Driving Licence Transfer in the GCC, done for you

The RTA list stands at 57 countries as of January 2026. It includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Poland, Romania, the State of Texas, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Turkey, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Croatia, and the five other GCC states. Recent additions are confirmed on the RTA portal. Holders of a licence not on the list must sit theory and road tests.

No. An Indian licence is not on the RTA exchange list in 2026, so a holder must register with an approved school in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, or another emirate, sit the theory test, complete the parking and yard tests, and pass the road test. Most schools quote a complete package of AED 4,500 to AED 8,000 depending on the number of classes purchased and prior driving experience. The same outcome applies to Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Sri Lankan, Filipino, and Egyptian licences.

In the UAE, the school books the theory slot on RTA after the trainee finishes their classes. In Saudi Arabia, Absher releases theory slots once Dallah or SDS marks the trainee ready. In Qatar, Metrash2 opens slots after the MOI driving school confirms attendance. In Bahrain, bahrain.bh schedules theory and practical at GDT centres. Oman ROP and Kuwait MOI use their portals to release the next available date. The test is in English and Arabic, lasts 30 to 45 minutes, and uses 30 to 35 multiple-choice questions per the local syllabus.

Yes, but the cleaner path is to sell or export the vehicle before exit. If the residence visa is being cancelled and the car will leave the country, the owner needs a vehicle export certificate or Wakala, all fines cleared, an updated insurance certificate, and a bank no-objection if the car was financed. Renewing a mulkiya the day before exit leaves the new owner with a usable registration only if the ownership transfer is filed in parallel. Most owners de-register and ship the car under the export route rather than renew at the last hour.

Both parties attend the RTA, Tasjeel, Tamm, Sharjah Traffic Police, Absher, Metrash, bahrain.bh, ROP, or Sahel counter with passports, residence cards, the original mulkiya or istimara, valid insurance under the buyer's name, and a signed sale agreement. The traffic system checks for outstanding fines on the plate and on the buyer's driving licence. If the vehicle was financed, the seller's bank issues a no-objection letter releasing the mortgage. Transfer fees range from AED 350 in Dubai to SAR 150 in Saudi Arabia and QAR 150 in Qatar, with the new card printed inside an hour at most counters.

Yes, in every GCC country. The RTA portal, Absher, Metrash2, bahrain.bh, ROP, and Sahel all run a fines check before they release a new mulkiya, istimara, daftar, or licence card. Salik tags in Dubai, Darb tags in Abu Dhabi, Mawaqif parking penalties, FAHES failure fees in Qatar, and speed-camera tickets all surface during the renewal step. The portal lists each outstanding violation, lets the user pay them as a batch, and only opens the renewal flow once the balance hits zero. Some emirates allow instalments on large penalty stacks.

The RTA app, the Dubai Police app, the ICP app, the Abu Dhabi Police app, and the federal MOI app each display black-point totals for the holder's Emirates ID. Points stay live on the record for 12 months from the date of violation, then expire automatically if no new offence is recorded. The licence is suspended at 24 points in a 12-month window, with the suspension period scaling up to a year for repeat triggers. Saudi Absher, Qatar Metrash, Bahrain GDT, ROP Oman, and Kuwait MOI run equivalent demerit dashboards under their own thresholds.

Saudi Arabia routes new female applicants through approved women's branches at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University's Saudi Driving School, Dallah's women's centres in Riyadh and Jeddah, and Jeeny-affiliated training partners. The applicant registers on Absher, books an assessment, then sits a programme priced at SAR 690 for six hours, SAR 1,466 for fifteen hours, or SAR 2,760 for thirty hours. The school covers theory, simulator, parking yard, and a road test. Once a candidate passes, Absher issues the Rukhsat Qiyada for SAR 200 over five years or SAR 400 over ten years.

Abu Dhabi grants electric vehicles a 15 percent discount on standard registration fees and extends EV registration validity to three years rather than one, under the emirate's 2026 sustainability programme. Dubai RTA keeps the annual mulkiya cycle for EVs but waives Salik fees on specific corridors for plug-in cars. Saudi Arabia categorises annual istimara fees by fuel-efficiency tier, with full battery EVs sitting in the exempt or lowest band. Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait have not yet differentiated EV registration pricing but apply the same FAHES, GDT, ROP, and Sahel inspection rules to electric and combustion vehicles.

The UAE allows up to one year of late renewal before a fresh road test is forced, with late fees beginning after the first 30 days. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait operate similar twelve-month reactivation windows after which the applicant must retest fully. Driving inside the grace window is still illegal because the licence is expired and the vehicle insurance is void on an expired licence holder. Police checkpoints, accident insurance claims, and rental counters all reject expired cards. Renewal must be filed and paid before the holder drives again.

Each GCC traffic system links the insurance policy number to the vehicle plate inside the registration database. The mulkiya, istimara, or daftar cannot renew if the linked policy is expired or cancelled, and the licence renewal portal in Saudi Arabia checks that the holder has a current insurance policy on at least one registered vehicle. Comprehensive cover and third-party cover are both accepted for renewal, but third-party policies do not cover the policy-holder's own car in an at-fault accident. New-driver loadings of 10 to 30 percent apply for the first one to two years after the licence is issued.