Getting a Qatari Driving License
Once you have a Residence Visa for Qatar, you need to get a Qatari Driving License in order to be able to drive in the country. If you currently hold a valid driving license from one of the GCC countries, or from one of the following countries, you can get a Qatari driving license without having to take the driving test.
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA and Vatican City.
If you do not a have a license, or you have a license from a country not listed above, you will need to pass the Qatari driving test.
Exchanging your license for a permanent Qatari driving license:
In order to apply for a full-term Qatari driving license, the following documents must be presented at the Madinat Khalifa Traffic Department:
Original license from one of the countries listed above
A letter of no objection/permission from your sponsor, written in Arabic
A copy of your sponsoring company’s trade license
A copy of your sponsor’s ID
Passport (original and copies)
Three passport photos
Qatar ID card
You will need to fill out an application form, which must be typed in Arabic, and signed by your sponsor. Translation typing services are available at Madinat Khalifa Traffic Department for a small fee.
You will also be required to pass an eye test, which can be conducted at the Madinat Khalifa Traffic Department as well. The fee that you pay for the driving license, must be paid by credit card. It includes the cost of the eye test.
It generally takes one working day for your Qatari license to be issued if you already hold a license from one of the countries listed above. The license is valid for five years and will entitle you to drive the type of vehicle specified in your original license.
Madinat Khalifa Traffic Department is located on Khalifa Street.
It is open from 7:00am to 11:00am and 4:00pm to 7:00pm.
For information and enquiries, the traffic department can be contacted on +974 4489 0666. Fax : 44872494.
If you need to apply for a new license:
In the event that you have to apply for a new driving license, an application has to be made to the Traffic Department of the Ministry of Interior. The contact details are:
Ministry of Interior Traffic Department
Tel: +974 4489 0666
Fax: +974 4487 2494
Email: traffic@moi.gov.qa
You will need to fulfill certain requirements and provide the following documents as part of your application:
You must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible for a light driving license or motorcycle license
Completed driving license application form (typed in Arabic)
A no-objection letter from the applicant's sponsor (in Arabic)
A valid passport along with a copy
A copy of your sponsor's ID card
Three recent, coloured, passport-sized photographs
Residence permit
Applying for a Temporary license
You can apply for a temporary license (valid for three months) as an interim measure between using your International Driving License and getting a Qatari license. To do so, you need to follow the same steps outlined for a full license. The documentation required for this isn’t as extensive. You only need to bring:
Original license from one of the countries listed above.
Passport (original and copies)
Three passport photos
There is a fee for a temporary license. It is possible to extend the license when it expires. Those who have temporary licenses are only permitted to drive rental vehicles. This is because insurance on privately-owned vehicles tends not to cover drivers of this status.
The Driving Test
If you don’t have a driving license from one of the countries listed above, you have to take a driving test before you can be issued a Qatari driving license.
Driving tests are administered by authorised driving schools and all applicants need to apply to a driving school for lessons before they can take the test. Those who do not have a driving license are required to take at least:
15 hours of theory classes
35 hours of driving lessons
Expatriates who already have a license (which is not exchangeable) may be able to take the test after sitting through just the theory classes.
Driving tests usually consist of four modules:
An oral theory test where the applicant is asked questions about road signs and traffic regulations in English or Arabic
Reverse parking test
Straight parking test
Road test
An eye test is also necessary, but this is usually done before the theory and practice modules of the test.
Driving tests are usually carried out in manual transmission cars and generally, there are four people to a car. Women take the test with a female traffic police officer. If an applicant passes all modules of the test, the driving license is issued right away and is valid for five years. All modules are carried out on the same day; if an applicant fails any one of the modules they cannot move on to the next module.
If an applicant fails the test, they can usually take the driving test again in a month’s time. Sometimes more driving classes are required in order to be able to appear for another test.
Authorised Driving Schools
Al Rayah Driving School
Tel: +974 4487 7774
Doha Driving Center
Tel: +974 4479 2263
Gulf Driving School
Tel: +974 4465 2822
United Driving Company
Tel: +974 4468 1003
Qatar said to mull driving licence ban for more expats
Qatar is reportedly mulling an extension to plans to limit the number of driving licences issues to expats following last year's ban on labourers.
The Gulf state's Advisory Council is seeking quicker action to address traffic jams in the city and has recommended a series of measures including a review of the current policy on issuing drivers’ licences to expatriates.
Last July, the Department of Traffic issued a circular ordering driving schools to no longer register labourers seeking to obtain a driving licence.
The State Cabinet has asked the National Committee for Traffic Safety to submit the findings of its study on traffic congestion in three months, Qatar daily The Peninsula reported, citing an Al Sharq article.
The committee has also recommended building more multi-storey parking facilities and promoting public transport to reduce the number of private cars.
The committee also recommended redistributing commercial facilities to reduce the congestion in certain parts of the city and encourage more schools to use buses to transport students, the report said.
Companies should be forced to provide buses to transport groups of workers, it added.
The government has reportedly set up a special committee to find quick solution to traffic jams with 138 traffic hot-spots identified across the city.
Driving licence curbs only for limited period
The ban on some categories of expatriate workers from acquiring a driving licence is temporary and will last only until major development projects are completed, says the Traffic Department.
The nature of work of these categories of people is such that they do not “at the moment” need a driving licence, said the director of the department.
“We have a fairly extensive and efficient public transport system so there is no need for these people to seek driver’s licence. Their jobs don’t demand that they drive now,” Brigadier Mohamed Saad Al Kharji said.
“This is a temporary measure. The restrictions would be lifted after major infrastructure projects are over.”
The ban is a necessity today because the current pace of development in the country (arguably, a reference to the exploding population) makes it imperative that such steps are taken to control increasing chaos, congestion and accidents on the roads, Al Kharji said. He was a guest speaker at Al Sharq’s Ramadan tent last Saturday. Replying to questions, the director said his department takes traffic law breaches very seriously and no fine imposed on a violator is ever waived.
“In some violations if it is found that there is some margin of error by a traffic policeman in assessing a traffic accident. In those cases a lenient view can be taken.”
On an average, some 100 driving licences are withdrawn by the traffic police every day due to serious violations of the traffic law.
In Qatar, the minimum age for issuing the driving licence is 19 years while in other countries in the region it is 18.
Brigadier Mohamed Abdullah Al Malki, secretary-general of the National Committee for Road Safety at the Ministry of Interior, was present at the event.
He said that a curriculum of road safety was almost complete for introduction in schools at elementary, preparatory and secondary levels.
“However, it (road safety) wouldn’t be taught as a subject. It would rather be in the form of an awareness campaign.” The official said the traffic law was being studied for a possible review.
Al Kharji said that media interaction as the one at this Ramadan tent should be held every three months since that would help raise awareness on road safety.
He reiterated that major roundabouts in the country will be converted into traffic signals with intersections like the several roundabouts on the Corniche Road are being converted.
Electronic system for driving tests
The Traffic Department will soon introduce an electronic system for the “L” and “parking” tests in driving schools to abolish direct supervision by the policemen.
These two preliminary tests take place in the premises of the driving schools to qualify the trainees for the final road tests. Currently the tests are conducted in the presence of policemen, who are responsible for evaluating the trainees and issuing the results.
Driving schools are now preparing to introduce a new system in which the tests will be monitored electronically from a control room in the driving school. Instead of physically supervising the tests, the policeman will sit in the control room and monitor the test on a computer screen. The result will also be issued based on this assessment.
“We will be implementing the new system very soon. We have already conducted the trial and it was very efficient and successful,” an official of a leading driving school told this daily yesterday.
He said a major advantage of the new system is that the candidates can take the tests without being scared of the presence of policemen. It will also help avoid complaints about bias or favouritism by inspectors supervising the tests.
“Nobody can claim that the evaluation was wrong since there will be solid proof to show how the candidate has performed,” said the official.
There will be censors at the testing grounds which will be linked to CCTV cameras monitoring the tests.
If the car touches the censors during the test, it w ill be captured by t he camera and shown on the large LCD screen in the control room.
The Traffic Department has also plans to install CCTV cameras in the cars used for road tests to accurately monitor the performance of the trainees during the tests and avoid complaints, it has been learnt.
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