How to Check a Dominican Republic Real Estate Agent Is Legitimate

Here is the uncomfortable starting point: as of August 2026, the Dominican Republic does not require a licence to work as a real estate agent.

There is no exam you must pass, no register you must appear on, and no government body that can strike you off. Anyone with a phone and a WhatsApp account can describe themselves as a real estate agent, and many do. That is changing — a licensing law is moving through the legislature — but it has not changed yet.

Which means the burden of checking sits with you. Here is how to do it in about fifteen minutes.

Check 1: Are They in the AEI Directory?

The Asociación de Agentes y Empresas Inmobiliarias (AEI) is the country's national real estate association, founded in 1989. It is not a government body and membership is voluntary — but it is the closest thing the Dominican market has to a professional register, and it publishes its membership openly. We keep a full reference on the organisation here.

Two directories, both public:

• Agent directory — individual agents
• Company directory — real estate firms

If the person you are dealing with claims AEI membership, they should appear. If they do not appear, ask why. There are legitimate answers — they may be an agent working under a member firm rather than individually — but you want to hear the answer rather than assume one.

Key Takeaway: AEI membership is not decorative. Members are bound by a code of ethics with a disciplinary committee behind it, and sanctions that run from a public reprimand to a six-month suspension to permanent expulsion. A non-member who mistreats you faces no professional consequence at all.

Check 2: Do They Hold CBR Certification?

AEI runs a certification programme, and its own code of ethics treats the entry-level qualification as an obligation rather than a nice-to-have. A member broker is expected to hold CBR-01, covering the basic knowledge of the profession, and to bring in a specialist when a question falls outside it.

There is a second level, CBR-02, aimed at strategic and managerial competence.

Ask which one they hold and when they took it. An agent who has done the training will answer immediately. An agent who has not will change the subject.

Check 3: Will They Put the Relationship in Writing?

This is the single most revealing test, and it costs you nothing.

AEI's code requires members to document agreements in writing with clear terms, and to keep the relevant documents available. It also requires that any commission-sharing arrangement between agents be fixed in writing beforehand.

So ask for a written brokerage agreement stating the commission, what the agent is responsible for, and how long the arrangement runs. An agent operating to the professional standard will produce one. An agent who tells you paperwork is not how things are done here is telling you something important.

While you are at it, know what the commission should look like — the published schedule is here.

Check 4: Watch for the Four Things the Code Specifically Forbids

These are drawn straight from AEI's code of ethics. Each one is a named prohibition, which means each one is common enough to have needed a rule.

They take your deposit in their own name. The code prohibits a broker from receiving deposits under their own name. Your deposit belongs in escrow with a lawyer or notary, not in an agent's personal account. This is the one that costs people the most money.

They are marketing a property without written owner authorisation. The code forbids advertising a property without the owner's written permission. If an agent cannot demonstrate they are actually instructed on a property, you may be negotiating with someone who has no standing to sell it.

They will not refer out on a legal question. The code requires members to send clients to a lawyer where ownership is unclear or the legal situation is complex. An agent who assures you the title is fine and there is no need to involve anyone else is going beyond their role. Title problems are the most expensive category of Dominican property mistake — see our guide to due diligence.

They are vague about who else is being paid. The code requires loyalty and truthfulness in negotiation and sets out how commissions split between agents. If you cannot get a straight answer about who is paying whom, that is data.

What Is About to Change

On 23 April 2026, the Dominican Senate approved in first reading a bill regulating real estate intermediation, sponsored by senators Rafael Barón Duluc, Félix Ramón Bautista and Eduard Alexis Espiritusanto. It is now working through the legislature.

If it passes in its current form, verification gets dramatically easier:

• Every habitual real estate intermediary would need an operating licence, renewed annually
• Licences would be issued through MIVHED, the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings
• There would be minimum training hours and an academic requirement
• There would be a free, publicly searchable register of licensed intermediaries — and of sanctions imposed on those who break the rules
• Deceptive property advertising would carry fines of up to 50 minimum salaries, plus suspension

That public register is the important part for buyers. It would replace the four checks above with one lookup. We have covered the bill in full in our analysis of the licensing law.

Until Then

Run the four checks. They take fifteen minutes and they filter out most of what goes wrong. And if something has already gone wrong, there is a disciplinary route most foreign buyers never hear about — how to use it.

Pro Tip: Verifying the agent is a different question from verifying the price. A perfectly ethical, certified, AEI-member agent can still bring you a property priced 20% above what comparable properties in that zone actually trade for — the incentive structure points that way, and it is not misconduct.

That part you check independently: run the property through our valuation tool or the fair price check before you make an offer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do real estate agents need a licence in the Dominican Republic?

Not as of August 2026. There is currently no licensing requirement, no mandatory exam and no government register. A bill that would require every habitual intermediary to hold an annually renewed licence through MIVHED passed the Senate in first reading in April 2026 and is still moving through the legislature.

How do I check if a Dominican real estate agent is registered?

There is no government register yet. The nearest equivalent is AEI's public membership directory, which lists individual agents and member companies separately on aei.com.do. Membership is voluntary, so absence from the directory is a question to ask rather than proof of a problem.

Is it safe to buy property in the Dominican Republic?

Yes, with independent verification. The DR places no restrictions on foreign ownership, but it offers no automatic protection either — no title insurance culture and, so far, no agent licensing. Retaining your own Dominican attorney and verifying title before any deposit is what makes it safe.

Should I pay a deposit directly to my real estate agent?

No. AEI's code of ethics specifically prohibits a member broker from receiving deposits in their own name. Deposits belong in escrow with an attorney or notary. An agent asking for funds into a personal account is a reason to stop.

What is CBR certification?

CBR-01 and CBR-02 are the certifications AEI awards to its own members — the first covering the basic knowledge of the profession, the second aimed at strategic and managerial competence. They are association credentials, not government licences.