Gulf News

NATION Motorists urged to upgrade licence plates

From May, owned plates and unowned A, B and C plates must have new design, RTA says

- Staff Report

From May, owned plates and unowned A, B and C plates must have new design, RTA says |

From May, all car owners with owned number plates A-Z and those with unowned number plates A, B and C will have to upgrade to the new design, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced.

This is part of the number plate redesign introduced by RTA leading up to 2021. Motorists with unowned plates D-I will have to upgrade by 2019, J-O by 2020 and P-Z and other categories by 2021.

Gulf News sought more details about the licence-plate upgrade on Thursday, but RTA did not reply by press time.

Details regarding upgrade costs for owned registered plates were not revealed, but for unowned plate holders of A, B and C, the RTA said there are minimal costs.

For example, for shortlengt­h plates, the upgrade cost is Dh35 per plate while for long plates, it is Dh50.

Plates with the coloured Dubai logo will cost the same as above to upgrade if the motorist owns them, but a new plate will cost Dh400. Luxury licence plates will cost Dh500.

New series up for auction

The RTA, meanwhile, said in a statement yesterday that it is offering a new series of licence plates at an auction next month.

The Licensing Agency of the RTA intends to offer 300 licence plates comprising four and five digits in its 52nd online auction. Plates on offer bear the letters J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S and T. Registrati­on of bidders starts tomorrow.

The bidding will start at 8am on March 4 and continue for five days.

“Numbers sold in this auction will be subject to a five per cent VAT. The wide public participat­ion in online or open auctions and the positive competitio­n to grab such numbers underscore the importance of holding these auctions in bringing happiness and satisfacti­on to number plate enthusiast­s,” said Sultan Al Marzouqi, director of Vehicle Licensing, Licensing Agency.

“Participat­ion in the auction requires the client to have an account opened through RTA’s website [www.rta.ae] or use the ‘New User’ link to obtain a username and password.

New registrati­on

“For a new registrati­on, the user is required to have either a vehicle registered in Dubai or a driver’s licence issued in Dubai.

“For participat­ing in the auction, the bidder is required to issue a security cheque to RTA amounting to Dh5,000 and deposit it at one of the RTA’s Customer Happiness Centres at Umm Al Ramool, Bur Dubai, Deira or Al Twar Municipal Centre.

“For payment by a credit card, the client must also deposit Dh5,000 as security. Clients also have to pay Dh120 as participat­ion fees through the website [www.rta.ae],” said Al Marzouqi.

 ??  ?? In the unowned category, upgrading short-length plates to the new design will cost Dh35 and long plates Dh50.
In the unowned category, upgrading short-length plates to the new design will cost Dh35 and long plates Dh50.

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