Saudi Driving License

Saudi Arabia is an Oil-rich country, and you are going to get cheaper fuel. This is the major reason that here you will see a huge number of vehicles roaming around.

The main documents you must have to get a Saudi Driving License is a valid Iqama. You must pass a medical test where Eye vision, colour blindness,

and blood groups are required. You may be interested in the Best 5 Car Insurance Companies. In Saudi Arabia,e of the Saudi Driving Licence’s total fee can vary from 250 SAR to 700 SAR, including everything for ten years.

Note: Some international license holders, like Chinese, Europeans, GCC, UK, USA, etc., can get it transferred after a simple eyesight test.

Read More: UAE Driving License, Kuwait Driving License

Documents for Saudi License

Now here are two scenarios;

• You have a native country License
• You don’t have any License

If you already have your driving license, you need to get an Arabic translation from an approved institute. Don’t worry about it, as a person/agent near a driving school can help you.

In this case, you may not need any class. They will not take any initial test and will give you any date for a final test. If you are good enough, they will pass you straight away, and you can get a license for a successful car and computer signal tests. Simple 🙂

Following Documents you need to present in a file;

• Murror Form for driving License – You can get it for free they will stamp it.
• Valid Iqama Photocopy & Original must be with you
• Photocopy of Passport
• Driving License of your native country with Arabica Translation – SAR 20 is the fee normally.
• Two passport size photographs with white background – One for Mirror form & other for driving school
• Blood Group Test
• License Fee  Submission Receipt –  If you have the license, then pay 100 SAR otherwise, 435 SAR ( School Fee)

Procedure for Driving License

• Take the above documents and go to Dallah Driving school in your city like Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Jubail, etc.
• Go to nearby shops at school, and you may also get a Murror from nearby there, it will be in Arabic. You can the shop guy to fil and make a file. It will cost you around 15-20 SAR. If you are smart enough, then do all the filling by yourself. In school, they may make a file by themself if you provide them with all the required documents. Better prepare for yourself.
• Here, some agents will approach you for your next process- turn them down
• Take this file and enter into the Driving school.
• They will test your eyesight here in a respective window. You can get it done by Efada approved medical centre, and the fee is about 150 SAR for Blood group and eye-sight test. They will upload your medical report, and you will get an SMS. Make sure to have your sponsor ID or CR number.
• After this, they will stamp your file at the ‘License Check’ counter. There will be a long queue. Wait for patiently
• Now they will send you an initial try.
• You can choose an Automatic or Manual – if you choose Automatic transmission, you can only drive legally; otherwise, both if you go for Manual.

What is ‘First Try’

• This trial is for both, even you have a license already in the native country or not.
• The initial try is nothing, but they want to check if you are familiar with a vehicle or not. They will observe how you grip the steering of a car and other controllers. Once you get a token from the License Check counter, and this token starts with a ‘B.’ On that basis, the person inside the car will make comments on your file.
• The first try is a test of your driving confidence. The person inside the car may pressurize by calling ‘Yallah, Yallah.’ Don’t get panic; it’s just normal for all, and they want you how you behave in a pressure situation as driving is all about confidence & confidence comes once you are good at things around.
• Once you are in the car, make sure to adjust your seat, put on a seat belt, adjust mirrors, especially the back murror. Drive slowly and act as normal as possible.
• The person inside the car may not speak in English, so better, you need to learn left, right, fast and slow type of basic words to act as per his directions.
• The person inside the car will make comments on your file like ‘Alif’ means A or B, C, as per his assessment.
• If you got Alif, then you are good to go for a final test or else you have to take training classes for 5 days or even one month.

Dallah Driving School Timing

If you are asked for training, you can choose a nearby Dallah driving school in all major cities operating in two shifts in the Kingdom.

Day Shift: 7:00 to 12:00

Evening Shift: 15:00 to 19:00

Choose any as per your convenience. Timing in Ramadhan is changed; better check before joining any.

The school training fee is about 435 SAR nowadays.

You must have 7 successful reverse parks to clear the training.

Final Driving Test

Here they will ask you to drive the car in a;

• Zigzag Path
• Reverse
• Speed up
• Break Application
• Height inclined start/stop

If you pass it, they will give you a date for a final test & a computer test (signal test). You can only appear three times and have to pass; otherwise, start the process again with a new file.

Reverse Parking and Computer

Once you pass the final test, they will give you a date for Reverse Park & Ishara Test. This reverse park is quite simple. But the signal test is quite tricky if you are already have not familiar with these or have low education.

I have come across people with the highest driving skills but cannot pass the simple ishara test because they are not that educated.

For computer test 

• Submit SAR 100 to attend 3 hours classes
• You will be taught about signals
• Watch & Listen carefully
• Touch screen computer will be there
• 20 questions in 30 minutes
• 1 mistake in the first 10, then you are failed, and the computer test will disappear
• In the next 10, only have to clear 5 to pass

Fee Submission for driving License

Once you clear all the tests, you can pay an online fee of 400 SAR for 10 years or 200 for 2 years. When you show them the slip, they will print a license for you.

Mistakes You Should Avoid

We have come across people who just failed because of some silly mistakes though they are very efficient drivers. You have to follow some basic tips like below;

• Use Double Indicator when you are asked to stop the car and leave
• Examiners may seem harsh, but they are testing their temperament to deal with the tough situation – not meant to eat you
• Don’t take too much time in adjusting the seat and mirrors – Do it in just a flash
• Don’t drive too slow or speedy
• Change your lanes by keeping in view the dark point and traffic behind you.
• Use signals for left-right after covering the dark points through mirrors.
• Follow the instructor carefully.
• Accelerator sound should be within limits – They are using Camery cars, old models.
• Be confident but no over-smart.

Check Driving License Expiry

Although once you got the license from Dallah Driving School, then it is genuine, you have to check the name and other things if misprinted or wrong, but in case you want to check its authenticity and validity, then you need to follow the below steps;

Step – 1: Go to Absher Online, but if you don’t have, you can make as explained here Absher.sa

Step – 2: Log in to Absher and go to inquiries under the ‘My Services’ tab

Step – 3: Now go to ‘Traffic’ in the ‘My Services’ tab

Step – 4: You will have two tabs, ‘Driving License Information’  & ‘Public Query Driving License.’

Step – 5: In ‘Driving License Information,’ you will find information like ‘Type’ validity of the license expiry date.

Step – 6: But if you want to check for any other person, you can check from ‘Public Query Driving License.’ You need to enter the details like Iqama number,  date of birth, etc. You can select Hijri or Georgian calendar.

Types of Driving License

Right now, we have six types of driving License here in Saudi Arabia;

1. Private Driving License
2. Public Driving License
3. Motorcycle Driving License
4. Heavy Vehicle Driving License
5. Diplomatic Driving License
6. Women Driving License

Wrap Up

Getting a driving license in Saudi Arabia is not that easy, but if you follow the simple and stick to basics, you can get it easily. I know people who took 6 months or even 9 months to achieve this milestone. To get fail is not the end of the world. Try and try again to get your dream drive.

Related: How to Renew Driving License & Get Cheap car Insurance

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