If your designer, a friend or a platform bought your domain for you, this is for you. The registrant is the one who holds the licence, so it is worth one look before anyone builds. This is not for you if you already hold your domain as the registrant: log in, note the renewal date and stop here.
What do you own when you buy a .ae domain?
Not the name for ever. We read the .ae Domain Name Policy on 19 October 2026, and it says it plainly: "A Registrant does not own a Domain Name, but rather the Registrant holds an exclusive licence to use a Domain Name for a specified period." For names registered after the new registry started, the period is one, two, three, four or five years.
Two dates matter, then. The date you buy, and the date the licence runs out. We did not read what happens after that date passes. Your registrar will tell you, and you want to hear it before the day, not after.
One caution on the source. The policy is a PDF marked version 1.1, effective June 2010. aeDA's policy page, last updated 20 August 2025, lists a ".ae Domain Name Policy" without showing a version, so the wording may have moved on. Your registrar applies the current text.
Whose name has to be on it?
Yours. aeDA's page on common mistakes names the failure. A domain registered under "employee details or the hosting company or the website developer details" instead of the company's name is the first mistake it lists. It names a second one: a wrong registrant email. "The auth-code recovery is dependent on the accuracy of this email address." The auth code is what a new registrar asks for when you move a domain. If the email on file is your designer's, recovery runs through them. The page was last updated on 19 October 2022.
Here is what it looks like from the buyer's side. A company owner in India posted on the Vercel Community forum on 14 January 2026: "I hired a freelance developer to build and host my company's website on Vercel." The developer "still controls the Vercel project and DNS/nameserver configuration" and "is refusing to transfer access or release the domain." That is a different country, platform and domain type, so we do not claim it is the .ae rule. It shows the same shape: the person who paid for the site is not the person the account knows.
Do you need documents to buy one?
For the plain .ae, the policy says no. Section 10 states that for the .ae unrestricted zone "Applicants are not required to provide any documentary evidence". WIPO's page on .AE agrees: registration under .AE is "unrestricted".
co.ae is a different product. Section 11 says a registrant must have a valid UAE trade licence, be a commercial entity licensed in a UAE free zone, or hold or have applied for a UAE trade mark. The name must also match, or closely connect to, the company's name.
The guides you will find disagree. One Bit Launch, a UAE web studio, wrote on 17 February 2026 that a second-level .ae has "no trade licence, no Emirates ID and no documents." In the same article it says "You need to go through an accredited registrar and provide documentation." The article does not say which sentence covers which name, so we use the policy, not the guide.
We do not advise on whether a freelance permit holder can use co.ae. Ask a registrar. aeDA's FAQ says registrars "decide whether or not your domain name application meets the policy rules", so the registrar is who you ask before you pay.
Registrar or reseller: who holds your account?
Many shops sell .ae names. Not all of them are the registrar. aeDA's FAQ says: "Registrars in the .ae domain are accredited by ( .aeDA )." and "Resellers are not accredited or licensed by ( .aeDA ), they are appointed by the Registrar." Resellers "do not have direct access to the Registry, and must process registrations and renewals through their Registrar."
That matters for you in one way. If a shop buys the name through its own account, your name may not be on any account at all. Ask two questions before you pay: who is the registrar behind this shop, and will my name and my email be on the account? aeDA keeps a list of accredited registrars on its accredited registrars page, in three groups: UAE local, brand protection and international. We do not pick one for you.
What do you check before anyone builds on it?
Four things. Do them in this order, because the first one is the hardest to fix later.
| Check | Pass | If it fails |
|---|---|---|
| Registrant name | Your name, or your company's if you trade through one | Ask the registrar what it needs to put the licence in your name, before the build |
| Registrant email | An address only you read | Change it to yours first. It receives the recovery code |
| Your own login | You can sign in to the registrar account yourself | Ask for the account, or a move to a registrar account that you hold |
| Renewal date | You know it, and it is in your calendar | Find it in the account, and set the reminder |
If a designer already bought the name, ask for the move while they are still easy to reach. aeDA's FAQ says registrants can choose their registrar and move a domain to another accredited registrar. We did not read the terms for changing the registrant, so ask your registrar what they need. We cannot do this for you, and we never hold a domain.
What does the domain cost, and what do we add?
The domain costs what the registrar charges. Prices differ and change, so we give none. Read the registrar's own page on the day you buy, and pay the registrar directly.
Our part is the page. This is what the live Founder Page states today, on 19 October 2026.
There is no monthly minimum on a Founder Page. The page says to buy the domain from an aeDA-accredited registrar in your own name, and the few days to go live start when your domain and your bio line reach us. If we host the page and you stop the AED 199 a month, the page comes off our servers. The domain stays yours, so you can point it elsewhere.
Our method is called Own the booking. You tell us what you sell and where people book you today, and we reply by email within 24 hours. We do not register the domain, promise a Google listing or advise on licences. Mindcat is a Dubai company, founded in 2022, and we have no client page to show you yet, so we do not quote one. If the domain is the open question, contact us first, and if you read this and know whose name is on yours, tell us what you sell and where people book you today. If you are still at the permit stage, read the permit first.
