Makani
A Makani number is the unique 10-digit code Dubai Municipality assigns to every building entrance, used as a precise address for navigation and services.
What Makani means for a buyer
Dubai grew faster than its street addressing, and for years directions relied on landmarks. Makani, Arabic for "my location", is Dubai Municipality's answer: a 10-digit number identifying each entrance of every building in the emirate, accurate to about a metre. The number is displayed on a plate beside the entrance, and typing it into the Makani app or a mapping service takes you to that door.
A large building has several Makani numbers, one for each entrance, including car park and service entrances. Villas have one at the gate.
Owners and tenants meet it in everyday administration. Government and utility forms ask for it, couriers and delivery apps use it, and emergency services can be dispatched to it. It may also appear on tenancy and community paperwork.
What it is not: Makani is an addressing tool, not a legal identifier of your property. Ownership is recorded by the Dubai Land Department using the plot number, building and unit number shown on the title deed or Oqood certificate, and utilities are tied to a separate DEWA premise number. A Makani number will not tell you who owns a property or whether a listing is authorised; use Dubai REST and the Trakheesi permit for that.
When viewing or buying remotely, the Makani number is a reliable way to confirm on a map exactly which building, and which side of it, you are being shown.
Related terms
Guides that use this term
Where Makani comes up in practice, with the costs, rules and steps around it.
Questions about the buying process?
An adviser can explain how this applies to the property you're considering.
- Current price list and availability, direct from the developer
- No fee to you on off-plan purchases: the developer pays us
- One salaried adviser, not on commission, from first call to handover
