What our badges mean
Three levels, and we would rather show the weakest one honestly than imply a check we did not make. Most listings sit at the lowest level, because most providers publish no licence reference at all.
Training-institute permit verified
KHDA training-institute permit verified · 503169 · checked 4 Aug 2026
We found the centre in its education regulator’s own directory and recorded the reference and the date we looked. The badge always names which regulator issued it, because they are not interchangeable: KHDA licenses in Dubai, ADEK in Abu Dhabi, SPEA in Sharjah, and a permit from one says nothing about another.
This is an institutional permit: the organisation holds it.
Trade licence verified
Trade licence verified · CN-1234567 · checked 4 Aug 2026
We confirmed the business holds a commercial trade licence for the activity it advertises, and recorded the number and the date. A trade licence permits the business to operate. It is not an education-authority permit and is not a school licence.
A centre can be entirely legitimate on a trade licence alone. One centre in our directory is licensed by the Ministry of Community Development rather than an education regulator, which is a different regulator with a different scope, not a lesser one.
Licence details as published by the provider
Licence details as published by provider, not independently verified
We show whatever the provider states on its own site, word for word, and we have not checked it against the issuing register. Most listings are here. When we surveyed this market, not one of twelve centres published a licence number, a category, or an issuing authority.
This matters most for the phrase “KHDA approved”. It can mean the organisation holds an institutional permit, or it can mean some of its teachers hold individual staff permits. Those are different things. We quote the provider rather than resolving the ambiguity for them, because resolving it would be us making a claim we cannot support.
What no badge on this site means
- It is not a government endorsement. No UAE authority reviews or approves this directory.
- It is not a school licence. Every centre listed here is a learning or enrichment centre, not a school.
- It does not satisfy compulsory education. Education is compulsory in the UAE under Federal Decree-Law No. 39 of 2022, and attending a centre does not by itself meet that obligation.
- It is not a quality or safety rating. We check licence references, not teaching, safeguarding or outcomes.
- It is not permanent. A licence can lapse after we check it. Every badge carries the date we looked.
Before you reduce school attendance
Confirm your child’s enrolment status with the authority for your emirate: KHDA in Dubai, ADEK in Abu Dhabi, or SPEA in Sharjah. Nothing on this site is legal advice, and a listing here is not a statement that a centre may be attended in place of school.
Found something wrong on a listing? Tell us and we will recheck it.