A fake recruitment broker doesn't look fake. He has a logo, a WhatsApp Business account, photos of available workers, and a price that sounds reasonable. By the time a family realises the "agency" was never registered with any ministry, the deposit is gone and the worker never arrives — or worse, she arrives on the wrong visa and the family inherits the legal problem.
The good news: every GCC state now runs an official, searchable registry of licensed maid agencies, and checking one takes about five minutes. This guide shows exactly where to verify a licence in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, the step-by-step check, and the red flags that expose an unlicensed operator — even one quoting a "licence number".
What a maid agency licence actually protects you from
A licence is not a certificate on an office wall. In every GCC country, a licensed maid agency operates under conditions that directly protect you as the employer:
- Bank guarantees: regulators require agencies to post financial guarantees, so refund and replacement obligations are backed by real money — not goodwill.
- Regulated fees and standard contracts: licensed offices must use government-approved contracts with defined probation, replacement and refund terms.
- A complaints channel: if a licensed agency fails you, you can escalate to the regulator. Against an unlicensed broker, there is no one to escalate to.
- Legal recruitment channels: workers placed by licensed offices arrive on the correct domestic-worker visa, medically screened and contractually documented.
Hand the same money to an unlicensed middleman and every one of those protections disappears. In several GCC states, paying an unlicensed broker for recruitment is itself a violation — so the family, not just the broker, ends up exposed.
The official licence registry in every GCC country (2026)
Each country has one authoritative source. Use it — and ignore everything else, including screenshots an agency sends you.
| Country | Regulator | Where to verify |
|---|---|---|
| UAE | Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE) | MOHRE's registered domestic-worker recruitment agencies (Tadbeer offices) |
| Saudi Arabia | Ministry of Human Resources & Social Development | Musaned platform — the office must appear on the Musaned marketplace |
| Kuwait | Public Authority of Manpower (PAM) | PAM-licensed domestic labour offices; visas issued via the Sahel app |
| Qatar | Ministry of Labour | MOL's list of licensed recruitment offices |
| Oman | Ministry of Labour | MOL recruitment licence check (commercial registration + MOL permit) |
| Bahrain | Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) | LMRA licence verification services |
Country notes:
- UAE: recruitment runs through MOHRE-licensed agencies, widely known as Tadbeer offices. Every office has its own MOHRE record showing its legal name and status.
- Saudi Arabia: Musaned is not optional — recruitment from abroad must flow through a Musaned-listed office, and the platform shows each office's rating and performance history.
- Kuwait: the Public Authority of Manpower licenses domestic labour offices, and as of 2026 domestic-worker and driver visas are issued electronically through the Sahel app under new sponsorship rules — see our guide to Kuwait's new Sahel visa process.
- Qatar: the Ministry of Labour publishes the list of licensed recruitment offices.
- Oman: the Ministry of Labour licenses recruitment offices — check the commercial registration and the MOL permit together.
- Bahrain: the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) provides online licence verification.
How to verify a maid agency in under five minutes
This is the exact maid agency licence check we recommend before any money changes hands:
- Get the legal name and licence number. Ask directly. A legitimate office prints its licence number on contracts, invoices and usually the office signage. Hesitation here is already your answer.
- Go to the official registry — not Google. Search the regulator's own list from the table above. Fraudsters buy ads and build lookalike pages; they cannot edit a ministry database.
- Match every detail. The legal name, licence number, emirate or city, and licence validity must match what the agency told you. "Same owner, different company name" does not count.
- Cross-check the contact details. Call the phone number shown in the registry, not the WhatsApp number that contacted you. Brokers routinely borrow the names of real licensed agencies.
- Check standing, not just existence. On Musaned, review the office's rating. Everywhere, ask for the government-standard contract before paying anything — a licensed maid agency will produce it without being asked twice.
If all five checks pass, you are dealing with a regulated business. If any one fails, walk away — there are hundreds of verified alternatives.
Red flags — even when someone claims to be licensed
Unlicensed operators survive on urgency and trust signals that cost nothing to fake. Treat any of these as disqualifying:
- No licence number on request, or a number that doesn't appear in the registry.
- Payment to a personal bank account, an exchange-house transfer to an individual, or "cash only".
- A price far below the market. If a package costs half what licensed offices charge, the missing half is your legal protection — compare real numbers in our UAE cost breakdown and Saudi Arabia cost guide.
- "She can start on a visit visa while we process the paperwork." This is visa fraud, and the employing family carries the risk.
- No physical office you can visit in the country where you're hiring.
- Pressure to skip the official contract or platform — especially skipping Musaned in Saudi Arabia.
- Any talk of holding the worker's passport. It signals how the operator treats the law generally.
How GCC Domestic builds verification in
We built this check into the platform so you don't have to repeat it for every shortlist. On GCC Domestic, the verified badge on an agency profile links directly to that agency's own record at its government regulator — every UAE agency links to its MOHRE registration, and Saudi offices link to their Musaned listings. No self-declared badges; the source is the ministry itself.
Get started: browse verified, government-licensed agencies and click through to the regulator's record from any profile, or tell us what you need and we'll match you.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a maid agency is licensed in the UAE? Search MOHRE's registered domestic-worker recruitment agencies (Tadbeer offices) for the agency's exact legal name. On GCC Domestic, every UAE agency profile links straight to its own MOHRE record, so the check is one click.
Is Musaned mandatory for hiring a maid in Saudi Arabia? Yes. Recruitment from abroad must go through an office listed on Musaned, and the contract is processed through the platform. An office proposing to work "outside the platform" is proposing an unlawful hire.
Can a licensed maid agency still be a bad choice? Yes — the licence is the floor, not the ceiling. After verifying it, compare replacement terms, refund policy, ratings and total fees against market benchmarks before committing.
What if the agency only exists on WhatsApp or Instagram? Treat it as unlicensed until proven otherwise. Verify the legal name and licence number in the official registry, then call the number listed in the registry — not the social account.
Does a licence in one GCC country work in another? No. Licences are national: an office recruiting into the UAE needs a MOHRE licence, and the same brand operating in Saudi Arabia needs its own Musaned listing. Verify in the country where you are hiring.
Note: regulator names and procedures are current as of June 2026. Always rely on the official government source for the final word.
