What is an Ejari number

The Ejari number is the contract number that Dubai Land Department gives your tenancy once it is registered. It identifies that one lease on that one property, and it is printed on the registration certificate you receive by email. Utilities, schools, visa paperwork and the Land Department’s own services all ask for it.

It is easy to confuse with the other numbers on the same certificate, and the confusion costs people time at counters. The DEWA premise number is nine digits and belongs to the electricity and water connection. The municipality number with its sub number describes the building and the unit. The Ejari contract number is the one that describes the agreement between you and your landlord, and it changes when you sign a new contract.

Worth knowing. Save the certificate as a file rather than a screenshot of the number. The Land Department’s own download form asks for the contract number together with either the DEWA premise number or the municipality and sub numbers, so having only one of them is what leaves people stuck.

What this does not mean

An Ejari number is not proof that you are up to date. A number stays valid on a registration that has already expired, and it says nothing about whether the rent is paid. It is also not a Dubai wide tenant ID: a new home means a new registration and a new number, and the old one does not follow you.

If you cannot find yours, our answer on where to find your Ejari number lists the three places to look. The wider picture of renting in the emirate is in our guide to renting in Dubai.

Sources: Dubai Land Department, Download Rental Certificate (Ejari) (the numbers the form requires, including the nine digit DEWA premise number).