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Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre makes a new broker course compulsory for a licence: candidates pass a transaction simulation and an exam, and the certification is renewed every year

The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) launched on 8 October the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Broker Transformation Course, a mandatory licensing curriculum that replaces the previous broker course and is required for every broker seeking a licence in the emirate. It covers legal, operational, ethical and market knowledge, ends with a capstone transaction simulation and a final assessment, and those who pass receive the ADREC Certified Broker credential, renewed every year as regulations change. ADREC also signed memoranda of understanding with Mawaheb, ThinkProp and the Abu Dhabi School of Management, and a pilot programme with Mawaheb to prepare 60 Emirati nationals for brokerage careers was due to begin on 10 October.

Al Mithaq news desk · Published · Source: Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre (ADREC) press release
Computer-generated image of a two-storey villa with timber screens and a carport at Yas Riva Reserve, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, with two people jogging past
Computer-generated image of a two-storey villa with timber screens and a carport at Yas Riva Reserve, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, with two people jogging past. Picture: computer-generated image, Aldar, Yas Riva Reserve
8 OctoberADREC launched the course and signed the three memoranda of understanding
60Emirati nationals in the Mawaheb pilot programme, from 10 October
Every yearrenewal of the ADREC Certified Broker credential as regulations change

What ADREC launched

In a press release dated 8 October 2026, the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre said it has launched the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Broker Transformation Course, a new mandatory licensing curriculum designed to upskill real estate brokers. The course replaces the previous broker course and is required for all brokers seeking a licence in Abu Dhabi. ADREC describes it as part of a strategic initiative to raise the quality of service and the level of professional expertise across the emirate's real estate sector, setting one standard of regulatory knowledge and professional conduct for every licensed broker.

What the course covers

The curriculum covers legal, operational, ethical and market knowledge. Candidates must complete a capstone transaction simulation and a final assessment. Those who pass receive the ADREC Certified Broker credential, which is renewed every year as regulations change. Rashed Al Omaira, Director General of ADREC, said: "Brokers are often the first point of contact an investor has with the sector, and the quality of their advice shapes that investor's experience of the market."

The three agreements

ADREC signed memoranda of understanding with Mawaheb, part of the Department of Government Enablement - Abu Dhabi, with ThinkProp and with the Abu Dhabi School of Management. The agreements cover the delivery and joint development of broker training, ADREC-recognised courses and certification, and applied research. Under the Mawaheb agreement, a pilot programme prepares 60 Emirati nationals for careers in real estate brokerage. It was due to begin on 10 October 2026 with an open day, followed by one week of training and a three-month practical period with nine sector entities, with support in obtaining the required accreditation and the prospect of employment on completion. Ibrahim Nasser, Undersecretary of the Department of Government Enablement, said the programme reflects the Abu Dhabi Government's commitment to advancing Emiratisation.

What the release does not say

The release gives no length in hours and no fee for the new course, and it does not say by when brokers who already hold an Abu Dhabi licence must pass it, beyond the yearly renewal of the new credential. ThinkProp's own course page still describes its existing Abu Dhabi broker licensing course, so we do not quote its hours or price for the new curriculum. We will update this story when ADREC publishes those details.

Why it mattersIf you buy in Abu Dhabi from Kuwait, on Yas Island, Saadiyat or Al Reem, you will usually deal with a broker long before you meet the developer, and ADREC's director general says it plainly: the quality of that first advice shapes the whole experience. From now on, a broker newly licensed in Abu Dhabi has passed one standard course on the law, the procedures and professional conduct, a full transaction simulation and an exam, and must renew that certification every year. Three practical points for a buyer. Ask any broker, whether in Abu Dhabi or calling you in Kuwait, for the name of the licensed Abu Dhabi brokerage they work through and their ADREC licence, and keep the answer in writing. A licence is a minimum, not a guarantee: the price, the payment plan and the handover date are only what the sale and purchase agreement says, so read it before paying a booking fee. And the release gives neither the length nor the fee of the new course, and sets no date by which brokers already holding a licence must pass it, so we do not claim that every broker working today has done so.

What Al Mithaq adds

Al Mithaq represents Aldar's Yas Riva Reserve on Yas Island. Our project page lists every villa type with its size, price and payment plan, and a two-minute request form brings our team back to you from Kuwait with the villas available now and the documents you sign at each step, from reservation to handover.

Sources

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