How the Verified badge works

Unlicensed contractors, fake "PRO agents" and job scams cost UAE residents real money. Moathaq shows the Verified badge only once a person has matched the business's licence on the issuing authority's register and confirmed ownership of its Google Business Profile. Not every business here has that badge: Listed means we received documents but have not matched the licence, and a listing with no badge has not been checked by us.

What the badges mean

• Listed: documents received and licence number entered. The licence is not yet matched on the register.
• Verified: licence matched by our team against DET or the relevant free zone register, Google Business Profile ownership proven by Google sign-in. A business without a Google Business Profile cannot reach Verified.
• Trusted: Verified plus at least 90 days on the platform, 10 reviews from people who contacted the business, an 80%+ response rate and no unresolved complaints.

Reviews, and what they show

Only people who sent an enquiry to a business through Moathaq can review it, about 48 hours later. This does not prove that they bought the service. Businesses can reply publicly but cannot delete reviews. We remove businesses caught buying reviews.

Ads are always labelled

Positions 1 to 3 in a category may be sponsored: businesses pay per click for them, and they carry a visible "Sponsored" label. Everything below is ranked by published factors, not payment.

What we are not

We are a directory and job-advertising platform. We are not a recruitment agency, we do not process visas, we do not handle payments for services, and we are not a financial intermediary. Businesses in the banking-consultant category are independent consultancies, not banks.

Full verification methodologyHow to check a trade licence yourself