Before you start

A fully issued UAE residence permit — you cannot convert on a visit visa
An issued Emirates ID, to which the licence is linked
Your original foreign licence, still valid
A certified translation from an approved office if the licence is not in English or Arabic

Step-by-step

1
Check whether your issuing country is on the approved exchange list
If it is, you skip lessons and tests entirely. If it is not, you must open a traffic file, train at a licensed institute and pass the full sequence — weeks and several thousand dirhams rather than days and hundreds. The list is federal and changes, so check it rather than relying on a colleague's experience.
OnlineWho: YouFree to check
2
Do the eye test and any required translation
Any approved optician or licensing centre does the vision test and pushes the result into the traffic system electronically. Arrange the legal translation at the same time if you need one.
In personWho: You15–30 minutes
3
Apply through the Ministry of Interior channel or Fujairah Police
The northern emirates license through federal Ministry of Interior traffic services and the local police traffic department. Applications can be filed online or at a traffic and licensing centre, and typing centres will do it for you. Neither Dubai's RTA nor Abu Dhabi's TAMM serves Fujairah.
OnlineWho: You, or a typing centre acting for youCommonly one to two working days
4
Pay, collect, and buy a car
Once approved you pay the issuance fee and receive a licence valid across all seven emirates, which lets you register a vehicle and buy insurance. Budget for the car itself: Fujairah is strung along a coast road with the mountains behind it and public transport is minimal.
In personWho: You
5
Learn the mountain routes before you need them in the dark
The drive to Dubai runs through or around the Hajar mountains — 1.5 to 2 hours, not a commute. The passes are well built but they are mountain roads with lorry traffic, and the wadi crossings on the smaller routes flood. Drive the route you would use in daylight once before you rely on it.
In personWho: You
6
Know when you have left the emirate
The coast road passes in and out of Sharjah territory at Khor Fakkan, Kalba and Dibba Al-Hisn, and continues to the Omani frontier in the north. Traffic rules are federal, but alcohol rules, tenancy law and municipality charges are not — and if you plan to cross into Oman, an ordinary UAE motor policy generally needs an extension to cover you.
In personWho: You, with your insurer

Documents you’ll need

Emirates ID and a valid UAE residence permit
Original foreign driving licence, valid and not expired
Certified translation of the licence if it is not in English or Arabic
Eye test result from an approved centre, and a passport-size photograph
For Oman trips: an insurance endorsement extending cover, plus an owner's authorisation letter for a car that is not yours

Things most newcomers don’t know

Five years is the RENEWAL figure. A first licence is issued for two.

The federal portal separates them: new licences run one year under 21 and two years at 21 or over; renewed licences run five years for expatriate residents and ten for UAE and GCC citizens. Guides flatten this into 'five years' and people diary the wrong date. Driving on an expired licence voids your insurance in an accident and accrues fines. Read the expiry printed on the card.

Source: u.ae — getting a driving licence

Fujairah licenses through the Ministry of Interior and Fujairah Police, not the RTA or TAMM.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi each run their own licensing platform, and neither serves the east coast. A Fujairah resident following an RTA guide ends up on a portal that will not accept their file, having already paid for translations formatted for someone else's process.

Source: Ministry of Interior — exchange of a foreign-issued driving licence; Fujairah Police

The mountains are the commute, and they are the reason not to treat this as a Dubai suburb.

Fujairah is separated from the rest of the country by the Hajar range, so Dubai is an hour and a half to two hours away through or around mountains. People take a Fujairah job intending to keep a Dubai social life and quietly stop after a month. Decide whether you want to live on this coast on its own terms before you sign a lease.

Source: community-reported, corroborated across east-coast residents

Rain is a driving hazard here in a way it is not in the rest of the UAE.

Fujairah gets more rain than anywhere else in the country because the mountains and the easterly winds off the Indian Ocean conspire to produce it. That means standing water on roads built for a dry climate, wadi crossings that fill from rain you did not see fall, and drivers with limited wet-weather experience. Treat a rainy day here as a genuinely different set of conditions.

Source: The Official Portal of Fujairah Government — climate

Common mistakes to avoid

Diarising five or ten years for a first licence that was actually issued for two.
Using Dubai's RTA or Abu Dhabi's TAMM procedures for a Fujairah licence.
Treating the drive to Dubai as a commute rather than a two-hour mountain run.
Driving into a flooded wadi crossing because the sky overhead is clear.
Crossing into Oman on a policy that stops at the border, or in a company car with no authorisation letter.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.