By Mohammed Rashad Hussain, Managing PartnerPublished 4 min read
Who licenses limousines in each emirate?
There is no single UAE-wide limousine licence. Each emirate regulates passenger transport inside its own borders.
| Emirate | Authority that licenses limousines |
|---|---|
| Dubai | Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) |
| Abu Dhabi | Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), now branded Abu Dhabi Mobility |
| Sharjah | Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA) |
| Ras Al Khaimah | Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority (RAKTA), under Resolution No. 3 of 2021 |
| Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah | Not confirmed here. Ask the company which permit covers your trip |
Ride-hailing platforms follow the same split. Uber’s UAE requirements accept limousines approved by RTA, ITC or SRTA “in their registered cities only”. For what the Dubai permit involves, read what an RTA limousine licence means.
Which trips can a Dubai-licensed car do?
RTA’s activity card for luxury passenger transport sends permit holders to the Federal Authority for Land and Maritime Transport when the work reaches other emirates. In practice, the safe reading is simple:
- Dubai to another emirate and back. The trip starts in Dubai, so it runs under the Dubai permit. Dubai to Abu Dhabi is about 139 km and 1 h 30. Dubai to Sharjah is about 26 km and 27 minutes.
- Airport runs. A pickup at DXB for Abu Dhabi, or at Zayed International for Dubai, is a transfer between two emirates. See the Emirates and Etihad chauffeur guide for the airline side.
- Local trips that start and end elsewhere. A day of hops that starts and ends inside Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or Ras Al Khaimah is normally the work of a company licensed in that emirate.
Authorities do not publish a one-line rule for every case, so we state only what is sourced and ask you to confirm any trip that sits on the line. Routes and journey times for each emirate are on the intercity transfers page.
What about a full day touring Abu Dhabi from a Dubai hotel?
This usually works, because the day starts and ends in Dubai. A typical plan leaves a Dubai hotel at 8 am and reaches the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in about 1 h 30. The day covers the mosque, Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Corniche. The car returns to Dubai in the evening.
What matters is where the first pickup and the last drop-off are. Tell us both, and say if the car should wait at each stop. Our Abu Dhabi chauffeur page lists the pickup points, and the Abu Dhabi limousine page covers the vehicle classes. For what to see, read getting around Abu Dhabi.
Staying in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah: who should you book?
If your hotel is in Abu Dhabi and every trip begins and ends there, you are asking for local work. A company licensed by ITC is the cleanest answer for those days. Assure will say plainly if a partner licensed in that emirate is needed, and we will tell you before you pay.
The same goes for Sharjah. Visitors who stay near Al Majaz Waterfront and want a car for the week should ask which licence covers the daily trips. Our Sharjah chauffeur page shows where we operate, and getting around Sharjah has the local picture.
Mixed plans are easy: stay in Dubai, and drive out to Sharjah or Abu Dhabi and back.
Northern emirates and the east coast
From central Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah is about 109 km (79 minutes) and Fujairah about 120 km (89 minutes) without traffic. Ras Al Khaimah has its own regulator, RAKTA, which issues permits for limousine companies and drivers under Resolution No. 3 of 2021.
For Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah we have not confirmed the licensing bodies, so we do not state rules for them. A return day trip from Dubai starts in Dubai. Anything that begins in those emirates is worth confirming with us first. Our road travel guide shows how the routes connect.
How Assure handles trips outside Dubai
Assure is RTA licensed and based in Dubai. We drive from Dubai to all 7 emirates, and every airport. For work that starts and ends inside another emirate, we confirm the route with you, and use a partner licensed there where the rules ask for one. If you want a partner vehicle instead, we arrange it through the network when one is free.
Send your pickup, drop-off, date and number of passengers on WhatsApp. We confirm the arrangement before you pay. The factors that move a quote are explained in chauffeur cost in Dubai, and the wider buying advice is in hiring a chauffeur in Dubai.
Photos in this guide
Overhead signs on a road in Abu Dhabi pointing ahead to Al Raha Beach, Shahama and DubaiRizwan Ullah Wazir / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Tall lamp posts lining the Dubai to Abu Dhabi freeway, with traffic silhouetted against a pale skyBasil D Soufi / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The white domes and minarets of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi under a clear skyTanya Hart (arripay) / Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Road sign on the E18 in Ras Al Khaimah giving Sha'am 2 km, Al Jeer 4 km and the Al Dara border crossing with Oman 5 kmKristian Thy / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
