not refuse to hand over or register a unit for a buyer who has met their obligations.

Two practical points. First, "fulfilled their obligations" usually means paid in full, so a post-handover plan can delay the deed. Second, no second 4% is charged; only issuance fees apply. The steps and fees at that stage are in our title deed guide, and the handover itself in our handover guide.

The developer cannot simply cancel your registration. Article 11 of Law No. 13 of 2008, as amended by Law No. 19 of 2020, sets a procedure that must be followed first.

The developer notifies DLD, which serves a 30-day written notice on the buyer and, where possible, mediates a settlement. Only if the breach is not remedied may the developer act, within limits set by the project's completion:

Speak to the developer before a payment is missed, and get any arrangement in writing. The options are set out in our guide to missed off-plan instalments.

Oqood records your purchase; it does not guarantee the building, the date or the price. Those are covered by other rules, and by your SPA.

• It does not hold your money. Instalments are protected by the project's escrow account under Law No. 8 of 2007, not by the registration. See our escrow guide.
• It does not fix the handover date. The anticipated completion date and any grace period are in your SPA. What happens if they pass is in our buyer protection guide.
• It does not prove the finished area. The final measured area is recorded when the unit moves to the Property Register. DLD's guidance limits what a developer may charge if the area grows and requires compensation if it shrinks by more than 5% of the net area.
• It is not a title deed for every purpose. The two-year property investor visa, for example, requires a completed home with a title deed.
• It does not replace your own checks. Verify the project, the developer and the escrow account before you pay the booking amount, not after the Oqood arrives.

1. Treating the SPA as enough. Without Oqood the sale is void. Chase the certificate.
2. Paying outside escrow. Instalments should go to the project's escrow account, not to an agent or a personal account.
3. Missing a co-buyer. Names on the Oqood become names on the deed. Get them right at booking.
4. Assuming a free exit. Reselling needs a developer NOC, and the developer sets the minimum payment first.
5. Expecting a second 4% at handover. There is none on the same sale.
6. Using Dubai rules elsewhere. Oqood applies only in Dubai.

• Oqood. Dubai's interim register for off-plan sales, and the developer portal used to fill it.
• Interim Property Register. The legal name for Oqood in Law No. 13 of 2008.
• Provisional registration e-certificate. The Oqood certificate emailed to the buyer.
• Property Register. The main register of completed property under Law No. 7 of 2006, from which title deeds are issued.
• NOC. A no objection certificate from the developer, needed to resell or mortgage an Oqood unit.
• Escrow account. The project account, regulated under Law No. 8 of 2007, into which buyers pay instalments. See our escrow guide.

If you are about to book, our step-by-step guide to buying off-plan in Dubai shows where Oqood fits, and new launches lists projects now selling. If you already hold an Oqood certificate, keep it with your SPA and receipts, check your project's progress in Dubai REST, and read the title deed guide before handover.