Getting a UAE driving licence

General consumer information only, not legal advice. Rules and regulations can change, so check the latest official guidance for your circumstances.

The two routes

If you already hold a driving licence from certain countries, Dubai's RTA will usually let you exchange it for a UAE licence. The main requirement is an eye test, not a driving test.

If your licence is not on that list, or you don't have a foreign licence at all, you generally go through the fuller process: open a traffic file, and sit a theory and road test, usually after completing lessons at a licensed driving institute. This institute-based route is run by each emirate's own traffic authority, so the steps below describe how Dubai's RTA runs it. RTA's own page is explicit that this isn't one single route applied identically to everyone: your nationality, whether you already hold a foreign licence, and the vehicle category you're applying for can change which parts of it apply to you (more on this below).

Countries RTA Dubai lists as eligible for exchange

According to RTA Dubai's own exchange service page (checked directly on 2026-10-11), residents with a valid licence from the following countries can exchange it for a UAE licence without sitting a driving test:

Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, People's Republic of China, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Texas (USA), Turkey, Ukraine, the rest of the USA, and Uzbekistan.

RTA's page also states that licences from Andorra, Guam, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Monaco, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico cannot be exchanged. RTA's page also notes that eligibility within this list isn't uniform: some countries' licences can be exchanged for light vehicle categories only, some also cover motorcycles, and only some cover all categories including heavy vehicles and equipment; a small number of entries carry further restrictions, such as "restricted" licence sub-types that cannot be exchanged at all. The exact country-by-category breakdown is on RTA's own page, not reproduced here, because it is the kind of detail that is safest read directly rather than summarised into a table that can go stale.

If your licence is eligible: what the exchange involves

RTA Dubai's documented process for an eligible exchange, done through the RTA website, RTA Dubai app, or a Customer Happiness Centre:

1. Submit your Emirates ID, passport or UAE Pass details and check your information.
2. Upload your original foreign licence. A legalised translation is required for some licences, including Hong Kong and Japan. A licence that lacks modern security features, or one from Turkey, needs an embassy or consulate certificate.
3. Take an eye test at an RTA-accredited eye test centre.
4. Pay the fees and choose how you want the licence delivered.
5. Receive the licence as a digital licence in the RTA Dubai app, or collect it in person or by delivery.

Fees, as published by RTA Dubai

RTA's published fee breakdown for the Dubai exchange service is:

• Traffic file: AED 200
• Driving licence: AED 600
• Handbook: AED 50
• Electronic eye test: AED 180
• Knowledge and innovation fee: AED 20
• Total: AED 1,050

Adding an extra category (for example, a motorcycle category) to an existing UAE licence costs AED 400 in total, made up of the driving licence fee, eye test, and the knowledge and innovation fee.

Delivery is an additional cost on top of this: AED 20 for standard delivery, AED 35 for same-day, AED 50 for two-hour delivery, and AED 50 for delivery outside the UAE, per RTA's published rates. An eye test taken separately at an accredited centre, outside the RTA process, can cost AED 140 to AED 180 depending on the centre.

If your licence isn't eligible, or you don't have one

RTA Dubai directs residents whose licence isn't on the eligible list, or who are starting from zero, to a licensed driving institute. U.AE's federal guidance confirms this institute-based route is the general pattern used across the UAE, though each emirate's own traffic authority runs it, including Dubai's RTA:

• Open a traffic file with the required documents, including Emirates ID, passport and visa copies, photos, and an eye test report.
• Complete the required driving lessons at the institute, where lessons are required (see below).
• Pass the theory (knowledge) test and the road test.
• Receive the licence once both tests are passed.

U.AE's federal guidance sets minimum ages for this process: 17 for motorcycles and vehicles adapted for people with disabilities, 18 for cars and light vehicles, 20 for heavy vehicles and tractors, and 21 for buses.

A note on other emirates

This guide is built around Dubai's RTA, because that is where the process and country list are documented in detail on an official page. Abu Dhabi and the other emirates run their own traffic departments and licensing processes. We were not able to confirm, from an equivalent official source, whether Abu Dhabi's eligible-country list, fees, or steps are identical to Dubai's. If you're based outside Dubai, check with your own emirate's traffic and licensing authority before assuming RTA's figures apply to you.

If you're also sorting out where you'll be living while this is in progress, see Savara's guide to renting a home in the UAE for what address documentation you may be asked for elsewhere in your residency paperwork.