Car rental licence plus the RTA permit
The trade licence sets up your rental company. The RTA permit is what lets the cars go out on hire.
- Usual route
- Mainland or free zone
- Extra approval
- RTA permit
- Timeline
- Weeks to months
- AML
- Not a DNFBP activity
A car rental company in Dubai holds a trade licence from DET or a free zone. Before any car is hired out, it also needs a permit from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). The permit applies inside free zones too, runs for one year and covers the office, parking and vehicles. Supplying a driver makes it a transport activity.
- Covers
- Hiring out cars without a driver, by the day, week or month
- Not covered
- Chauffeur or limousine work, and selling cars (see Used car trading)
- Premises
- Office and car parking to RTA standards; a flexi-desk falls short
- Timeline
- Weeks to months, set by the RTA permit and the fleet
What a rent a car licence covers
Two things move a rental business onto different rules: putting a driver in the car, and hiring cars out by the hour.
Covered
Not covered
- Covered by Passenger transport (RTA)
- Covered by Used car trading
- Covered by Equipment rental
Tick what you plan to do. The result shows here.
We fix the wording before you apply. Send us your list on WhatsApp
Once a driver comes with the car, the business is transport and needs its own RTA activity, so we settle the wording before anything is filed.
Where your rental desk sits
The RTA permit is needed on either route, so the choice usually rests on where customers pick up the cars.
| If most of your clients are | Likely route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Walk-in customers at a street or mall counter | Mainland (DET) | A public counter outside a free zone is licensed by DET |
| Companies on monthly or yearly leases | Either route | Lease contracts can run from either route, and the RTA permit covers both |
| Online bookings with delivery to the customer | Either route | There may be no counter, yet the office and parking still answer to the RTA |
A free zone company can serve mainland customers through a DET branch licence or permit (Executive Council Resolution 11 of 2025). The RTA permit still applies, and mainland income can affect QFZP status.
Several free zones license this activity; we match the zone to your visas, office and banking. Compare free zones
Three questions. The closest row is marked in the table above.
Your likely route shows here.
Who approves a rental fleet
DET or the free zone authority issues the trade licence first. The RTA permit follows once the office, parking and vehicles meet its published standards, and it is renewed every year.
Before the licence
- Trade name and initial approvalDET or the free zone authority
The licence
- Trade licence with rental activityDET or the free zone authority
Alongside the licence
- Office and parking to standardRTA
After the licence
- Vehicle rental permitRTA Licensing Agency
- Vehicle inspection and trackingRTA
- Corporate bank accountThe bank
- Staff visasGDRFA Dubai
We line up the RTA file before the first car is bought.
Which RTA permit your fleet needs
Tick how the cars will go out. Hourly hire sits under its own Dubai resolution, and a driver changes the activity altogether.
The RTA sets the fleet and vehicle criteria, including year of manufacture. We confirm the current figures before you order a car.
How will the cars go out?
| What you plan | Points to |
|---|---|
| Car rental permit | |
| Car rental permit | |
| Car rental plus the hourly rental rules | |
| Car rental plus the hourly rental rules | |
| Passenger transport with a driver | |
| Passenger transport with a driver |
Tick a line to see where your plan points.
How banks see a rental fleet
Bank viewCloser look at fleet funding, card deposits and security deposits
Banks look closely at car rental because the business is asset-heavy and often financed. Card payments come in daily, and guest security deposits are held for a time and then released. The questions usually start with how the fleet is funded and who the first customers will be. We put the fleet plan, the funding source and the RTA permit status into the account file, so the review can follow the money.
AMLNot a DNFBP activity; the bank's own customer checks still apply.
Where rental launches stall
Cars financed before the permit is clear
Founders sometimes sign fleet finance first, then find the vehicles or the parking fall short of RTA criteria. The cars sit idle while the instalments run, which is the slowest and dearest way to find out.
Hourly bookings on a daily rental set-up
Renting by the hour falls under a separate Dubai resolution. A company that drifts into short hourly bookings without that layer is trading outside its permit, and it tends to surface at renewal.
An office lease with the wrong parking
The RTA looks at the car park spaces as well as the office. A lease signed on a unit with no qualifying parking can mean a second search, a second deposit and a delayed permit.
Questions about a car rental licence
A question about your plan? Describe your car rental plan and an advisor replies on WhatsApp.
Ask on WhatsAppDo I need RTA approval to start a car rental company in Dubai?
Can a free zone company run a car rental business in Dubai?
Is hourly car rental licensed differently in Dubai?
Can a car rental company offer cars with drivers in Dubai?
Should I buy the cars before or after the RTA permit?
Related pages
IndustryTravel agency licence in DubaiA travel agency license in Dubai: travel agent, tour operator or online agency, the DET tourism category, guarantees and approvals, decided first.
ActivityUsed car trading licence in DubaiWhere your cars end up sets the licence: a Dubai showroom for local buyers, or a free zone for export.
BankingCorporate banking and what UAE banks decide onCorporate bank account opening in Dubai, prepared before you apply: the file a UAE bank reads, the right bank for your profile and a strong first file.
Your fleet plan, checked against the RTA rules before the first car is bought
Thirty minutes on your fleet plan and the customers you expect. You leave with the activity wording, the route and the order of the DET and RTA approvals.
On the call
- The activity wording that fits your plan
- The route, and the approvals in order
- A written scope, agreed before any work starts
