Cancel Vehicle Registration
Apply for a Possession Certificate for a vehicle registered in the Dubai traffic system, issue a certificate to export a vehicle outside the UAE, or transfer your vehicle from Dubai to another emirate. Then, the registration of the vehicle owned by your company, governmental entity, or diplomatic body will be cancelled, rendering the vehicle unfit for road circulation in Dubai.
Select the certificate type
Output
Vehicle Possession Certificate with no expiry date
Ways to Apply
Customer Happiness Centres
- Customer Happiness Centres
- Vehicle Registration and Inspection Centres
Channels
Steps
- Receive a link from the front desk employee.
- Upload the documents through the link.
- Receive the transaction code and share it with the employee.
- Check and electronically sign the application.
- Pay the fees.
- Hand over the plates.
- Receive the payment receipt and certificate through SMS and email.
Service Time
Instantly
Channels
Steps
- Receive a link from the front desk employee.
- Upload the documents through the link.
- Receive the transaction code and share it with the employee.
- Check and electronically sign the application.
- Pay the fees.
- Hand over the plates.
- Receive the payment receipt and certificate through SMS and email.
Service Time
Instantly
Important to Know
You Should Know
- You or your legal representative must be present in person when applying at Customer Happiness or Inspection Centres.
- You can't drive with a Vehicle Possession Certificate.
- The certificate is available in your personal file on the website. You can download it from the dashboard.
- There's no maximum number of Possession Certificates that a company can have.
- The maximum number of Possession Certificates that a company with a CTA activity and an RTA contract can have varies according to the specific terms and activity regulations.
- The limits mentioned apply only to Possession Certificates. There’s no limit on the number of vehicles that a company can register.
- Required contracts according to the legal type:
- Sole Proprietorship: no Memorandum of Association required
- Service agent: no Service Agent Contract required
- Limited Liability Company: Memorandum of Association
- Single-Owner L.L.C.: Memorandum of Association
- Civil Company: Memorandum of Association of civil company
- General Partnership: Memorandum of Association of a joint venture
- Public Joint-Stock Company: Memorandum of Association
- Private Joint-Stock Company: Memorandum of Association.
- If the company is the Dubai branch of a parent company in another emirate, the customer must provide the Memorandum of Association of the parent company.
- Jebel Ali Free Zone transactions are processed at Jebel Ali centre only.
- If you want to register a vehicle with consulate plates, you must provide an NOC from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and contact the Customer Happiness Centre - Deira.
- Under RTA business rules and contract provisions, luxury transport companies must maintain at least 20 registered vehicles. If the registered fleet falls below this number, they can't apply for a vehicle Possession Certificate.
- If you don't hand over the plates within 14 days from the electronic application submission and the payment of the fees, the transaction is cancelled and you can't request a refund.
- You must hand over the plates or a report from the police (in case 1 or both plates are lost).
- In case the police report for lost plates is issued outside the UAE, it must be attested by the traffic department in the concerned country.
- On Sundays, Al Yalayis Vehicle Testing and Muhaisna Shamil centres only provide inspection services.
- In case of a lost/damaged Possession Certificate:
- You or your legal representative must be present in person.
- You must pay all traffic f in es .
- Y o u can replac e a lost/damaged Possession Certificate through the s a me channels and following the same p r oc e ss for AED 120 (Possession Certificate: AED 100 + Knowledge and Innovation: AED 20).
You Should Do
- Pay all traffic fines.
- Pay the licensing fees difference, if any.
- If the vehicle is under mortgage, you must release the mortgage electronically.
- If you don't have a Traffic File, you must open a new one (new file fees: AED 200).
Eligible Categories
Companies, governmental entities, and diplomatic bodies
Service Requirements
I Am
Fees
I Am
Payment Methods
- Cash
- Credit card
- eWallet
- Apple Pay
Terms and Conditions
- If the vehicle ownership is transferred to a new owner, the terms and conditions relevant to the vehicle weight and type apply.
FAQs
- Q : In which cases a Possession Certificate is issued?
- A:
- If the vehicle is damaged and should be transferred under the bank name, insurance name, or as scrap.
- If you aren't renewing the vehicle ownership and want to avoid a delay penalty.
- If you want to transfer the vehicle to another person without registering it.
- If the vehicle isn't operational, but the owner wants to keep it for maintenance.
- A:
- Q: Should both the buyer and seller pay all the Traffic File fines when applying for issuing a Vehicle Possession Certificate in the name of a third party?
- A: No, only the seller pays all the fines issued in Dubai.
- Q: What's the procedure if I want to register a Dubai vehicle in another country, and the vehicle isn't in Dubai but in that country?
- A: If you want to cancel the vehicle registration while it’s already outside the UAE and register it in the other country:
- Provide a letter in Arabic from the relevant licensing authorities in the country, addressed to RTA and stamped by the UAE embassy in that country and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dubai (with the exception of GCC countries).
- Head to one of the service providers or Customer Happiness Centres to obtain a Possession Certificate for cancelling the vehicle, based on the official letter from the licensing authorities in the other country. No technical test is required.
- You or your legal representative must be present in person. The application is for a Possession Certificate, not an Export Certificate, as the vehicle is already exported and only needs cancellation from the Dubai system.
- Note: A Clearance Certificate isn't required by RTA. You must check with the licensing authorities in the other country for their specific requirements.
- A: If you want to cancel the vehicle registration while it’s already outside the UAE and register it in the other country:
- Q: What can I do if the Vehicle Possession Centre cancelled my vehicle?
- A:
- If the vehicle is impounded in other emirates, you must contact the impounding authority.
- If the vehicle is impounded in the Emirate of Dubai, you must contact the Dubai Police.
- If you don't know which was the impounding authority or didn’t know that your vehicle was impounded, you must call 800 9090.
- A:
- Q: What if a company has a Transfer Certificate from Dubai to another emirate but wants to issue a Possession Certificate under an individual's name in Dubai?
- A: The company must first transfer the vehicle back under its name in the other emirate. Then, it can apply for a Non-Registered Vehicle Certificate under the individual’s name in Dubai.
Updated on: 26-November-2025