Dubai makes vehicle inspection appointments mandatory across all testing centres

Gulf Today, Staff reporter

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has activated the Vehicle Inspection Appointment Booking service on the ‘RTA Dubai’ app and the website www.rta.ae. Effective 2nd June 2025, the booking will be mandatory for all vehicle inspections at technical testing centres across the emirate. For customers who prefer to visit without a prior appointment, an optional walk-in service will be available at 19 centres, subject to an additional service fee of AED 100.

The Technical Inspection services through pre-booking appointments are available at 8 other centres, without the walk-in service at these eight centres. The centres are Wasel Al Arabian Centre & Nad Al Hamar, Shamil Al Adid, Al Muhaisnah and Nad Al Hamar, Al Mumayaz Vehicle Testing Al Mizhar, and Tasjeel Al Tawar and Al Mankhool.

The decision to expand the service follows the tangible success of the pilot phase, launched in October last year exclusively at the Tasjeel centres in Al Qusais and Al Barsha. The initiative proved effective in saving customers time and effort.

Through this expansion, RTA aims to enhance the quality of this vital service, which benefits a broad segment of the population, and to improve customer satisfaction by reducing waiting times for vehicle inspections. The move also reflects RTA’s commitment to enriching the customer experience by providing seamless access to premium services across multiple channels.

The results of the six-month pilot phase revealed a notable reduction in average customer waiting times for vehicle inspection services at the Al Qusais and Al Barsha centres, by approximately 46%, alongside a 15% decrease in the occupancy rate of physical inspection transactions relative to total available capacity.

The volume of vehicle testing transactions at both centres also declined by 13%. Despite this reduction, revenue levels remained unaffected. Additionally, 52% of customers chose to use the pre-booking system, 26% of transactions were completed via the optional walk-in service, and the remaining 22% were for other services that did not require prior appointments.

Qais Al Farsi, Director of Vehicle Licensing at RTA’s Licensing Agency, said: “The outcomes of the pilot phase demonstrated a clear improvement and a positive shift in reducing congestion at inspection centres, particularly during peak hours, one of the most persistent challenges at these facilities.”

“The wider rollout of the initiative across vehicle testing centres is expected to yield several key benefits, most notably saving customers time and effort, reducing waiting times by around 40%, and improving occupancy rates, particularly at centres where utilisation had previously exceeded 80%,” he added.

Al Farsi further noted: “The appointment booking system has been made mandatory for all customer and vehicle categories at technical testing centres, except for vehicles registered in Dubai and owned by People of Determination and seniors, both citizens and residents. These individuals are exempt from the booking requirement for vehicle inspection services, in line with RTA’s commitment to ensuring accessible and inclusive service delivery for these two key customer segments.”

A total of 27 technical testing centres across Dubai now require booking for vehicle inspections via the RTA Dubai smart app or website (www.rta.ae). Tasjeel Hatta centre is exempt from the appointment booking requirement.