Renew a Dubai driving licence: fees, eye test and late fine

A Dubai driving licence is renewed online through the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), after an eye test. The renewed licence arrives straight away as a digital licence in the RTA Dubai app; a printed card is optional.

The fees

Holders of the Sanad card (people of determination) get 50% off RTA services. A mobile truck can come to you for the eye test (AED 500) or for the eye test, renewal and delivery together (AED 1,000).

Example: a 30-year-old resident renewing on time pays AED 300 + an eye test of AED 140 to 180 + AED 20 = AED 460 to 500. Three months late adds AED 30.

How long the new licence lasts

You can renew up to 6 months before expiry if you are 21 or older, or 3 months before if you are younger. The new validity is counted from the date you apply.

What you need

• A valid Emirates ID. You cannot renew on a visit visa.
• A valid eye test. It stays valid for 3 years.
• For professional drivers, a medical fitness test at an RTA-accredited hospital (valid 11 months).
• All fines on the licence paid.

The steps

1. Take the eye test at an Eye Test Centre.
2. Log in on the RTA website with your Emirates ID, passport or UAE Pass, and enter the code sent to your phone.
3. Choose to renew the driving licence and confirm your details.
4. Choose how to receive it: digital only, from a self-service machine, or by delivery.
5. Pay the fines and fees. The digital licence is issued immediately in the RTA Dubai app, and can be added to Apple or Samsung Wallet.

If the licence expired more than 10 years ago

You must pass an Evaluation Test first. The fees are a training file (AED 200), a learning application (AED 100), the handbook (AED 50), the test (AED 200), the eye test, the AED 500 late fine, the licence (AED 300) and AED 20. If several categories expired, one light-vehicle test restores all of them. Holders of a licence from one of the RTA’s exception countries do not need the test, whatever their nationality.

Good to know

• A licence issued in another emirate cannot be renewed in Dubai.
• A Dubai licence can be renewed online even if your residence visa is from another emirate, as long as your traffic file is updated.
• Temporary or interim licences cannot be renewed.

Moving to Dubai with a foreign licence? See which licences can be exchanged, and work out your road tolls with the Salik calculator.

Checked against the RTA service page (updated 11 September 2026) on 5 October 2026. Fees can change; the RTA shows the amount due when you apply. General information. See our editorial policy.