Lending or Selling Your Car in Qatar: Who Is Responsible for Fines and Offences?

Lending a car to a friend or selling it without finishing the paperwork are the two ways owners most often end up with someone else's problems. This guide is based on the English text of the Traffic Law (Decree-Law No. 19 of 2007, amended by Law No. 5 of 2010) on Al Meezan, which we read in October 2026. We did not read the Executive Regulation or the table of roadside fine amounts. It is general information, not legal advice.

Letting someone drive your car

Article 38 says no owner of a motor vehicle, or keeper of it, shall allow a person who has no driving licence to drive it. Article 94 lists Article 38 among the offences punishable, in court, by one month to three years in prison or a fine of QR 10,000 to QR 50,000. That is the same range as for driving without a licence yourself, and it is higher than the range for most other traffic offences.

Article 88 also allows the Traffic Department to impound a vehicle for up to 90 days when it is driven by a person who has no driving licence, or whose licence is not valid for that kind of vehicle. See our guide to impounded vehicles.

Before you hand over the keys, check three things: the person has a licence, it is valid and not expired, and it covers the type of vehicle. Article 30 lists separate licence types for motorcycles, light vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, heavy machinery and public vehicles. See driving without a license or with an expired license.

If someone else breaks the law in your car

Two articles work together.

• **Article 102:** the owner, or whoever holds, manages or uses the vehicle, is fully responsible for any violation of the law unless there is acceptable evidence that the vehicle was being driven by another person at the time, with all the documents needed to trace that person.
• **Article 67:** the owner must tell the police the name and address of the person driving at the time of any offence. If the owner refuses, or deliberately gives false information, the owner gets the same penalty as the driver would have.

In practice this means that a camera fine on your plate is yours unless you can show who was driving. Save the name, ID copy and phone number of anyone who borrows your car. Our guide to unpaid traffic fines explains what happens if the 60-day deadline passes.

Using someone else's driving licence

Article 39 says a driving licence may not be used, and a third party may not be allowed to use it, for any unlawful purpose, and no one may use or accept another person's licence except in the cases the law allows. Do not lend your licence to anyone.

Selling the car: the three-day rule

Article 26 says that when ownership of a vehicle passes to another person, the owner must inform the Licensing Authority in writing within three days, giving the name and address of the new owner. The new owner must also inform the authority within three days. The article adds that, until the vehicle is registered in the new owner's name, the seller remains responsible for everything concerning the vehicle. Article 95 lists Article 26 among offences punishable by one week to one year in prison or a fine of QR 3,000 to QR 10,000 in court.

That is why an informal "handover" is risky. Fines, accidents and offences on a car you sold can stay linked to you until the transfer is registered. Our guide to vehicle ownership transfer in Qatar covers the official steps.

Other duties when you dispose of a car

• **Plates (Article 15):** the owner must return the old number plates to the Licensing Authority when disposing of the vehicle, when the licence is not renewed, when the vehicle is no longer roadworthy, when registration is cancelled or when the vehicle is permanently exported.
• **Change of details (Article 27):** an owner must tell the authority of any change in name, nationality, place of residence or home address within ten days.
• **Insurance (Article 8):** a valid insurance policy covering third-party risks is a condition of licensing. See car insurance in Qatar.

Checklist before you lend or sell

1. Lend only to a person with a valid licence for that vehicle type, and note their details.

2. Tell them to report any accident or fine to you at once.

3. When selling, finish the transfer within three days and keep the receipt.

4. Return or cancel the plates when the law requires.

5. Check your fine record after the sale. See how to check and pay traffic fines online.

What we could not verify

• Whether insurance still pays if an unlicensed person was driving a lent car.
• The roadside fine amounts, since the compounding table was not available.
• How the transfer is processed online today, and whether the three-day rule is enforced strictly.
• Any amendment to these articles after the 2010 version we read.