13 information about the conditions for replacing a driver's license in Dubai
Citizens and residents of Dubai residency who hold a driving license from the 43 countries whose driving licenses are recognized, can exchange their licenses by following a number of procedures.
The Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai has summarized 13 pieces of information related to frequently asked questions from drivers about replacing driving licenses, which can be identified at the end of this report.
The procedures for replacing the license include submitting a number of required documents, including the original driver’s license for the excluded countries and a copy of it, along with providing a legal translation of the license if it was issued in a language other than Arabic or English, in addition to the original valid Emirates ID and the result of an electronic eye examination.
The terms and conditions governing the replacement of a driver's license issued by countries whose licenses are recognized include the presence of the customer in person at the customer happiness centers or his legal representative to the centers.
The conditions stipulate that the driver's license cannot be exchanged for holders of dual passports if they are from countries that are not authorized to exchange and the residence is proven in the passport issued by one of those countries.
The following is the most important information confirmed by the authority about the replacement of vehicle driving licenses:
• The customer has the right to replace the driver's license issued by countries whose driver's license is recognized in Dubai, even if the residence permit is issued by another emirate, but provided that the company in which he works has a branch in Dubai and that the customer works for it.
• The customer from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries has the right to drive in Dubai if he is on a visit, but if he lives and works in Dubai, he must replace his license.
• The customer can drive light vehicles and motorcycles if he has a driver's license from the list of exempted countries or from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the event that he holds a visit visa, even if his nationality is not from the GCC countries and is not one of the countries mentioned within the exceptions.
• The customer cannot drive with a US driver's license even if he is a US citizen and holds an investment visa and enters and leaves the country constantly.
• The customer cannot drive in Dubai using the driver's license issued by his country that is subject to the exception as long as he does not have a valid residency, even if he holds an important visa, service visa or multiple visas.
• If the customer owns two residence passports printed on the passport of the country that is not subject to the exception, he is not allowed to replace them, and he must review driving institutes to open a training file.
• The customer, who holds a UK driving license and passport and has a visit visa, cannot drive his vehicle registered according to a Saudi plate number inside the UAE, except in one case when crossing the border into the UAE with that vehicle coming from Saudi Arabia.
• If the customer has a driving license from the Emirate of Dubai and went to one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to exchange it in that country, and then wanted to return to Dubai under residency, he can retrieve the license regardless of nationality, as long as the license that was replaced was issued by Dubai, and he can retrieve it after showing A valid Emirates ID
• The customer can transfer his license from the state of New Mexico to the United States of America, since it is one of the states of the United States.
• The customer cannot replace the license issued by Puerto Rico.
• The customer cannot replace the Canadian license if his license is G1 and G2
• Residency holders from other emirates can exchange the driving license from the emirate from which the residence was issued if they hold driving licenses issued by the excluded countries.
• Driving licenses for heavy trucks and heavy mechanical devices can be exchanged if the customer's nationality is among the countries that allow the replacement of driving licenses for all categories.
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