Guide to Transfer Driving Licence to Dubai from Another Emirate

It is common for people living in the UAE to move from one Emirate to another. They move for career opportunities or to be with their families from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, Ajman to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah to Dubai and so on. However, when you shift from one Emirate to another, you have to keep track of utility bills, accommodation and rentals. Similarly, if you are moving to Dubai from any other Emirate of the UAE, you have to transfer your driving licence to Dubai.

Here we have detailed the complete process to transfer driving licence to Dubai from another Emirate through the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) for your assistance:

HOW TO TRANSFER DRIVING LICENCE TO DUBAI

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA TO TRANSFER DRIVING LICENCE TO DUBAI FROM OTHER EMIRATES

Citizens and residents both are eligible to transfer driving licence from another Emirate to Dubai. Hence, they can apply for this service through RTA Dubai.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED TO TRANSFER DRIVING LICENCE TO DUBAI ISSUED IN OTHER EMIRATES

Those who hold a driving licence issued from any other Emirate are required to submit the following documents when applying for a driving licence transfer to Dubai:

Original Emirates ID
A transfer letter from the other Emirate
Eye test examination result
If the applicant is a driver by profession, then a medical fitness test result is required from any of the RTA approved hospitals

WHERE TO APPLY TO TRANSFER A DRIVING LICENCE FROM ANOTHER EMIRATE TO DUBAI

You can apply at the RTA website or visit one of the RTA Customer Happiness Centers in Dubai located in Umm Ramool, Al Manara, Al Twar, Deira and Al Barsha. Also, you can head to the Hatta Registration Center to transfer driving licence to Dubai.

STEPS TO TRANSFER DRIVING LICENCE TO DUBAI ISSUES IN OTHER EMIRATES

transfer driving licence from another emirate to dubai — Make sure you have all the documents ready when going for driving licence transfer to Dubai from another Emirate

Once applicants reach any of the above-mentioned places, this is how they can apply to transfer driving licence to Dubai:

Submit the documents required
Pay the service fees and other related charges
Receive the new Dubai driving licence

It is worthwhile to note that the average waiting time is five minutes.

SERVICE FEES TO TRANSFER DRIVING LICENCE FROM ANOTHER EMIRATE TO DUBAI

Here is the list of service fees that applicants are required to pay when applying for driving licence transfer to Dubai issued in any other Emirate of UAE:

For opening a traffic file: AED 200
Driving licence issuance fee: AED 600
Traffic manual fee: AED 50
Innovation and Knowledge fee: AED 20+

VALIDITY PERIOD OF NEW DUBAI DRIVING LICENCE

driving licence transfer to dubai — It is mandatory to transfer driving licence from your Emirate when you plan to drive in Dubai

Here are some key pointers regarding the validity of new or transferred driving licence in Dubai:

The new driving licence in Dubai does not have a new date of issuance. This licence holds the same issue date as specified by the previous Emirate.
The expiry date, however, is according to the issuance of the licence in Dubai.
For UAE nationals and GCC citizens (21 years and above) the new driving licence will have a expiry date of up to 10 years.
For residents (21 and above), the expiry of the new licence will last for five years.

For more queries about Dubai driving licence read here.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Certain terms and conditions apply to the transfer of driving licence to Dubai from another Emirate. We have listed them here for your convenience:

Eye test reports should be from RTA’s Customer Happiness Centers. A few that offer eye testing are located in Al Manara, Umm Ramool, Al Twar, Al Kifaf, Al Barsha and Deira.
Applicant should be present when going to transfer driving licence to Dubai from another Emirate.
Those who already have a traffic file in Dubai, don’t need to open a new one. The licence is thus, transferred to the previous traffic file.
A new traffic file is only opened if the applicant does not have a previous one.
When applying to transfer driving licence from another Emirate to Dubai, the applicant’s licence must be valid.
Those who hold a visa from another Emirate and work at a company that has its branch in Dubai can apply for driving licence transfer to Dubai for free. However, the applicant have to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from RTA.

The process to transfer driving licence to Dubai from another Emirate is seamless. Besides, if you are moving to Dubai from any of the authorised GCC, European, North American and East Asia countries then you can apply for a new driving licence in Dubai based on exchanging licences. But, those moving from countries not in the list, need to apply for a new driving licence in Dubai. In either cases, to buy a car of your choice, you may check these used cars for sale in Dubai.

Moreover, once you have the driving licence, it is easy to travel within and outside the UAE, provided all other requirements are met. For instance, travelling from UAE to Qatar by road can be a viable option to explore country.

Stay tuned to the top auto blog of the UAE for more information related to driving and traffic rules, fines and more.