Tasjeel inspection: what do they check?

People often say “Tasjeel” when they mean the whole car test. Tasjeel is one brand of testing centre, which the RTA lists as Tasjeel ENOC. The test itself is the RTA’s technical inspection, and other operators run it too: Shamil, Wasel, Al Mumayaz, AG Cars, Al Mutakamela and a few more. On the RTA’s list of approved centres, 10 of the 30 carry the Tasjeel name. The checks and the fees are the same whichever one you drive into.

This guide covers Dubai-registered cars. If your car is registered in another emirate and your residence visa is from that same emirate, the RTA says you cannot renew it in Dubai and must consult that emirate’s licensing authority.

When a car needs the inspection

• Every registration renewal, once the car is past its exemption. A car bought new, with no mileage, by its first owner, is exempt for three years from the year of manufacture or the year of registration, whichever comes first.
• Every change of ownership. The RTA says a change of owner requires a technical inspection even during those first three years. If you buy a nearly new car privately, it gets tested.
• Registering a used car in Dubai, which needs a Transfer Certificate from within the UAE or a Dubai Possession Certificate, plus insurance and an electronic inspection. The RTA says a possession certificate issued in another emirate cannot be used.
• Exporting a car with its plates, one of the services for which the RTA requires a booked inspection.

The certificate you get is valid for 30 days. Book the test close to the renewal or the transfer.

What the inspectors look at

The RTA’s service page sends owners to its vehicle technical inspection brochure for the requirements and criteria. It is short, mostly photos, and it groups the checks like this:

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The tyre age rule is easy to miss. The RTA’s renewal page repeats it: tyres are valid for a maximum of five years from manufacture, and damaged tyres have to be changed before the car will pass. Tread can look fine on a tyre that is too old. The date code is moulded on the sidewall after the letters DOT, and the last group of digits gives the week and the year it was made. Check all of them, including the spare in the boot.

A ten-minute check before you book

Do this in the car park the evening before. Nearly every item on the list above is something an owner can see without tools.

• Walk round with the lights and hazards on, then get someone to press the brake pedal while you look at the back.
• Read the date code on every tyre, spare included.
• Open the boot. Triangle, extinguisher, spare.
• Peel off any sticker on the bodywork, the glass or the light covers.
• Look under the car where it has been parked overnight for fresh drips.
• Pull each seat belt hard and let it lock.
• Start the engine with the bonnet open, rev it and look behind the car for smoke.

Booking, fees and the day itself

Booking is compulsory for an inspection linked to registration, renewal, or export with plates, through the RTA website or the RTA Dubai app. You have to arrive within 15 minutes of the appointment, either side. Tasjeel Hatta takes cars without a booking, and so does any centre for a re-test after a fail.

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The RTA puts the inspection of a light vehicle at 32 minutes. At the yard, you give your mobile number at the front desk, receive a token and a yard number by SMS, and wait. Once the car passes, a link arrives to pay the inspection and the renewal together, and the ownership certificate and the sticker come by SMS or email, from a self-service machine, or by courier. Bring the registration card. The renewal page says you need it to have the car inspected.

On Sundays, the RTA says Al Yalayis and Muhaisna Shamil offer inspections only, no other services.

If the car fails

Fix what the report lists and bring the car back. The re-test fee is in the table above, and the RTA says no reservation is needed for a re-inspection after a fail.

If you think the result is wrong, you can book a slot with the Technical Inspection Committee at a registration and inspection centre. You or a legal representative must be there in person with the car. The committee decides after five working days, and its decision is final until you fix the issues and apply again.

Renewal rules that hold people up at the counter

• Insurance has to be valid on the day you renew. A new policy that starts a week after the old one ended is not accepted. Ask the insurer to set the start date.
• Fines on the car have to be paid first. Fines on your other cars under the same traffic file can wait if they were issued less than six months ago.
• Two or more cars: the one that expires first must be renewed or removed first.
• Timing. You can renew up to 150 days before expiry. After expiry there is a 30-day grace period, then late fees, and if the car is still not renewed two months after expiry, your traffic file is blocked.

What this means if you are buying

The inspection at transfer is a roadworthiness test for registration. It will not tell you that a gearbox is slipping or that the air conditioning compressor is tired, so it does not replace an independent pre-purchase check (our used car buying checklist covers that part).

It does tell you one thing for certain: a car that cannot pass cannot be registered in your name. So run the ten-minute check above on the seller’s car before you agree a price. The rule we would use: if any item on the list would fail, either the seller fixes it before the transfer, or the price drops by a written quote for the fix. Tyre age is the easy one to check, and on a big four-wheel drive like a Mitsubishi Pajero a new set is worth getting quoted before you sign.

Then check the price itself against the market on the Check a seller’s price page, and see what the car will cost you to keep, renewals included, on the running-costs page.

How we measured

This guide uses no Cars Oracle listings data, so it has no factsheet and no sample size. Every rule and fee comes from an official page we opened on 8 October 2026. The RTA’s inspection page was last updated on 6 October 2026 and its renewal page on 30 September 2026. The count of Tasjeel centres is ours, made from the RTA’s list of approved inspection centres on that date. Fees change, so check the linked page before you pay. For how our own listing figures are built, see the methodology.

Sources:

• RTA, Apply for Vehicle Inspection: fees, booking, inspection time, appeals, exemption for new cars, approved centres.
• RTA, Renew Vehicle Ownership: renewal and delivery fees, insurance and fines rules, deadlines, tyre validity, inspection on change of ownership.
• RTA, Vehicle Registration: inspection and insurance for registering a used car.
• RTA, Vehicle Technical Inspection Brochure (PDF): the list of checks.