Istimara Renewal Fees and Procedure in Saudi Arabia

❓ What is Istimara?

Linguistically Istimara means “a Form” or “a Questionnaire” and in the context of Saudi Regulations, Istimara is a 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.

⌛ Istimara Renewal Period

A private car’s Istimara is usually issued for 3 years, and it must be renewed before it expires. The registration fee is charged per year (SAR 100 a year for a private car, per the Ministry of Interior), so a 3-year renewal costs SAR 300; renewing for a shorter period is reported to be possible. Failing to present an upto date Istimara upon request may incur a penalty on the individual

🟩 Istimara Renewal Conditions

You are eligible to apply for renewal of your vehicle’s Istimara if you fulfill 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 (periodic inspection) should be valid. New private cars need their first Fahas only after 3 years.
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.

💰 Istimara Renewal Fees

The base registration fee for a private car is SAR 100 per year (Ministry of Interior). On top of this, an annual fee based on the fuel consumption or Engine capacity[1. Saudi Gazette] of the vehicle is added to the Istimara issue and renewal fees. It came into force on 22 October 2023 for new 2024-model light vehicles, with a second phase scheduled to extend it to all light and heavy vehicles during 2024. The extra amount is SAR 0, 50, 85, 130 or 190 per year. The tables below show the total for a 3-year private car Istimara (SAR 300 base + 3 years of the extra fee). Absher shows the exact amount for your vehicle before you pay. The SEEC has classified vehicles into two categories as part of charging the annual fee:

Light vehicles made in 2016 and later,
Light vehicles made in 2015 and earlier and heavy vehicles.

1- Light Vehicles with Models 2016 and later

The The following is the updated Istimara renewal fees for Light vehicles with Models 2016 and later

Fuel Consumption	Base Cost	Additional Cost	Total Cost
16km/liter or above	SAR 300.00	SAR -	SAR 300.00
15.99km/liter to 14km/liter	SAR 300.00	SAR 150.00	SAR 450.00
13.99km/liter to 12km/liter	SAR 300.00	SAR 255.00	SAR 555.00
11.99km/liter to 10km/liter	SAR 300.00	SAR 390.00	SAR 690.00
10km/liter or less	SAR 300.00	SAR 570.00	SAR 870.00

2- Heavy Vehicles + Light Vehicles Models before 2015

As for Heavy vehicles + Light Vehicles with Models 2015 and Earlier, the annual financial amount for them will be determined according to engine capacity

Engine Capacity	Base Cost	Additional Cost	Total Cost
1.9L of Below	SAR 300.00	SAR -	SAR 300.00
1.91L to 2.4L	SAR 300.00	SAR 150.00	SAR 450.00
2.41L to 3.2L	SAR 300.00	SAR 255.00	SAR 555.00
3.21L to 4.5L	SAR 300.00	SAR 390.00	SAR 690.00
4.51L or More	SAR 300.00	SAR 570.00	SAR 870.00

For all other Vehicle types, the Istimara Renewal Fees is listed as below (3 times the Ministry of Interior’s annual fee).

Type	Renewal Fees (For 3 Years)
Private Truck Registration	SAR 600.00
Minibus Registration	SAR 600.00
Taxi Vehicle Registration	SAR 600.00
Public Vehicle Registration	SAR 1,200.00
Public Bus Registration	SAR 1,200.00
Motorbike Registration	SAR 300.00
Public Work Vehicle Registration	SAR 900.00

✅Istimara Renewal Procedure

1- Check Istimara Validity ✅

You can only update your Istimara if it is going to expire in less than 180 days or six months. You can check the expiry date on your Absher account.

2- Pay Outstanding Dues ✅

If you have any outstanding dues like traffic violations, then you have to clear these dues first. You can pay all the dues via Bank, Tahweel al Rajhi, or Quick Pay. You can check it using the Absher account.

3- Check Fahas Requirement ✅

You need a valid Fahas to update your Istimara (cars more than 3 years old). If yours has expired, book an inspection at a Fahas (MVPI) centre. Istimara cannot be renewed without it.

4- Check Vehicle Insurance Requirement ✅

You need an insured vehicle if you want to update the vehicle registration. Make sure to have a valid car insurance at the time of renewal.

5- Pay Istimara Renewal Fees Online ✅

In order to pay the fee to renew Istimara, you need the Vehicle Sequence Number of your car. It is a 10 digits number written on the face of your vehicle registration card. If the sequence number of 8 or 9 digits is written on your Istimara, you can add Zero, in the beginning, to make it 10.

You can also get the vehicle sequence number from your Absher account

Log in to your Absher account https://www.absher.sa/
Click on “Services” under “Vehicles.
Select “Renewal Vehicle Registration“.
Select your car and click on “more details“.
Find sequence number under “Vehicle Details“.
Vehicle sequence number in Absher

There are different ways to pay the Istimara renewal fee. You can deposit this amount using your bank account, ATM, or through Sadad account.

Pay Istimara renewal fees in Al Rajhi Bank

In order to pay the Istimara renewal fee in KSA through Al Rajhi bank;

Download the Application through PlayStore or iTunes.
Log in to your internet banking account.
Click on the three dots on the left-upper corner.
Select “Payments $ Bills“.
Press the “Government Payment” button.
Select the motor vehicles (traffic) payment option

On the next page, select the following;

Services: Motor Vehicle.
Application Type: Renew Vehicle Registration.
Transaction Type: Payment.
Current Owner ID: Iqama Number.
Vehicle Sequence Number: 10 digits (explained above).
Pay Saudi Istimara renewal fee through Al Rajhi Bank

If you have selected the settings correctly, you would be able to pay the fee online through Al Rajhi bank.

Pay Istimara renewal fees in SNB (formerly NCB)

NCB (Al Ahli) merged with Samba in 2021 to form the Saudi National Bank (SNB). The menu names below are from the older NCB app and may differ in the current SNB app. In order to pay the Saudi Istimara renewal fee through SNB,

Download the Application through PlayStore or iTunes.
Log in to your internet banking account.
Select “SADAD“.
Click on “Government Payments and Refunds“.
Biller: Motor Vehicles.
Service: Renew Vehicle Registration.
Select “Unregistered”.
Current Owner ID: Iqama Number.
Vehicle Sequence Number: 10 digits (explained above).
Pay Saudi Istimara renewal fee through NCB

If you have selected the settings correctly, you will be able to pay the Saudi Istimara renewal fee through SNB. After paying, complete the renewal in Absher.