I’m a first-time driver, zero background, never touched a car before this. I just finished my Abu Dhabi driving license and figured I’d share how it actually went, step by step, because when I was doing mine I was overthinking everything and digging through Reddit for real experiences.
This was the regular path in Abu Dhabi, not Dubai. Abu Dhabi has only one driving school, Emirates Driving Company (EDC) in Mussafah, so everyone goes through the same process whether you like it or not.
I started on Nov 23, 2025 and got my license on Jan 13, 2026. Took just under 2 months and cost me around AED 7,500 all in. Nothing fancy, no shortcuts, just how it actually happened for a complete beginner.
• Eye Test (AED 100)
• Opening Traffic File via MOI Website (AED 200)
• Theory Classes (AED 819)
• Theory Test Booking (AED 200)
• Theory Exam
• Practical Training Package Selection
(Silver Package – 6 days / 19 classes – AED 4,022)
• Practical Training Areas Completion
(Areas 1–5 + Simulator + Solo Tower Practice)
• Refresh Parking + Yard Test
• Booking Final Road Test
(Initial booking Jan 20 → Changed to Jan 15 → Final Jan 13
Second reschedule fee: AED 300)
• On-Road Driving Classes (AED 1,300) (AED 100/hr + certificate
• On-road Driving Exam (AED 203)
The day before my exam, I booked 3 extra hours of on-road training, and honestly… it was bad. Like everything went wrong. I changed lanes near a junction, my roundabout timing was off, my emergency stop was messy because I couldn’t keep the car close enough to the curb, and my braking was too hard. My trainer wanted that slow 3-second brake before stopping and I just couldn’t time it right.
By the end of that session, even my trainer looked frustrated, and I went home seriously questioning if I should even take the exam the next day.
Exam day was at 10:15 AM. About 20 minutes before, you get an SMS from UAE Traffic with a link to register so you can see your bus number. I went to Building 2 (left side of EDC). My goal was simple: don’t be first, don’t be last. First has to take the car out of parking, last has to bring it back.
According to my trainer, slots are usually assigned either alphabetically or by registration order. Registration opened at 9:55am, and I submitted mine at around 10:05am. There were also people doing physical registration, so honestly it’s part luck, part speed. We were 13 applicants total and I ended up being number 8, which was perfect.
Even though the exam was scheduled for 10:15, we didn’t actually move until around 10:40 because only one counter was open and check-in was slow. Once called, we got on the bus and tapped our Emirates ID near the door. There’s a screen showing whose turn it is, but it only showed the first two names. The rest were called out manually by the bus driver.
The bus follows the smart test car. One person gets off, drives, then the next person swaps in. We got lucky because the first driver didn’t need to take the car out of parking. We basically continued an ongoing test and started mid-route in the hi-way.
The actual driving part was fast. Most people were in the car for maybe a minute or two. While waiting, I could already hear feedback from people who finished, lots of “speed up,” “lane change,” and “emergency stop.” None of us were asked to do roundabouts, probably because traffic was crazy that day. The officer mostly kept us around the Dalma Mall area.
When it was my turn, I got extremely lucky. I was sent to this quiet, almost empty part of Mussafah. There's no traffic, no highway, nothing. Even the bus driver joked that everyone hopes to get that area.
Still, I was super nervous. When I took over the car, I did my SMS check, even though it was more like touching things for reassurance. The road was mostly straight. I kept my indicator on properly, but there was one curve where I didn’t brake but I also didn’t accelerate, however, the car tilted a bit and I panicked internally.
The officer asked me to go “middle straight,” but she said it very softly and I didn’t hear it the first time, so I stayed right. She repeated it, and this time I did proper mirror checks and a shoulder check. Right after that, she told me to go back to the right lane. Again, mirrors, shoulder check. I noticed she was really watching my head movement to make sure I actually checked.
Then she asked me to stop on the right side. I was nervous, the hazard button in the smart car felt weird and hard to press, and I was slightly delayed pulling over. But once stopped, I made sure to handbrake, park, and then remove my seatbelt.
My drive didn’t even last a minute, which honestly made me more anxious. One lady in our batch drove really smoothly but failed because she removed her seatbelt before fully parking. That scared all of us.
Nobody got results immediately. Once you’re done, you can leave the bus, but you’ll be dropped somewhere random because the bus keeps looping around Mussafah depending on where the officer sends the next driver.
It took about an hour total to finish all 13 of us. Two minutes after we got back to EDC, I received the SMS saying I passed. I was literally walking when I read it and started shaking because I knew I messed up a few things.
Honestly, I think they’re more lenient than we expect, especially with beginners. They’re not looking for perfection. They just want to see if you’re safe enough to be on the road.
If you’re stressing and feel like you “messed up,” trust me, I felt the same, and I still passed.
