Exporting a car from the UAE: steps and costs

The UAE exports a great many used cars, and a fair number of listings here end up leaving the country. The process is straightforward, but it runs in a fixed order and skipping a step means starting again.

Nothing can be owed against the car

Before anything else, the vehicle has to be clear. That means no outstanding traffic fines, no unpaid Salik or Darb tolls, no impound, and no open legal case attached to the car.

If the car was financed, the bank mortgage has to be formally released as well. A released loan is not the same as a paid-off loan: the release has to be registered, and that takes time you should not discover you need at the port.

The export certificate

The certificate is issued by the Roads and Transport Authority and is what allows the car to leave. It is not expensive — commonly somewhere around AED 100 to AED 120 — and it is issued once the car is clear.

Two things about it catch people out.

The number plates are surrendered at the same time. From that moment the car cannot legally be driven on UAE roads, so it needs to be moved on a recovery truck, and you should arrange that before you go rather than after.

The thirty-day deadline

The export certificate is valid for thirty days from issue.

This is the step most people underestimate. Shipping slots, paperwork at the destination and customs on the other side all take time, and if the certificate expires before the car leaves you go back and buy another one. Do not collect it until the shipping is actually booked.

If you are selling to an exporter

Plenty of buyers on the marketplace are buying to export, and it changes what a sale looks like.

They will want the car clear of fines and mortgage, exactly as above, and they usually move quickly once it is. It is worth clearing anything outstanding before you list rather than during the negotiation, because an exporter working to a shipping date will simply go to the next car.

Ask for the transfer to be completed properly rather than taking payment and handing over the keys. Until the car leaves your name, the fines it collects are still yours.

Fees and rules change. Confirm the current figures with the RTA or the relevant emirate's authority before you commit to a shipping date.