Dubai Driving Licence Renewal New Replacement 2027

Dubai only is covered, through the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). Abu Dhabi and other emirates are not covered. Do not read a Dubai rule as a rule for another emirate.

Three RTA services are stated in full on RTA pages and are covered in full below: renewing a driving licence, applying for a new driving licence, and applying for replacement of a lost or damaged driving licence. A fourth RTA service, exchanging a foreign driving licence, is covered only as an existing service, because its country list, conditions, documents, and fees are not stated in full on the RTA page. That limit is stated plainly in its own section below, and no list or fee is filled in from another source.

Dubai driving licence renewal

The RTA renewal service states the validity of the renewed licence as follows.

One year if the customer is below 21 years old.
Ten years if the customer is a UAE or GCC citizen aged 21 years and above.
Five years if the customer is a resident aged 21 years and above.

Check which line matches your age and status before you apply, because the output validity changes on those two points.

The website steps are to:

take an eye test at an Eye Test Centre accredited by RTA
log in with an Emirates ID, passport, or UAE Pass
enter the OTP
select “Renewing a Driving Licence”
confirm the licence details
select the delivery method
pay all traffic fines and service fees
receive the digital licence.

The original licence comes via self-service machines or delivery.

Delivery fees are:

standard AED 20
same-day AED 35
within 2 hours AED 50
international GCC AED 50.

Service time is instantly via the website or app, and 2 hours to 5 days via the mobile eye-test truck.

The RTA “You Should Know” lines state the following.

Sanad card holders receive a 50 percent discount.
The renewal date is calculated from the date of the application.
Renewal is possible 6 months before expiry if the customer is 21 or above, and 3 months before expiry if the customer is under 21.
A renewal delay fine of AED 10 is applied per month, with a maximum of AED 500, starting from the expiry date.
A medical test is valid for 11 months.
An eye test is valid for 3 years.
A temporary licence is valid for 5 to 15 days.
A temporary or interim licence cannot be renewed.
The photo is taken from the Emirates ID scanner.
The licence must not have expired for more than 10 years, and it must be with the owner.
If the licence has expired for more than 10 years, an Evaluation Test is required.
Licence holders from exception countries are exempted from the Evaluation Test on renewal regardless of their nationality.
International delivery is GCC only.

The RTA page answers four renewal questions in its own questions section.

A visit-visa holder cannot renew, because a valid Emirates ID is required.
A Dubai licence holder with another emirate’s residence visa can renew online if the Traffic File has been updated to reflect the change of residence visa.
A licence issued in another emirate cannot be renewed in Dubai.
Where the driver has 24 black points, a Dubai Police NOC plus a rehabilitation test at an institute is required.

The eye-test truck contact listed on the page is Al Jaber Optical, 04 522 0000.

The RTA renewal page lists delivery fees, as above, but it does not state the licence fee itself. No renewal licence fee is stated. Do not use a renewal fee figure from another source as the RTA figure.

Dubai new driving licence

The RTA new-licence service states the output validity for a new licence as:

one year if the customer is below 21 years old
two years if the customer is 21 years old and above.

The steps are to:

log in with an Emirates ID, passport, or UAE Pass
enter the OTP
if applicable, obtain a People of Determination (POD) medical referral
upload the front and back of any existing driving licence
select a driving institute
submit
Choose the payment method: full package, 20 percent initial payment, or pay at the institute.
The institute calls within 3 working days.
A digital Learning Permit arrives via SMS or email.
Complete the training
take an eye test at an accredited centre
book the Knowledge Test after theory, the Yard Test after yard training, and the Road Test after road training.
After passing the final test, an SMS arrives to pay issuance fees.
The digital licence follows, with the physical licence via machines or delivery at the same delivery fees as renewal.

Minimum ages on the page are as follows.

Motorcycle: 17.
Light vehicle: the file may be opened from 17 years 6 months, and the licence is issued at 18 after passing the tests.
Heavy vehicle: 20.
Light bus and heavy bus: 21.
Tractors and equipment: 20.

For holders of a prior foreign licence from a country not on the exchange list, the page states reduced training only for that situation.

More than 5 years of experience means 20 sessions.
Experience of 2 to 5 years means 30 sessions.
Less than 2 years means 40 sessions.

Read those session counts only for holders of a licence from a country not on the exchange list. The page does not state a beginner total, and none is stated here.

Golden Chance, as the page words it, means the Knowledge Test plus the Road Test with no training hours, once only.
If the Road Test is failed, training hours are required without theory, as per the customer’s driving experience.
The once-only rule is part of the Golden Chance wording.
Do not read Golden Chance as a repeatable route.

Golden Visa benefits on the page are:

same-day Theory Test and Road Test booking
faster licence issuance
no training courses required if holding a valid driving licence regardless of nationality or country of issuance
after a failed Road Test, a 4-hour course before retaking.

Read those benefits as Golden Visa-holder benefits on this page, not as general rules for every applicant.

The handbook fee is AED 50. The page states that the handbook fee is mandatory, including for those exchanging their overseas driving licence, that the customer must purchase it even if he already has it, and that he cannot obtain a licence without it.

A Learning Permit category change between manual and automatic costs AED 220, with no lessons, and a Road Test only.

The eye-test standards table on the page states the following.

For a light vehicle or motorcycle: each eye 6/12, both eyes 6/9, and a visual field of 140 degrees.
For a heavy vehicle or bus: each eye 6/9, both eyes 6/6, and a visual field of 160 degrees.
If the customer has poor vision in one eye, a medical committee referral is required.
On file suspension, the page states that 6 months without a test suspends the file.
Reactivation within 4 years is subject to Knowledge Test result validity of 2 years and Yard Test result validity of 1 year.
After 4 years, the file must be restarted.

The new-licence page does not state a new-licence fee total, a theory-test question count or pass mark, a lesson-by-lesson curriculum, an institute fee, or a test-booking fee. None of those figures is stated here.

Dubai lost or damaged licence replacement

The RTA replacement service states the output as a new driving licence with the remaining validity of the damaged or lost licence. Replacement does not change the validity period. It carries the remaining validity forward.

The steps are to:

log in with an Emirates ID, passport, or UAE Pass
enter the OTP
select “Replacing a Lost/Damaged Driving Licence”
select the reason
confirm the details
select delivery (machines or delivery, at the same delivery fees as renewal)
pay all traffic fines and service fees
receive the digital licence instantly.

The fee table on the replacement page states Knowledge and Innovation fees of AED 20 only, and states “Total fees: –“. The licence fee itself is not stated on the page, and no replacement licence fee figure is stated here.

A valid Emirates ID is required. If the Emirates ID is invalid, update the Traffic File first. Traffic File amendments for photo, name, and nationality appear on the reprinted licence without the need for a separate amendment. Sanad card holders receive a 50 percent discount. International delivery is GCC only.

The replacement page does not list a police-report step, an in-person requirement, or a validity change on replacement. None is stated here.

Foreign licence exchange service

The RTA “Replace a Foreign Driving Licence” service exists. Its description states that it covers exchanging a driving licence issued outside the UAE according to the list of eligible countries, or adding a category based on exchanging licences, and the page states that the eligible-countries list is in the “Important to Know” section. The country list itself, the per-country conditions, the document list, and the fees are not stated in full on that page, and none of them is stated here.

No exchange-country list, no per-country condition, no exchange document list, and no exchange fee is published. The handbook requirement for exchangers is stated in the new-licence section above, because the new-licence page states it. The reduced-session and Golden Chance rules for holders of a licence from a country not on the exchange list are also stated above, because the new-licence page states them for that situation. Those lines do not fill in the exchange list or the exchange fees, and they are not presented as doing so. Re-check the current RTA exchange service before you act, and use the list as stated on the RTA page at that time.

Test-booking walkthroughs and fees, theory question counts and pass marks, driving-school prices, and converted-licence validity are not covered here, because the RTA pages covered here do not state them. Abu Dhabi and other emirates are not covered, for the same reason: Dubai (RTA) only is covered.

Dubai driving licence renewal new and replacement