In this guide 8 sections
Check the car and route before shipping
Start with the vehicle identification number, or VIN, and the details on your ownership records. Note where the car is currently registered, where it was originally made or sold if that is relevant to the authority’s question, and the route you expect it to travel. Include any finance, material modifications or differences between the vehicle and its papers. Use the same description when you ask about export, customs and registration so the answers relate to the same vehicle.
Check with the relevant authority in the country you’re leaving. Ask what it needs to allow the vehicle to leave permanently and how to deal with the registration or ownership documents. If you’re moving from the UK, US, Australia or Canada, start with the authority responsible for your vehicle and departure point. Confirm the exact route for your circumstances. If the car is financed or leased, ask the lender or lessor whether the agreement allows export and what evidence it would provide if you have permission.
Confirm entry and registration before shipping
Then ask Dubai Customs about the entry port you plan to use, and ask Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority, or RTA, which individual registration route it would use for your car. Ask both which vehicle details affect their answer. Questions could include how they treat the steering configuration, vehicle specification, changes to the original car or a discrepancy in an ownership document. Get the answer for your own vehicle before you commit to shipping.
| Stage | Who to ask | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Export | Departure authority and, if relevant, lender or lessor | Whether the vehicle can leave, how it will be documented and what authority or ownership evidence you need |
| Shipping | Carrier or agent | The entry port, route, charges included, document handover and collection arrangements |
| Import clearance | Dubai Customs | Which documents the route needs, what must be inspected and how to get the customs clearance certificate |
| Dubai registration | RTA | Which route applies to an individual owner, the evidence it will accept and whether inspection is needed |
| Collection and insurance | Carrier, insurer and relevant authority | When the vehicle can be collected, how it may be moved and when insurance cover starts |
Ask for a written answer if one step depends on another. For example, find out what document the departure authority retains and what it returns. Then ask the receiving authority whether the returned record is sufficient. A carrier’s answer about whether it can load your car covers a different stage from an authority’s answer about whether you can register it.
Compare importing with replacing your car
Build a cost comparison around the whole journey. Ask for an itemised quote and check which party covers collection, shipping, documents, insurance for the journey, handling at the arrival port and delivery after clearance. Check where the quote ends and which charges you would pay separately. Ask what would change if the route, sailing date or delivery address changed.
Add the amounts you can verify for the steps after the car arrives. Ask which charges depend on an assessment, inspection or service you can only confirm later. Include the cost of travel while you are waiting for the vehicle and any collection or transport you may have to arrange before it is ready to drive. Keep those estimated or unresolved amounts visible in your comparison.
Put this total beside the cost of replacing the car. Record what you could reasonably receive if you sold it before leaving and what a comparable replacement would cost. Allow for the cost and time of arranging that purchase too. If you’re moving other belongings, compare them separately with the guide to deciding whether to ship belongings or buy again in the UAE.
Suppose two shipping quotes cover different stages. One includes collection from your home but ends at the entry port. The other starts at the departure port and includes delivery after clearance. Ask each company to quote the missing stages or obtain separate figures. Compare both on the same door-to-door basis and keep any charges neither can confirm in a separate row. You may still prefer one route for its convenience, but you’ll know what that decision is based on.
Prepare documents for bringing your car to Dubai
Dubai Customs’ personal effects page gives different lists for vehicle imports via a shipping company and imports by a private person. For the shipping-company route, the page lists the original invoice, packing list, bill of lading and a copy of the passport or Emirates ID. For a vehicle imported by a private person, the page lists a passport copy and invoice. Ask Dubai Customs which route applies to your shipment and what else it needs for your vehicle and point of entry. Dubai Customs vehicle and personal effects guidance
Match the documents to your vehicle and route
Treat those lists as a starting point for the discussion with the authority. If you bought the car years ago, ask what the authority accepts for the invoice and how it wants you to deal with a missing original. If you changed your name or have different formats of it on records, ask the authority what evidence it accepts. Check who prepares each shipping document and which copies or originals you’ll receive.
| Check to make | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Vehicle identity | Match the VIN and other identifiers across the car, ownership evidence and shipping paperwork |
| Importer details | Check the name on the documents against the identification the authority says to use |
| Authority evidence | Confirm which ownership, export and clearance documents each authority needs |
| Originals and copies | Ask who needs each original, how it will be handed over and what to keep accessible |
| Collection contact | Confirm who can answer a question if the carrier or authority needs more information on arrival |
Keep the documents in a folder you can reach independently of the shipment. Before dispatch, compare a draft of the carrier’s paperwork with the vehicle and ownership records. If a detail differs, ask the issuer to correct it or explain what the receiving authority will accept. Fixing a mismatch before the shipment moves gives you time to get a written answer.
Clear your personal car through Dubai Customs
Ask how the carrier or agent will notify you when the car arrives, who will present the paperwork and whether you need to be available. Dubai Customs describes valuation and inspection in its vehicle guidance. Ask how those steps apply to your shipment and how any amount due will be assessed. Keep the carrier’s quote and the authority’s instructions together so you can see who is responsible for each charge.
Dubai Customs describes a vehicle clearance certificate issued after clearance through a Dubai entry port. Its service description points to the certificate’s use in the UAE registration process. Confirm who requests it, how you’ll receive it and what the registration authority expects to see. Check the vehicle identifiers when you receive it. Dubai Customs vehicle clearance certificate service
If your car arrives through a different emirate, check with the authority at that entry port and ask the Dubai RTA what it will accept for registration. The Dubai Customs route described here is for Dubai entry ports. Plan the entry port as part of the decision, especially if a carrier offers to change it after you’ve collected the documents.
Ask what the carrier will do if the vehicle arrives while paperwork is still being checked. Find out where it would be held, who can give you an update and what you would pay if collection were delayed. Keep the carrier and customs contacts available before arrival. If you’re also shipping household goods, use a separate list for those items and their supporting records.
Register your imported car in Dubai
After import clearance, use the RTA’s individual registration instructions to check the next step for your vehicle. The RTA labels the route Apply for Registering a New Vehicle and describes an individual pathway. It provides for an inspection if the vehicle has yet to be inspected and for an ownership certificate and plates through the registration service. Confirm how the RTA applies the service to your imported car. RTA vehicle registration service
Ask the RTA which documents and inspection records it accepts, where you would take the car if it needs inspection and how to arrange that while the car is awaiting registration. Find out how the service will record your ownership and what evidence you’ll receive when registration is complete. Check with the RTA what action to take if it asks for more evidence or an inspection result needs to be resolved.
Use the document’s issuer and purpose to identify it. The Dubai Customs vehicle clearance certificate relates to import clearance. The RTA’s separate clearance certificate service concerning mortgages or fines serves a different purpose. When someone asks for a clearance certificate, ask which authority must issue it and what the receiving service needs it for.
Plan collection, insurance and your first journeys
Ask the carrier where it will release the car and under what conditions. Confirm whether it can deliver the car after customs clearance or whether you’ll need to arrange collection. If you need to move it to an inspection centre, ask the RTA and carrier what arrangement you can use at that stage. Check who is responsible for the car in storage and while it is being moved.
Ask the insurer which policy covers which part of the journey. Shipping cover and cover for driving in Dubai are separate questions. Confirm when each policy starts and ends, the documents the insurer needs and whether any collection, storage or transport stage falls between policies. Ask who to contact if you notice damage at collection and what record the insurer would need.
Check your own driving status as a separate task. Owning and registering the car answers questions about the vehicle. Ask the authority which driving licence arrangements apply to you and when you can drive. The guide to exchanging an Australian, Canadian or US driving licence in Dubai covers a separate part of the move.
If the vehicle is central to your commute or family plans, allow for the possibility that you will need another way to get around when you first arrive. Work out which journeys matter most and how you would make them while clearance or registration is in progress. Keep those costs in your comparison. The guide to planning a UAE move can help you fit the vehicle checks around the rest of your relocation.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before I book shipping?
Ask the departure authority, Dubai Customs and the RTA about the route for your specific car. Confirm which records and inspections each stage requires, who handles them and how you’ll move the car after arrival.
Does Dubai Customs clearance register the vehicle?
Dubai Customs handles import clearance and has a service for issuing the vehicle clearance certificate after clearance. Dubai vehicle registration is a separate RTA process. Ask the RTA which clearance evidence and other records it needs for your car.
What if I cannot find the original invoice?
Ask Dubai Customs what it accepts for your route and vehicle. Get that answer before shipping and keep it with your ownership records.
Will my car need an inspection?
Dubai Customs describes inspection in its vehicle import guidance. The RTA’s individual registration instructions also describe inspection where a vehicle has not been inspected. Ask each authority what inspection it needs, what evidence it accepts and where it takes place.
Can I collect and drive my car as soon as it arrives?
Check the release arrangements with the carrier and customs, and ask the RTA how the car can be moved before registration. Confirm the insurance, registration and driving arrangements before you plan to drive it.
What if the car is financed or leased?
Ask the lender or lessor whether the agreement allows export and what evidence it can provide. Then check what the departure authority, Dubai Customs and RTA each need for your circumstances.
