When purchasing or selling a car in Dubai, you must get the ownership of the car changed to your name. If you don’t do this and the police find you, you’ll have to pay a fine of AED 3,000.
Vehicle ownership must be transferred if you are leaving the nation and donating your car to a friend or member of your family. Even if the car is being donated to your mother or best friend, failing to do so will result in a fine.
Continue reading to find out how to transfer vehicle ownership, where to go, and what paperwork you’ll need.
Getting started: what you need to transfer vehicle ownership in Dubai
Here are a few things to make note of:
- The purchaser must reside in the UAE.
- All unpaid fines must be satisfied.
- Any mortgages or auto debts must be repaid in full or transferred to the new owner.
- The insurance contract must be cancelled or given to the purchaser. The buyer is required to obtain a new insurance plan if the old one has expired.
How do you check vehicle information?
You may sign in to the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai’s iOS and Android apps to check the status of your automobile, fines (you can even pay them via the app), the firm that insures your car, and the status of your car loan (mortgage).
What documents are required to transfer vehicle ownership in Dubai?
The new owner will need to bring:
- UAE driving licence (original and copy)
- Insurance certificate (original)
- Passport with valid residence visa (original and copy)
- Emirates ID (original)
The current owner will need to bring:
- Vehicle registration card (original) (also called mulkiya)
- Emirates ID (original)
- Passport and residency permit (While copies are supposedly OK, we advise bringing the original as well.)
- If there is a car loan, confirmation of the last loan payment or transfer of the loan from the bank or finance business.
Every document must be legitimate. Any that have expired or are out of date will be rejected.
Where to transfer vehicle ownership in Dubai?
Any party wishing to transfer ownership of a vehicle must do so at an RTA licencing facility or the headquarters of the Dubai Traffic Police. The present must be both the current owner and the new owner.
How to transfer vehicle ownership online?
There is currently no way to transfer vehicle ownership online in the UAE.
How to transfer vehicle ownership in Dubai: a step-by-step guide
 1. Go to the typing centre once you’ve arrived at the Dubai Traffic Police headquarters or an RTA licencing centre to have a car permit application form filled up for the new owner.
2. At the registration counter, turn in all paperwork, including the vehicle permit application.
3. Any outstanding fines must now be settled by the seller in order to transfer the title to the car.
4. The transfer fees must be paid by the new owner after receiving the go-ahead.
- A knowledge/innovation fee is usually applied at AED 20.
- The new owner will also need to pay a 400 AED transfer fee for light vehicles.
5. The name of the new owner will be printed on the new registration card (mulkiya), which typically takes a few minutes.
6. The previous owner must send a duplicate of the card—which now has the name of the new owner—to the finance company and the insurance provider to inform them that the vehicle has been sold.
7. Sellers must keep a copy of the new registration card as proof that the automobile has been legally sold or transferred because it might be required to receive an insurance refund.
How to purchase number plates in Dubai?
The former owner has the option of keeping the number plates, but they can also be kept if they purchase an Ownership Certificate from the RTA. The present code will be used to issue new licence plates if the former owner chooses to keep them (consisting of a letter followed by one to five digits).
Also Read: You can get fined for these 5 violations inside your vehicle in the UAE
