Dubai: If you are a regular public transport user in Dubai, did you know that losing your nol card does not always mean losing all the balance you had on it? Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has a service where users who have a blue nol card, or a ‘personalised’ Silver or Gold card can recover the balance on it.
If you have a Silver or Gold nol card, you can personalise it by linking it to your Emirates ID. To find out how you can connect your Emirates ID and nol card, click here.
The first thing you should do when your nol card gets lost or stolen is to immediately contact the RTA customer service centre at 800 90 90 to report the loss immediately, so that they can block the card.
Once that’s done, you can apply to transfer the balance from your previous nol card to your new one. Here are the details.
How to refund the balance from your lost nol card
1. To apply for a refund for your nol card, you must visit the official RTA website – rta.ae or directly access the service through this link: https://www.rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/public-transport/nol/nol-refund?lang=en
2. Enter your nol tag ID, which is the ten-digit number behind your nol card and mobile number. When you call the customer service centre, you would need to provide your Emirates ID number, after which the representative will give you your nol tag ID number.
3. Select the reason for replacement – lost, stolen, or expired.
4. Enter your PIN code. All blue and personalised nol cards have a PIN code, and you receive it via SMS.
5. Enter personal details – such as full name, mobile number, Emirates ID, home address and nationality.
6. Review the details of the refund application and agree to the terms and conditions.
7. Confirm the application and pay the service fee for the card replacement, which is Dh70.
8. After you have paid the fee, you will receive a reference number to track your application.
9. The card-blocking request is created on the card after the application’s confirmation.
10. After the application is approved by RTA, you will receive a confirmation SMS that the refund balance is transferred to the new card.
The new card is issued, and the refund is approved after four days from the date of the application's submission. The new card will be delivered to your home address.
According to RTA, you have to activate the refunded amount by inserting the card in a nol top-up machine, public parking meter or at the check-in and check-out gate at a Metro station.
Cost
There is no fee for transferring the nol card balance, but you do have to pay for replacing the card, which costs Dh70.
