Real Estate Marketing Licence in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

What people call a "real estate marketing licence" means, in Egypt, entry in the real-estate brokers register held by the General Organization for Export and Import Control (GOEIC), which is required of anyone working in real-estate brokerage, marketing or intermediation. In Saudi Arabia it means the FAL licence for brokerage and marketing issued by the Real Estate General Authority (REGA). This guide sets out the steps and conditions for each from the official sources, then covers courses, jobs and commission.

The short version: in Egypt, Law No. 120 of 1982, as amended, prohibits real-estate brokerage by anyone not entered in the brokers register, and registration also applies to those doing real-estate marketing. The grace period for existing businesses ended on 25 July 2026. In Saudi Arabia, the individual FAL licence requires you to be 18 or over, hold a valid national ID, complete three courses and pay SAR 300 a year. For any fee or document not covered here, ask the authority itself.

What is real estate marketing?

Real estate marketing is promoting a property, whether a flat, a villa, a commercial unit or a whole project, and getting it in front of a suitable buyer or tenant. As a job, it usually means taking leads from ads, understanding each buyer's budget, showing matching units, arranging viewings and following up until a reservation.

Saudi Arabia's Real Estate Brokerage Law defines property marketing as promoting a real-estate product through advertising and promotional means. The legal point is the same in both countries: if you market other people's property for a commission, you are doing something that needs registration or a licence.

Egypt: entry in the real-estate brokers register

The service page on GOEIC's website states that under Article 2 of Law No. 120 of 1982, which regulates commercial agency and certain commercial intermediation and real-estate brokerage, no real-estate brokerage work may be carried out except by a person whose name is entered in the real-estate brokers register.

The page adds that registration is required of anyone doing real-estate brokerage, marketing or intermediation outside property finance, or working to conclude contracts to buy, sell or lease property and land, or to mediate in them. Marketing is named explicitly.

Personal conditions. According to remarks by GOEIC's chairman published on its website in November 2025, applicants must:

• hold Egyptian nationality, or have been naturalised for at least ten years;
• have no conviction for a felony or a misdemeanour involving honour or trust;
• not appear on the negative lists of Egypt's anti-money-laundering unit;
• not be a government employee or a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate.

The grace period is over. GOEIC's service page for establishments that already carry the activity notes that the period for regularising existing businesses ended on 25 July 2026 under Decree No. 593 of 2025, and that GOEIC will not issue a no-objection certificate when a commercial register listing real-estate brokerage is amended or renewed without permanent registration.

How to get registered in Egypt, step by step

These steps summarise what GOEIC publishes for new establishments, whether sole traders or companies. They are not legal advice:

1. Decide the form: a sole establishment in your own name, which is what most people mean by an individual licence, or a company. GOEIC has separate registration forms for each.
2. Start the commercial register with real-estate brokerage as the activity.
3. Get a no-objection certificate from the competent GOEIC branch. New establishments are registered in two stages: the certificate, then the entry.
4. File the registration request on the forms on the service page, and pay the fees where you obtained the certificate. Listed locations include GOEIC's branches in Maarouf, 6th of October and Alexandria, and the chambers of commerce in Bab El Louk, Alexandria and Tanta.
5. Book an appointment with the "book an appointment" button on the same service page rather than turning up unannounced.
6. Collect the card from one of the issuing branches: Maarouf, 6th of October, Alexandria or Damietta.

If you are already registered, GOEIC offers separate services for renewal and for amending your details.

Fees in Egypt: the service page we reviewed in October 2026 does not state the fee. Call GOEIC's hotline, 19591, and ask about the current fees before you go, rather than relying on figures passed around on social media.

Saudi Arabia: the FAL licence

Many people asking how to get a real estate marketing licence are in Saudi Arabia, where it is called FAL. Article 4 of the Real Estate Brokerage Law prohibits real-estate brokerage or real-estate services without a licence from REGA.

According to REGA's service page for the individual FAL licence, you need:

• to be at least 18 years old;
• a valid national ID;
• to complete three courses: real-estate brokerage, real-estate marketing and e-real-estate marketing;
• full legal capacity and no conviction for a crime affecting honour or integrity;
• to pay SAR 300 a year.

The application is entirely online: create an account on REGA's platform, choose the service, fill in the form and submit it. Establishments have a separate licence at SAR 1,000 a year.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia compared

Item	Egypt	Saudi Arabia
Official name	Entry in the real-estate brokers register	FAL licence for brokerage and marketing
Authority	GOEIC	Real Estate General Authority (REGA)
Legal basis	Law 120 of 1982, as amended by Law 21 of 2022	Real Estate Brokerage Law
Covers marketers?	Yes, marketing is named explicitly	Yes, the licence covers brokerage and marketing
Mandatory courses	Specialised training programmes under the January 2026 amendments, per GOEIC; no course named, so confirm with GOEIC	Three courses
Fee	Ask GOEIC on 19591	SAR 300 a year for individuals, SAR 1,000 for establishments
How to apply	Forms and an appointment at a branch or chamber	Online platform

Can an owner market their own property?

If you are selling or letting your own property, you are a party to the deal, not an intermediary. The definition on GOEIC's page is about brokerage and intermediation in other people's contracts. Once you start marketing relatives' or neighbours' property for a commission, you are inside that definition. Where it is unclear, ask GOEIC in writing; in Saudi Arabia, ask REGA about the rules for advertising property.

Real estate marketing courses: what should they teach?

In Saudi Arabia the three courses are a condition of the licence. In Egypt, GOEIC said in April 2026 that the January 2026 amendments to the executive regulations require those working in real-estate brokerage to pass specialised training programmes, keep documented electronic records of their transactions and disclose their commissions. The service page does not name a specific course, so ask GOEIC which programme counts before you pay for one.

Whether you take a paid course or a free one online, a complete real estate marketing course should cover:

1. The law and registration or licensing in your country, plus anti-money-laundering duties.
2. Unit and project types, and the difference between buying from a developer and resale.
3. Payment plans, and comparing total cost rather than the monthly instalment.
4. Writing a property listing and photographing a unit; see our guide to a property listing that converts.
5. Paid campaigns and measuring cost per lead.
6. Lead follow-up and recording it in a CRM; see broker lead management.
7. Negotiation, viewings and closing a reservation.
8. The contract: what a marketing or brokerage agreement must contain; see the clauses of a real estate marketing contract.

A certificate of completion from a course does not replace official registration or a licence. Before you sign up, ask whether the certificate is recognised by the regulator.

Real estate marketing jobs: no experience, from home, on commission

Many real estate marketing roles start with no experience: a property marketer who takes leads from ads and follows them up. There are three common set-ups:

Set-up	How it works	What to check
Employee at a company	Usually a salary plus commission on deals	That the company is registered, and how commission is calculated, in writing
Commission only	No salary; a share of every deal you close	Your agreement with the owner or developer, and registration in your name if you work for yourself
From home or remote	Phone and online contact, viewings when needed	Who owns the client data, and who pays for ads

Commission rates: in Egypt, commission is set by agreement between the parties, and this guide does not set a figure. In Saudi Arabia, Article 14 of the Real Estate Brokerage Law sets it at 2.5% of the deal value for a sale, or of the first year's rent only for a lease, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.

If you are looking for remote or online real estate marketing work on your own account in Egypt, registration applies to you as above. If you are looking for real estate marketing jobs in Saudi Arabia, you need a FAL licence if you will broker or market property yourself. If you are employed by a registered company in Egypt, ask the company in writing about your own legal position.

Opening a real estate marketing office: after registration

On the brokerage side, opening a real estate marketing office in Egypt rests on the registration conditions above. Permits for the premises itself, such as a shop sign, are a separate matter for your local district, so confirm them locally or with a lawyer. After registering you need three things: a business address (ask GOEIC what it requires at registration), a way for clients to find your units, and a system that loses no lead. We cover the sign, logo and local search in our guide to running a real estate office, and the last item in our guide to choosing real estate software.

Buildoura offers a free-forever plan that includes a website in your name and a CRM for up to 5 clients, 5 projects and 10 units, enough for a marketer starting out alone.

FAQ

Is there a real estate marketing licence in Egypt?

The official equivalent is entry in the real-estate brokers register held by GOEIC. GOEIC's page states that registration is required of anyone doing real-estate brokerage, marketing or intermediation, and that real-estate brokerage is prohibited for anyone not registered.

How do I get registered as a real estate marketer in Egypt?

Start a commercial register with real-estate brokerage as the activity, get a no-objection certificate from a GOEIC branch, file the registration request on GOEIC's forms and pay the fee, then collect your card. Book an appointment on the service page and ask 19591 for the current document list.

How much does a real estate marketing licence cost?

In Saudi Arabia, REGA lists the individual FAL licence at SAR 300 a year and the establishment licence at SAR 1,000 a year. In Egypt, the service page did not show the fee at the time of writing, so ask GOEIC on 19591.

What are the conditions for the FAL licence?

Be 18 or over, hold a valid national ID, complete the real-estate brokerage, real-estate marketing and e-real-estate marketing courses, have no conviction for a crime affecting honour or integrity, and pay SAR 300 a year.

Is there a free real estate marketing course?

There is plenty of free material; judge it by what it covers: the law and registration, payment plans, listings, follow-up and the contract. In Saudi Arabia the three courses are a licence condition, so take them from a provider REGA recognises.

Can I work in real estate marketing from home with no experience?

Yes. Many roles start with no experience, and remote work is possible. But if you work on your own account for commission in Egypt, you must be registered in the brokers register, and in Saudi Arabia you need a FAL licence.

Can an owner market their own property?

An owner selling their own property is a party to the deal, not a broker. Someone marketing other people's property for a commission falls within the definition of brokerage. Where it is unclear, ask the regulator in writing.

Written by Hala Mostafa, Real-Estate Solutions Lead at Buildoura. This guide is general information drawn from the official sources cited, not legal advice.

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