---
title: "Oqood"
canonical: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/oqood
markdown: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/md/glossary/oqood.md
type: glossary-term
description: "Oqood is the Dubai Land Department's interim register for off-plan sales: it records the buyer's rights during construction, before a title deed can be issued."
publisher: "UAE Property Agents (Omnia)"
language: en-GB
usage: "You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting."
---

# Oqood

> Oqood is the Dubai Land Department's interim register for off-plan sales: it records the buyer's rights during construction, before a title deed can be issued.

Also known as: Oqood certificate, Interim real estate register, Initial contract of sale, عقود.

## What Oqood means for a buyer

Oqood (Arabic for "contracts") is the system through which every off-plan sale in Dubai is entered in the [Dubai Land Department](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dld)'s interim register, as required by Law No. 13 of 2008. The [developer](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/developer) registers your [SPA](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/spa) through the Oqood portal and you receive an Oqood certificate, sometimes called an initial contract of sale. It names you as the purchaser of a specific unit in a registered project.

Registration matters because it is what protects you against the unit being sold twice, and it is the document a bank, a later buyer or the immigration authorities will ask for while the building is under construction. When the project completes and you have paid in full, the entry moves to the main register and a [title deed](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/title-deed) is issued.

The cost is the DLD's [4% transfer fee](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dld-transfer-fee), paid at the start rather than at handover, plus an administration fee. The admin fee is quoted inconsistently because developers set their own charge on top of the DLD's, so ask for it in writing. Some developers pay part or all of the 4% as a sales incentive.

Do not treat a reservation form or a developer's receipt as proof of registration. Ask for the Oqood certificate itself and check it on the [Dubai REST](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dubai-rest) app. If you later sell before completion, the [assignment](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/assignment) is also recorded in Oqood.

## Related terms

- [SPA](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/spa): The Sale and Purchase Agreement is the binding contract between an off-plan buyer and the developer, setting the price, payment schedule and completion date.
- [Title deed](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/title-deed): A title deed is the land registry's certificate of ownership for a completed property, issued by the Dubai Land Department or, in Abu Dhabi, through ADREC.
- [Off-plan](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/off-plan): Off-plan means buying a property from a developer before it is built or finished, paying in stages during construction against a registered contract.
- [DLD transfer fee](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/dld-transfer-fee): The DLD transfer fee is the 4% charge the Dubai Land Department levies on the price of every property sale in Dubai when it is registered.
- [Assignment / resale before handover](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/assignment): An assignment is the sale of an off-plan purchase contract to a new buyer before the property is completed, with the developer's consent.

## In depth

- [Buying off-plan property in the UAE: how it works and how buyers are protected](https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/guides/buying-off-plan-in-the-uae)


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Source page: https://www.uaepropertyagents.com/glossary/oqood. Published by UAE Property Agents, Omnia Capital Group. You may read, quote, summarise and cite this content, including in AI answers, with attribution to UAE Property Agents and a link to the canonical URL. Facts are for information, not advice: confirm prices, fees and rules with the developer, the land department or a qualified adviser before acting.