Dubai Driving Licence Renewal 2026: Fees, Eye Test and Steps

A Dubai driving licence is the document that expires while you are looking the other way. Nothing reminds you, the card in your wallet looks the same the day after as it did the day before, and the first time most people think about it is when someone asks to see it.

We run a rental fleet in Dubai as an RTA-authorised dealer and agency, and an expired licence is one of the few things that stops a handover on the spot - there is no way around it and no version of the paperwork that works without it. The good news is that renewing has become genuinely quick: an eye test that takes minutes at one of hundreds of approved centres, then the renewal itself in the app. Here is what it costs, how to do it, and what it costs you if you leave it.

The short version

• Residents aged 21 and over renew for five years. UAE and GCC citizens over 21 renew for ten. Drivers under 21 renew every year.

• The renewal fee is AED 300 if you are 21 or over and AED 100 if you are younger, plus AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees.

• The eye test costs roughly AED 140 to AED 180 and takes five to ten minutes. The result reaches the RTA electronically, so there is no paperwork to carry.

• You can renew from six months before the expiry date, and there is a 30-day grace period afterwards. Past that, a late fee of AED 10 a month applies.

• Settle your traffic fines first - the renewal will not go through while fines are outstanding.

• Driving on an expired licence is an AED 500 fine and four black points, and the vehicle can be impounded.

How long a Dubai licence lasts, and when you can renew

Validity depends on who is holding the licence rather than what they drive. A resident aged 21 or over renews for five years at a time. A UAE or GCC citizen over 21 renews for ten. Drivers under 21 are issued a licence a year at a time and renew it annually.

You do not have to wait for the expiry date to come round. Drivers of 21 and over can renew from six months before the licence runs out, and under-21s from three months before. There is also a grace period of 30 days after expiry in which you can renew without a late fee - but that grace period is for renewing, not for driving. The moment the date passes, the licence in your pocket is expired as far as a patrol or a rental desk is concerned.

What renewal costs in 2026

The RTA side of the bill is fixed and small. The eye test is paid separately to whichever centre does it, so the total moves a little depending on where you go.

• Renewal, 21 and over - AED 300

• Renewal, under 21 - AED 100

• Knowledge and innovation fees - AED 20

• Eye test - about AED 140 to AED 180, paid to the centre

So a standard adult renewal is AED 320 in RTA fees plus the test, landing somewhere around AED 460 to AED 500 all in. Printing the card at a self-service kiosk or collecting it from a customer happiness centre adds nothing; having it couriered to you is charged separately depending on how quickly you want it.

The condition that catches people out is not a fee at all. Your traffic fines have to be settled before a renewal will go through, so if you have been putting off a fine, the licence renewal is the day it finally catches up with you. Our guide to UAE traffic fines covers how to check and clear them.

The eye test: where to go and how long it takes

This is the part of the process that has changed most. The RTA added 100 new approved vision-testing centres during the first half of 2026, a roughly 30 per cent increase, taking the network to 434 locations across Dubai. They are not all licensing offices - the list covers optical centres, eye clinics, participating driving institutes and customer happiness centres, which means there is almost certainly one near wherever you already are.

The test itself takes an average of five to ten minutes, and the result is transmitted electronically into the RTA system rather than handed to you on a form to deliver somewhere else. That integration is what makes a same-visit renewal possible for most people: test, then renew, then walk out. To give a sense of the volume, the RTA processed 854,213 vision-test transactions in the first six months of 2026 alone.

Take your original driving licence and your Emirates ID. A test result stays valid for three years at the time of writing, which on a five-year resident licence means a fresh test at every renewal.

How to renew a Dubai driving licence, step by step

The whole thing is designed to be done from a phone. Allow ten minutes for the renewal itself once the eye test is behind you.

1. Check and clear any outstanding traffic fines.

2. Have the eye test done at an approved centre, taking your licence and your Emirates ID. The result goes to the RTA on its own.

3. Open the RTA Dubai app, the RTA website or DubaiNow and choose the driving licence renewal service.

4. Pay the AED 300 renewal fee and the AED 20 in knowledge and innovation fees.

5. Choose how you want the licence - a digital copy, a print from a self-service kiosk, collection from a customer happiness centre, or courier delivery.

Once it is processed you get the licence electronically and can add it to the digital wallet on your phone, with the printed card optional. If you would rather have a card in hand the same day, the self-service renewal machines at customer happiness centres and at vehicle-testing and registration branches print one on the spot.

Renewing the car as well? Registration is a separate job with its own inspection - see our car registration renewal guide.

What it costs to let it expire

Driving on an expired licence carries a fine of AED 500 and four black points, and the vehicle can be impounded on top. It is not a paperwork slip that gets waved through - it is treated as driving without a valid licence, and the consequences get considerably worse if you are involved in a collision while holding one.

The late-renewal fee itself is minor by comparison: AED 10 for every month you are late once the 30-day grace period has passed. The gap between that AED 10 and the AED 500 is the entire argument for setting a reminder six months out.

There is a rental angle too. Every rental in Dubai now runs on the RTA unified contract, which records the renter's identification, so an expired licence cannot go on a contract at all. We check at handover for that reason - if it has run out, there is no car, not as a policy of ours but because the contract cannot be issued. More on that in our guide to the unified car rental contract.

Renting a car in Dubai?

We are Urban Go Car Rentals, based in Port Saeed and delivering around Downtown Dubai and nearby. Monthly plans include comprehensive insurance, registration, routine maintenance, 24/7 roadside assistance and 4,000 km a month, and we will usually swap the car on service days, subject to availability.

The deposit is AED 1,500 on a standard car and AED 2,000 on a luxury one, refundable, with an optional paid zero-deposit add-on. Fuel is same-to-same: we record the level at handover and you return it at that level, with any difference charged. Salik is recharged at cost plus AED 1 per crossing, itemised, and traffic fines are passed through to you itemised at the amount the authority charged.

Bring a licence with real time left on it. If you are visiting rather than resident, our driving licence checker tells you whether your home licence is accepted here or whether you need an international permit alongside it, and the tourist driving rules guide covers the rest. Have a look at the fleet, the monthly plans or the longer-term options when you are ready.

Sources

• Emirates 24|7 - How to renew your driving licence in Dubai: costs, documents and step-by-step guide

• Gulf News - RTA driving licence renewal machines: fees and locations across Dubai

• Khaleej Times - Dubai gets 100 more driving licence eye-test centres, checks completed in 10 minutes

• Gulf News - Avoid Dh500 fine and black points: your complete guide to renewing your UAE driving licence

• Khaleej Times - Dh500 fine for driving with an expired driving licence in the UAE

• The Official Portal of the UAE Government - Renewal of driving licence

Last reviewed: 18 September 2026.