What is an Car Istimara?
Istimara is the vehicle registration card that is issued to a car owner which is a mandatory legal entity that must be accompanied while driving a car in Saudi Arabia. Driving a car without a valid registration card (Istimara) under your name is a crime and is subject to legal penalties.
What is the validity duration of Istimara
Istimara for a car is valid for 3 years from the date of issuance. It needs to be renewed for another term of 3 years before its expiry. Currently, Istimara renewal fees is SAR 300 which must be paid before initiating the request for Istimara renewal online through Absher system.
What are the pre-conditions for applying for an Istimara online
You are eligible to apply for renewal of your vehicle’s Istimara if you fulfil the following conditions:
1. Validity of current Istimara is less than 180 days. If your current Istimara is valid for more than 6 months, you can’t apply for renewal at this point.
2. Car Fahas should be valid. You can read another post on this site for step by step guide on how to get your car fahas done.
3. Car insurance should be valid. You can check your car’s insurance validity details under eServices–>Traffic–>Vehicle Services section by clicking on More Details + button.
4. There must be no un-paid traffic violation fines. Pay all your outstanding fines before proceeding for istimara renewal.
What will be Istimara validity date for a car after ownership transfer
When you buy a used car and get the ownership transferred from previous owner to your name, the Istimara validity will follow the same validity date as the current. For example, if the car’s istimara of current owner is valid for another 8 months, you will get your istimara valid for the same period and will have to opt for Iqama renewal process to extend it for another 3 years before expiry of current validity period.
You can read in details about ownership transfer process in another post on this site.