How to Renew Your UAE Driving Licence (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates)

A UAE driving licence renews quickly if you arrive with three things in order: a clear fines record, a fresh eye test and the right app for your emirate. This guide walks through the process as the official service pages describe it — the Roads and Transport Authority for Dubai, TAMM for Abu Dhabi and the Ministry of Interior for Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain — with a link to every page we relied on at the end.

Last checked against the official pages on 14 September 2026. Fees and steps change; the linked page always wins over this article.

How long a renewed licence lasts

Validity depends on your age and your status, not on the emirate. The RTA states the periods plainly on its renewal service page:

• Under 21: 1 year.
• UAE and GCC citizens aged 21 or above: 10 years.
• Residents aged 21 or above: 5 years.

The Ministry of Interior gives the same ten-year and five-year periods for the emirates it serves.

Before you start: three things every emirate checks

1. Traffic fines. The UAE Government portal is unambiguous: you must settle all your traffic fines before a licence can be renewed. Fines on your licence are shown — and payable — inside the renewal flow itself, so there is no separate errand, but the renewal will not complete while any remain.
2. An eye test. Every emirate requires one. In Dubai you take it at an approved eye-test centre (opticians registered with the RTA) and the result is uploaded to your traffic file before you apply; the RTA app then simply asks you to confirm the eye-test information. The MOI’s online flow can run the check through your device’s camera.
3. Your identity. UAE Pass signs you in everywhere. In Dubai you can also log in with your Emirates ID, passport, traffic file number or licence number; the flow sends a one-time code to your registered phone.

Dubai: renewing through the RTA

The RTA offers the renewal on its website, in the RTA Dubai app, through the Mahboub chatbot, at self-service machines and at customer happiness centres. The app route, as the RTA lists it:

1. Take an eye test at one of the approved eye-test centres.
2. In the RTA Dubai app choose Renewing a Driving Licence.
3. Scan the QR code on your current licence, or enter the licence number, issue date, birth year and traffic file number.
4. Pay any fines and the fees.
5. Receive the licence as a digital driving licence in the app’s My Docs section, which you can add to Apple Wallet or Samsung Wallet.

If you want a physical card as well, the RTA lists two ways: print it at a self-service machine, or have it delivered — standard delivery AED 20, same-day AED 35, delivery within two hours AED 50, and international delivery AED 50. The service itself is completed instantly.

Expired for more than ten years? The RTA notes a different path: the system tells you an evaluation test is needed, you book it at a driving institute, pay the fee and pass the test before the licence is reissued. The same applies to a licence that was not originally issued after passing a road test.

The Dubai Now app offers the same renewal under Services → Transport → Manage my Licence, and shows your fines and black points for review before payment.

Abu Dhabi: renewing through TAMM

Abu Dhabi Police provide the renewal through the TAMM platform (website and app). Sign in with UAE Pass, open the driving licence services and choose the renewal; the service page listed a fee of AED 100 and a processing time of six minutes when we checked it. As everywhere, an eye test on file and a clear fines record are the prerequisites, and a service centre is the alternative to the app.

Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain: the MOI

These emirates use the Ministry of Interior’s smart channels — the MOI UAE app and the MOI website. The MOI describes the flow as: log in through the smart channels, choose the renewal service, fill in the application, pay electronically, and receive the licence electronically or through a delivery company. The MOI service page listed a renewal fee of AED 125 for a light-vehicle licence at the time of writing. A webcam has to be connected and permitted on the website because the eye check can be done online.

The late-renewal penalty

You get one month. After that, the UAE Government portal states, a fine of AED 10 per month is levied for delaying the renewal of a driving licence. It is a small number that grows quietly — and an expired licence also invalidates most insurance claims, which is the far more expensive consequence.

Practical notes from the trade

• Do the eye test first, then apply. In Dubai the application cannot proceed until the eye-test result is on your file; doing it the same morning is fine, as the centres upload results electronically.
• Check the black points, not just the fines. The Dubai Now flow shows both. If you are at the 24-point threshold, a renewal will not clear a suspension — see our guide to traffic fines and black points.
• The digital licence is the real one. Since the RTA issues the licence into the app first, you can drive on it immediately; the card is optional and mainly useful for car rental abroad.
• Renewing after a move between emirates? Your licence follows your traffic file. If you moved from, say, Sharjah to Dubai, you renew where your file is, and you can transfer the file separately.

Sources

• RTA Dubai — Apply for or Manage a Driving Licence (Renew Driving Licence): validity periods, steps per channel, delivery fees, the evaluation-test rule.
• UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Renewal of driving licence: fines must be settled; AED 10 per month late penalty after one month.
• Ministry of Interior — Renew Driving License (light vehicle): steps through the smart channels, the online eye check, the listed fee.
• TAMM Abu Dhabi — Renew Driving Licence: Abu Dhabi Police’s service, fee and processing time.

PartMate sells parts and accessories, not licensing services. This article summarises public government information for convenience; it is not legal advice.