How To Get A UAE Driving Licence

Whether in Dubai on holiday or staying permanently, as long as you have had an international licence for more than one year you can drive on Dubai’s roads in a rental car regardless of what country your licence is from. Once you have a residency visa you can no longer drive on a foreign licence. So now in order to be eligible to drive a rental car, or a privately owned car you will need to either exchange your foreign drivers licence or retake your driving test. Whether you will need to retake your test or not, completely depends on not what country your licence is from, but what nationality you are. For example, if you are Indian and have been driving in the UK for 10 years with a UK drivers licence, this will not matter, as unfortunately you will have to take your test again.

For those lucky people who are eligible to transfer their driver’s licence, should fully complete and hand in their application form that has been stamped and signed, by the applicant and applicants sponsor, along with the required documents to the applicants nearest Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). Once you have done this, congratulations the hard part is over, as once you get to the RTA’s nearest office, as long as everything is in order, then you should have a UAE drivers licence within the hour. The RTA office will process your application on the spot, take a photo of you, and then give you a UAE driver’s licence.

If you are from one of the below countries and have a driver’s licence from that country, then congratulations it’s pretty straight forward for you. This means they will give you a UAE drivers licence, and you also keep your foreign driver’s licence.

Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom (UK)

• North and South America: United States of America (USA), Canada
• East Asia: Japan, South Korea, Singapore
• Africa: South Africa
• Australasia: Australia, New Zealand

This list may change. Visit the Dubai Police website

Questions & Answers

I am not from one of the accepted countries, now what?
If you do not have a license from one of the accepted countries, then it is back to school.

How much will exchanging my licence cost?
To exchange your licence will cost AED 400, you will also be given an eye test which will cost you an additional AED 100.

How long is a UAE drivers licence valid for?
Your UAE driving licence will be valid for ten years.

What should I do if my licence is not in Arabic or English?
If you’re driver’s license from your home country is not in the English or Arabic language, it will need to be translated by your home country’s embassy and attested.

I have an Automatic drivers licence, can I drive a manual in Dubai?
If you have an automatic driving license, you are not permitted to drive a manual vehicle in the UAE, but most vehicles in Dubai are automatic anyway.

The name on my passport and drivers licence are different, what should I do?
If you have different names in your passport and driving license, a statement from your countries Embassy will be required.

What happens if I get caught while drinking and driving?
You will face jail time, deportation, loss of your driving license and no insurance coverage if you crash the car. The UAE has a serious zero tolerance to drink driving.

Driving Schools:

• Al Ahli Driving School 04-3411500
• Belhasa Driving School 04-3243535
• Dubai Driving Centre 04-3455855
• Emirates Driving Institute 04-2631100
• Galadari Driving School 04-2676166