Licence to renew

Renewing your driver's licence can be a chore when you have to fight traffic en route to the head quarters in Al Twar. Lamcy Plaza and the Union Co-op, opposite Al Safa Park, now offer an alternative course. Both have been providing branches of the Licence Renewal Unit for nearly 10 months now. A new division will soon be inaugurated at Jumeirah Plaza some time this month.

The branch at Lamcy operates from 10.00am to 3.00pm five days a week, except Thursdays, Fridays and public holidays. The second branch works from 8.30am to 2.00pm and again from 5.00pm to 10.00pm. Thursdays are half working days for that unit. The renewal requirements are the same – Dh100 in fees, a passport photocopy and a written eye test certificate.

Lamcy offers you an optician on its premises who provides a certificate for Dh25. Unlike the main branch, both units do not provide a separate renewal section for ladies.

The branches are operated by male officers who handle the renewal process for both, men and women.
The units are fairly small compared to the headquarters and the officers in charge claim that the turnout of people is growing. Obtaining your new licence itself takes 10 minutes, unless a problem occurs with your licence.

The problems can range from special instructions stated on your driving record to an error on your licence number. In these cases, you would have to travel to the head office, as all records are stored there.
Major Adel, manger of the licence renewal unit, said, "The office at Jumeirah Plaza is the latest feather in our cap. We haven't set a specific date for the opening, but it should be any time this month. We will offer the same facilities as the other two units."