RTA Vehicle Power of Attorney
For a Dubai vehicle ownership change, RTA does not simply ask for a power of attorney. It names the scope the document has to contain.
AED 790 · Our professional fee · Arabic + English included · Government fees quoted separately
What it is
RTA publishes the requirement in one sentence: "Your legal representative must have a power of attorney stipulating the ‘sale and disposal of vehicles’", and that representative has to be present in person. That is unusually specific, and it is the reason a general vehicle authority can be turned away at the counter while a correctly scoped one is not. It is also why this document is worth preparing deliberately rather than borrowing wording from somewhere else.
Who it is for
A Dubai vehicle owner who will not be at the registration centre themselves - commonly someone selling a car after leaving the country - and the representative who will attend for them.
The sentence your document has to contain
For a change of vehicle ownership, RTA does not ask for "a power of attorney". It names the scope: "Your legal representative must have a power of attorney stipulating the ‘sale and disposal of vehicles’".
That is why a perfectly valid, broadly worded vehicle authority can still be refused. The counter is not judging the document; it is looking for a phrase its own published rule tells it to look for. If your document does not contain it, the wording is the problem, and the wording is fixable before you go.
Your representative still has to turn up
This surprises people more than the wording does. A power of attorney does not make the transaction remote. RTA states that the representative "must be present in person" for a change of ownership, and repeats the same requirement on its Export Certificate service: "You or your legal representative must be present in person when applying at Customer Happiness or Inspection Centres."
So the document solves your absence, not theirs. If nobody can attend in Dubai, a power of attorney does not fix that on its own.
Source: RTA, Apply for Changing a Vehicle Ownership; RTA, Export Certificate
What RTA asks for, and what it charges
For a change of ownership, RTA lists a valid Emirates ID for buyer and seller, electronic insurance, an electronic technical inspection, an electronic mortgage release if the vehicle is mortgaged, a Gulf Specifications compliance document where applicable, and a MOFA no-objection certificate for consulate plates. Stated completion time: "Instantly".
The published fees for the transfer itself:
- Light vehicle - AED 350.
- Heavy vehicle over 12 tonnes - AED 800 to AED 1,000.
- Motorcycle - AED 200.
- Plates - AED 35 to AED 50, short or long.
- Sale and purchase agreement - AED 50.
- Knowledge and innovation fees - AED 20.
If the car is leaving the country
Export is a separate RTA service with its own fee build-up, and it is worth seeing the whole of it before assuming the AED 350 transfer is the cost. For a light vehicle RTA publishes: "Certificate: AED 50, Export plates: AED 70, Change of Ownership: AED 350, Selling fees: AED 50, Knowledge and Innovation: AED 20, Total: AED 540". Completion is again stated as "Instantly", at the RTA website, smart apps, Customer Happiness Centres or Vehicle Registration and Inspection Centres.
A corporate seller is asked for more: the "Emirates ID of the authorised person", a "Trade Licence", a "Letter from the company", a "Sale and Purchase Agreement from the company", a "Memorandum of Association translated into Arabic (legalised translation)", and an electronic technical inspection where the licence has expired.
One thing we will not tell you: RTA does not state on the export page what scope a representative's power of attorney must contain. The "sale and disposal of vehicles" wording is published on the ownership-transfer service. We do not assume the same phrase carries across, and if export is your transaction it is worth confirming with RTA before the document is signed.
Source: RTA, Export Certificate
How it works
- You tell us the vehicle, who will act for you, and what they may do with it.
- We prepare the draft and show you the whole document.
- Nothing goes further until you have read it and approved it.
- You sign it before a notary public; your representative attends RTA in person with it.
- Your approved copy stays in your account.
What is included
- A draft prepared from the details you give us
- The full document to read before you approve it
- Your approved copy kept in your account
What is not included
- RTA fees. RTA publishes AED 350 for a light vehicle ownership change, AED 200 for a motorcycle, AED 800 to AED 1,000 for a heavy vehicle over 12 tonnes, AED 35 to AED 50 for plates, AED 50 for the sale and purchase agreement and AED 20 knowledge and innovation
- Insurance, technical inspection and mortgage release, which RTA requires separately
- Notary public fees, and any attestation or legalisation charges
- Attending RTA on your behalf
What this page does not tell you
- Everything here is RTA's, and RTA is Dubai. Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other emirates have their own vehicle authorities publishing their own requirements, and none of these figures applies to them.
- RTA publishes the scope for a change of ownership. It does not publish one for export, renewal or a plate transfer, so we do not state one for those.
- Fees change without notice. Each figure here is dated in our source registry, and RTA's own service page is the version that counts on the day you go.
- The Deedbox does not attend RTA for you, does not notarise, and cannot promise a counter will accept a particular document.
Common questions
What exactly does RTA require the power of attorney to say?
RTA states that the legal representative "must have a power of attorney stipulating the ‘sale and disposal of vehicles’". It also states the representative must be present in person.
What else does RTA ask for at an ownership change?
Its published list includes a valid Emirates ID for buyer and seller, electronic insurance, an electronic technical inspection, an electronic mortgage release if the vehicle is mortgaged, a Gulf Specifications compliance document where applicable, and an MOFA no-objection certificate for consulate plates.
What does RTA charge?
RTA publishes AED 350 for a light vehicle, AED 200 for a motorcycle and AED 800 to AED 1,000 for a heavy vehicle over 12 tonnes, plus AED 35 to AED 50 for plates, AED 50 for the sale and purchase agreement and AED 20 knowledge and innovation. Those go to RTA and are separate from our professional fee.
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