Dubai Land Department requires an off-plan sale and purchase contract to be entered in the provisional register within 90 days of signing, and the issued record is a provisional registration e-certificate, not a title deed (DLD, as of 21 September 2026). The clean way to read a purchase file is by stage: contract, Oqood registration, completion, title issuance and any later transfer.

Oqood and title deed are records for different stages

Oqood records the off-plan sale before the final title exists; the title deed is the DLD ownership record issued after the provisional procedures are completed. The useful question is therefore not which document is “better”, but which one should exist on the date you are checking.

The full Dubai buying process places these records beside the commercial steps, including reservation, contract, payment and transfer. This guide stays on the narrower evidence question: what DLD record exists now, and what should replace it next.

Oqood records the initial off-plan sale

The DLD initial-sale service is the official Oqood route. DLD describes it as the service through which a developer registers an off-plan unit, or a land plot whose value has not been fully paid, in the provisional register. The applicant logs into the Oqood portal, selects the property, enters the details, attaches the documents and sends the application online. The purchaser receives the output by email.

That output is a provisional registration e-certificate. This distinction matters because the record can exist while construction and scheduled payments continue. It records the registered sale, but it is not the later title deed and it does not, on its own, show that the purchase price has been paid in full.

DLD’s service terms say the signed sale and purchase contract must be registered in the provisional register within 90 days of signing. The required buyer identity document is a UAE ID for a resident individual or a valid passport for a non-resident, as of 21 September 2026. DLD lists the service time as one business day once a compliant application reaches the service.

The initial-registration charges belong to this route

DLD lists the initial-sale charge as 2% of the sale value for the seller and 2% for the purchaser, plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees. It separately lists an AED 1,000 developer self-registration fee for a provisional sale through Oqood, as of 21 September 2026.

On a hypothetical AED 2,000,000 contract, the two percentage lines total AED 80,000: AED 40,000 is the published 2% seller share and AED 40,000 is the published 2% purchaser share. That calculation explains the service schedule only. It does not reallocate charges between the parties or turn the separate developer self-registration fee into an automatic buyer charge.

Project status is a separate official check

An Oqood certificate answers the registration question; DLD’s Project Status Enquiry answers the construction-status question. Treating one as proof of the other leaves a gap in the file.

As of 21 September 2026, the DLD Project Status Enquiry accepts a land number, project number or project name and returns the project completion percentage and details. DLD lists it as immediate and available through its website, Dubai REST and WhatsApp. The official project and escrow check explains how to keep those project-level facts separate from a unit’s sale record.

Dubai REST adds another official view for off-plan beneficiaries. DLD says the app can show completion percentage, actual project pictures, the escrow account number and payments due on the owner. Those are live project and account facts. They do not convert the provisional registration e-certificate into a title deed.

The evidence split is simple:

• Use the provisional registration e-certificate to identify the registered off-plan sale.
• Use Project Status Enquiry for the project’s recorded completion percentage and details.
• Use Dubai REST for the project information DLD makes available to the beneficiary, including escrow and payment fields.
• Expect the title deed only through the separate completion route.

The title deed follows DLD’s completion route

DLD’s completion of initial procedures service is the bridge from the provisional file to title. It allows parties who have complied with their contractual obligations to issue a Certificate of Title or title deed. The application is made through the Oqood portal by selecting the service for completing provisional procedures, entering the property details, attaching documents and paying the applicable charges.

The issued documents are an electronic title deed and electronic map. DLD lists the service time as six business days, as of 21 September 2026. That is the service time for the DLD route, not a forecast for construction, inspection, handover or the satisfaction of contractual obligations before the application can be made.

Where the registration fee was previously collected, DLD lists these completion-service charges:

For an apartment or villa on that route, the listed AED 250 deed, AED 250 map, AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation charges total AED 520. The land-map alternatives should not be added to the unit or villa map line.

Once the deed is issued, DLD’s separate Verify Title Deed service checks the validity of a Certificate of Title or title deed. The website form asks for the deed number, deed year and property type, with an optional owner-and-property validation route. DLD lists the check as immediate through its website or Dubai REST, as of 21 September 2026.

The overseas buyer’s title-checking guide goes further into matching the property and owner details. The key boundary here is that title verification validates the issued deed; it does not replace a separate review of the contract, handover condition or payment ledger.

A later transfer produces a new title record

When a completed property is sold, the seller’s existing deed is part of the transfer file, but the operative output for the buyer is a new electronic title deed and map. DLD’s Property Sale Registration service handles a full or partial sale of land, property or a completed real estate unit through a Real Estate Registration Trustee centre.

DLD lists Emirates IDs for the seller and buyer, or a valid passport for a non-resident foreign buyer, plus an e-NOC from the developer in a freehold area. The trustee verifies the documents, enters and audits the transaction, takes payment and sends the output by email. DLD lists a 25-minute service time for this registration route, as of 21 September 2026.

The published charges on this completed-property route are not the same fee table as the Oqood completion service:

This stage resets the evidence question. The prior owner’s deed shows the record before transfer. The new electronic deed is the record that should appear after the completed sale is registered.

Follow the record in this order

The cleanest buyer file treats every document as evidence of one event, then checks the next expected output.

1. 1

   Keep the signed SPA

   Record the signing date, buyer identity, unit details and developer details. The signed contract starts the contractual file, but it is not DLD’s provisional registration e-certificate.

2. 2

   Match the Oqood output

   Use the provisional registration e-certificate emailed to the purchaser after the developer’s DLD initial-sale application. Match the buyer and unit details to the SPA.

3. 3

   Check project status separately

   Use DLD’s Project Status Enquiry for the completion percentage and project details. Use Dubai REST for the off-plan project, escrow and payment information that DLD makes available to the beneficiary.

4. 4

   Identify the completion application

   When the parties have met the applicable contractual obligations, the Oqood completion service is the official route that should produce the electronic title deed and map.

5. 5

   Verify the issued title

   Use DLD’s Verify Title Deed service or Dubai REST to validate the deed. Match the deed number, year, property type and, where used, the owner-and-property details.

6. 6

   Expect a new deed after any resale

   For a later sale of the completed property, follow the Property Sale Registration output. The buyer’s new electronic title deed and map should replace reliance on the seller’s earlier deed.

A hypothetical file shows what changes, and what does not

Suppose a buyer signs an SPA for a unit priced at AED 2,000,000 on day zero. The SPA is the contract evidence on that day. If the developer completes the DLD initial-sale process on day 20, the new evidence is the provisional registration e-certificate; day 20 is illustrative, while DLD’s actual rule is registration within 90 days of signing, as of 21 September 2026.

During construction, the Oqood record can remain the relevant unit-sale record. A completion percentage viewed in month 18 comes from Project Status Enquiry or Dubai REST, not from the Oqood certificate itself. “Month 18” is only a hypothetical checkpoint, not a construction forecast.

When the project reaches the relevant completion stage and the parties have complied with their contractual obligations, the completion application can produce the electronic title deed and map. DLD’s listed processing time is six business days after a compliant application reaches that service. If the owner later sells the completed unit, the next evidence event is the purchaser’s new electronic deed from Property Sale Registration.

The practical test at every point is the same: identify the last event that actually occurred, find the DLD service that records it, and ask whether the output in the file is the output that service says it issues.

Oqood and title deed FAQ, checked 21 September 2026

What is an Oqood certificate in Dubai?+

It is the provisional registration e-certificate issued after an off-plan sale is registered through DLD’s initial-sale service. DLD says the service covers off-plan units and land plots whose value has not been fully paid, as of 21 September 2026.

Is Oqood the same as a title deed?+

No. Oqood is the provisional registration record. DLD uses a separate completion service to issue the electronic title deed and map after the applicable contractual obligations have been met.

What are the official Oqood charges in Dubai?+

DLD’s initial-sale page lists 2% of the sale value for the seller and 2% for the purchaser, plus AED 10 knowledge and AED 10 innovation fees. It also lists a separate AED 1,000 developer self-registration fee for a provisional sale through Oqood, as of 21 September 2026.

How do I find or download my Oqood certificate?+

DLD’s initial-sale process says the provisional registration e-certificate is sent to the purchaser by email after the online application. For account and project information, use the official Dubai REST channel; if the expected certificate is absent, verify the application status with DLD or the developer handling the Oqood submission.

How can I verify a Dubai title deed?+

Use DLD’s Verify Title Deed service on the website or Dubai REST. DLD lists the validity check as immediate and asks for the deed number, deed year and property type, with an owner-and-property option.