How to Renew your Car’s Fahas and Istimara (Vehicle / Car Registration) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Step by Step Guide (Updated)

Update (14th June 2020): Due to the lockdown, the istamara (vehicle registration) can be renewed online without renewing Fahas (MVPI). I have just done it for my vehicle.

So if your istamara (vehicle registration) is expiring within 6 months then you can take this opportunity to renew your istamara (vehicle registration) online, without the need to make a visit for Fahas (MVPI) and repairing your car.

Plz note that although the istamara (vehicle registration) will be renewed on Absher, you would be able to receive the new istamara (vehicle registration) card after the lockdown is over and the relevant offices would start their regular operations again.

Originally Posted on 22nd September 2014:

• When you buy a car in KSA your ownership proof is the Vehicle Registration card (Car Registration), which is commonly known as “Istimara” in Arabic. Your Istimara needs to be valid in order for you to sell your car. It will have certain expiry date mentioned on it. Mind that the date will be in Arabic and in Hijri calendar, to translate them into English use the following table:

• Then to convert that date from Hijri to Gregorian you can use any online service or a mobile app. Tip: I also put a reminder of that date in my calendar.

 

• Istimara can be renewed till the end of 1 month after expiry date without penalty. For Istimara renewal the 1st step is to renew the ‘Fahas’ or MVPI (Motor Vehicle Periodic Inspection) of your car. Fahas aims to:
  • Improve quality of vehicle maintenance.
  • Minimize traffic accidents.
  • Maximize vehicle's service life.
  • Protect the environment.
  • Keep road users safe including drivers, passengers, and the pedestrians.
  • Discover problems before getting worse or causing loss (Early troubleshooting.)

 

• MVPI or Fahas is a sticker on top-right corner of car’s windscreen. It displays in which Hijri month the Fahas will expire. So if your car’s Fahas is out of date, you need to get it renewed first. Fahas is a car inspection in which a government designated workshop (Moody International) checks if you car is good enough to stay on roads. For that they perform a number of tests. If your car passes all those tests, you get the above mentioned sticker and the “Passed” certificate.

 

• One day before going for Fahas take your car to a mechanic and ask him to check your car as per Fahas inspection. Mechanics in KSA know what is checked in Fahas and they perform all the checks accordingly. If you are not aware of mechanic locations then you can visit this link: Locations of Car Repair & Servicing Workshops in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Updated)

 

• Then take your car for Car Wash from beneath. This helps washing away any small oil leakages etc. Car Wash from under the car is not commonly available in Riyadh. I got my car washed from this location:
  • Atarid Petrol Pump, Al Urabah Road, Al Olaya, Riyadh
  • Coordinates: 24.714495, 46.677755
  • Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/3v5CT

 

• Visit MVPI (Motor Vehicle Periodic Inspection) (Moody International) for the Fahas. Recommended time is early in the morning around 6:30am to avoid long queues. I reached there around 7:40am and got free by 8:25am. The location is as follows:
  • Al Munsiyah, Riyadh
  • Coordinates: 24.821221, 46.783766
  • Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/Jz0w9

 

• Upon reaching there you will find multiple queues of cars, pick any queue and follow it till you reach the counter (you will stay in the car all the time). Give your old Istimara and SR73 on the counter and he will provide you with a receipt. The form will have following information:
  • Date and Time of your arrival
  • Receipt #
  • Car # plate and make details
  • Inspection type and items
  • Payment Information

 

• While following the cars queue you will reach the entrance of a big workshop, you will be asked to step out of the car at that point, give the above receipt to the person working there and find a fence on your right or left, walk behind that, your car will be mainly tested for the following:
  • Headlights
  • Taillights
  • Brake Lights
  • Parking Lights
  • Indicators
  • Light Beams
  • Horn
  • Wipers
  • Wiper Rubbers
  • Foot Brakes
  • Hand Brake
  • Visible and Prominent Damage to car
  • Tires
  • Wheel Alignment
  • Wind Screen Cracks, Minor 1-2 inch cracks are OK
  • Visibility Issues
  • Back View Mirrors
  • Side View Mirrors
  • No Black Smoke or huge smoke from Car silencer (too much carbon)
  • Oil Leakage
  • Damages under the Vehicle.

 

• Detailed list is as follows:

• Once your car reach at the end of the workshop, you will receive your Fahas report from a counter there. If they paste the new Fahas sticker on the windscreen of your car then your car has passed Fahas.

 

• If you fail to pass Fahas on first attempt then 2nd time onwards the fee will be SR24. If you do not pass the first time, it is OK. Understand the issues they found out (it will be on a paper they will give you) and get them fixed. There will be many workshops just around MVPI center and those mechanics are experts in getting such defects remove (or hide). Even though they charge too much but they know how to “cheat” the MVPI. So if you wish, you can immediately take it to any mechanic outside the center, get the issue fixed, and take your car back for inspection the same day.

 

• After Fahas pay the fee of Istimara renewal online. For that login to your internet banking ( Riyadh bank/AlRajhi bank etc) and pay for registration renewal via SADAD. The “Sadad Government Payment” section will have a biller name of “Motor Vehicles” and under this there will be an option of “Renew Vehicle Registration”. Note that the system will automatically calculate the amount of renewal fee based upon your car including any fines that you need to pay. You can simply pay it in few clicks. For cars it is 150 SR for 3 years.

 

• This process is given with snapshots on the following link:
  
  

  How to Renew Your Istimara online - Saudi Vehicle Registration - qSaudi.com   Make your vehicle registration, Istimara online. Istimarah from the comfort of your home.     http://qsaudi.com/make-saudi-istimara-online/         View Now

  
  

 

• After that login to your account in MOI website (moi.gov.sa ), on the left side go to section "Traffic" and then to "Vehicle Services".  There you will see details about your vehicle like number plate details etc. On the right side there is a link for "more details". Click on it and you will find a link at the bottom for "Renew vehicle Registration". Click on it and follow the onscreen directions. It will ask for 8 digit vehicle sequence number, you can find it on lower right of Istemara just above the barcode. If you have 7 digit sequence number on Istimara then you may add a zero before the first digit ex: 423xxxx1,will be 0423xxxx1 in order for the system to accept it. After finishing the process it will give a receipt showing that your registration is renewed successfully. You need to print this receipt.

 

• After completion of the renewal process via online, take this receipt and current ISTAMARA to any Traffic Police department (“Maroor” as it is called in Arabic) near your location to have your Istimara printed.  There will be a section for issuance and renewals of vehicle registrations, so go there. Take number and wait for your turn. If all goes as expected, you will get a new Vehicle Registration card then and there. I went to Maroor Office at 9am and I got free in just 10min.

 

• Traffic Police Office, Abi Bakr As Siddiq Rd, An Nafal

Time: 7:30am – 2pm

Coordinates: 24.790292, 46.679901

Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/adqf0

 

• Traffic Police Counter, Riyadh Gallery Mall, Near Gate no.1

Time: 1pm – 9pm (Sunday to Thursday)

Time in Ramadan: 9:30pm – 2am (Sunday to Thursday)

Coordinates: 24.742985, 46.658250

Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/wt4de

 

Update(18-11-2014): One of readers came across the following error:

Problem: I did Vehicles Inspection 'Fahas' but for some reason it does not show on my MOI portal under vehicles details. when I click "Renew Istimara", it gives a message that "No Inspection Certificate found".

Solution: Been from the MOI outlet at Riyadh gallery, shown the receptionist my problem (INSPECTION CERTIFICATE NOT FOUND).
He then compared my data between MVPI Fahas and Estemara. It turned out that the mvpi guys made a one letter mistake in chasis number.

The MOI guy advised me to call the call-center and have it corrected : 011-2461220 [7am ~ 12pm noon], I did so, waited for a few minutes, then tried renewing again thru MOI website.

Alhamdulillah, the error was gone & now it says goto nearest traffic police office to collect the new estemara. Hope this info helps someone.

 

Update(09-1-2015): How to Renew Istimara of a Dependent – From: Adnan Ali Khan

Dependents Owning a car (Istemara on their own name) may easily follow all the above steps EXCEPT logging into MOI and printing the required receipt(as dependents cant register into MOI). They may explain their exceptional case to TRAFFIC POLICE MANAGER available nearby renewal counters,who will confirm your details and provide you with NO OBJECTION note which you can submit to the available counters and grab your renewed istemarah in no time.

 

-urShadow

 

References:

Istamara or Vehicle Registration Renewal without "MVPI" Inspection

Pinterest

http://ksayalla.blogspot.com/2012/12/how-to-renew-vehicle-registration-or.html

http://prosaudi.com/2013/life-in-saudi-arabia/how-to-renew-car-registration-istemara-in-saudi-arabia/

http://life-in-saudiarabia.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-to-do-fahas-road-suitability-test.html

http://www.moi.gov.sa/wps/portal/traffic/!ut/p/b1/jZDLDoIwEEW_xS_olLZYllAebUyBSkDpxrAghITHxvj9YsClyOwmOWfuzCCLanYGoMAdF92RnZpX3zXPfp6a4dNb95GkVUESSTBErgBlmMwurATF8QLUCxAARF6AfeBSAyhpKqfUla80HPPhR_mrz0QuFNcEJ4IuPsUVFIIRcqXH_J38op3QDdldLCEbAJmjQ2yEH4ORNGSe_AZtwN4f1gk7i_47NZXz2KLRDnHMC9Xn3ekNe8R0oQ!!/dl4/d5/L0lHSkovd0RNQUprQUVnQSEhLzRKVUUvYXI!/

http://qsaudi.com/istimarah/