Parking in the UAE: Rules, Fees and How to Pay in Every Emirate

UAE parking in one guide: paid hours, free days, SMS formats, apps and fines for Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman and the Northern Emirates, with notes for rental cars.

Parking in the UAE isn't one system. It's seven. Each emirate has its own operator, tariff, paid hours and SMS short code. Dubai's free day is Sunday, Sharjah's is Friday, and an SMS that works in Dubai can fail in Sharjah. Many drivers only find this out when a fine notice arrives.

It matters most on a rental car driven across emirates: the plate may not match the emirate you're parked in, you may not have a UAE SIM, and any fine reaches the rental company first. This guide puts every emirate side by side, then covers the practical part: paying with another emirate's plate, rental-car fines and free days.

*From secondary sources only (no official operator page available as of 2 October 2026). Check the signs on site. Rates checked: 2 October 2026.

The main types of parking in the UAE work the same way in every emirate, even though names and colours differ:

• Paid street (roadside) parking. Bays along the kerb with a sign or meter showing the zone code, usually with the shortest maximum stay. In Dubai it's 4 hours in roadside zones A and C, against up to 14 hours in lots (zones B and D).

• Parking lots and multi-storey car parks. Longer stays allowed, but multi-storey car parks can charge 24/7, including on free days. In Abu Dhabi they cost AED 2/hour or AED 15/day around the clock.

• Resident-permit parking. In Abu Dhabi, residential bays are reserved for permit holders from 21:00 to 08:00.

• Private parking. Malls, hotels and communities set their own rules. Dubai Mall gives 4 free hours on weekdays and 6 on weekends, then charges through Salik. Some private car parks use ANPR cameras (operators such as Parkonic) instead of tickets.

• Park & Ride at Dubai metro stations. Free if you continue by metro with a Nol card; no overnight parking.

Abu Dhabi parking colours: how to know the zone. Look at the kerb. According to the operator, turquoise and white = Premium (AED 3/h, 4 hours maximum) and turquoise and black = Standard (AED 2/h). Always read the sign next to the bay as well. It shows the zone type and the maximum stay.

For Dubai's zone codes and how to read Dubai's signs, see our guide to parking rules in Dubai.

In Dubai, public parking is operated by Parkin. It's paid Monday to Saturday, 08:00–22:00, and free on Sundays, public holidays and overnight from 22:00 to 08:00. Since 1 June 2026, tariffs include 5% VAT:

Event zones (for example around Dubai World Trade Centre during major events) can charge up to AED 25/hour before VAT.

How to pay: the Parkin or RTA Dubai app, a meter (coins, Nol card or contactless card), SMS to 7275 (30 fils per message) or WhatsApp to the RTA chatbot on +971 58 800 9090, using the same format as the SMS. The SMS format for a Dubai plate is `A12345 335A 2` (plate code and number, zone, hours).

There's a 10-minute grace period after your ticket runs out.

Free hours, Ramadan and holiday timings and the exceptions for multi-storey car parks are all in our full guide to free parking in Dubai.

Abu Dhabi parking is called Mawaqif. It's operated day to day by Q Mobility under the supervision of Abu Dhabi Mobility (part of the Department of Municipalities and Transport). It's paid Monday to Saturday, 08:00 to midnight, and free on Sundays and public holidays. Abu Dhabi charges two hours later in the evening than Dubai, so don't assume 22:00 is the cut-off.

The most common mistake is paying the Standard rate while parked in a Premium bay. The system records this as underpayment.

Parking in Abu Dhabi is free all day on Sunday and on official public holidays, and from midnight to 08:00 on other days. Two exceptions: multi-storey car parks charge 24/7, and resident-permit bays stay reserved for permit holders from 21:00 to 08:00 even though the paid period has ended.

• Darb app. The operator's main Abu Dhabi parking app: register the plate, keep a balance and parking is deducted. You can also check and pay fines. The TAMM platform works too.

• SMS to 3009. The format is `[emirate code + plate category] [plate number] [S or P] [hours]`. Example for an Abu Dhabi plate, category 5, standard zone, 1 hour: `AUH5 12345 S 1`.

• Mawaqif payment machines (cash or card).

Al Ain is part of the Abu Dhabi emirate and also has paid zones. The sources we checked don't give a separate Al Ain tariff, so read the kerb colour and the sign. If you're planning the drive, our Dubai to Al Ain day trip by car covers the route.

From 1 July 2026, Sharjah City Municipality extended paid hours to 08:00–midnight, Saturday to Thursday, in Sharjah city, Kalba, Khorfakkan and Al Dhaid. Many guides still say 22:00; that's out of date.

The sign colour tells you the rules:

• Yellow signs (standard zones): paid Saturday–Thursday, 08:00–24:00. Free on Fridays and public holidays.

• Blue signs (seven-day zones): paid every day, including Fridays and holidays. These zones already ran until midnight before the July change.

So for “is parking free in Sharjah today?”, the answer depends on the day and the sign. On a Friday or a public holiday, yellow-sign zones are free and blue-sign zones are not. On any other day, both are paid until midnight. Free overnight parking starts at midnight and runs until 08:00.

Sharjah charges in steps rather than a flat hourly rate. Each SMS has a 38-fils fee on top:

Send an SMS to 5566 in this format: `[plate source] [plate number] [hours]`, for example `SHJ 12345 2`. Other emirates' plates use their own code: DXB, AUH, RAK, AJM, FUJ or UAQ. About 10 minutes before the ticket runs out, you'll get a reminder. Reply Y to extend by an hour.

Two conditions from the municipality: you need a UAE mobile number, and non-private or GCC plates must be registered first at ppd.shjmun.gov.ae. You can also pay through the Sharjah Digital app.

Ajman is the emirate with the least reliable information. The Ajman Municipality and Planning Department (MPDA) didn't publish an official tariff page that we could verify on 2 October 2026. The details below come from secondary sources, so check them against the signs.

• Ajman parking SMS: send to 5155. The format given by secondary sources is `AJM [plate code] [plate number]`, for example `AJM B 12345`, with each SMS covering 1 hour. To extend, reply Y before the ticket expires. Our research notes showed a different example (`AJM 12345 2`), so the format isn't fully confirmed.

• Tariff: AED 1 for 30 minutes, AED 2 per hour in regular zones.

• Paid hours: sources don't agree. One says Saturday–Thursday 08:00–22:00, another says two shifts, 08:00–13:00 and 17:00–22:00. Fridays and public holidays are free in both versions.

• App: MPDA app.

• Format for other emirates' plates: no data.

Ras Al Khaimah. Most parking at the main sights is free, including the Jebel Jais viewpoints, Dhayah Fort and Al Jazeera Al Hamra. Paid parking exists at the airport, resorts and beachfront areas, and some commercial districts. Payment is through the mRAK app (RAK Pay). We found no verified street tariff or SMS number in official sources.

Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain. For private cars, most parking at beaches, malls and tourist spots is free. We couldn't find official paid-parking tariffs for these emirates. If you see a paid zone, follow the sign or meter on site.

Rental cars often have plates from a different emirate from the one you're driving in. A Dubai-registered car in Sharjah, or an Abu Dhabi plate in Dubai, is common. The parking rules don't change, but the SMS format does. You need to add the emirate code of the plate. Leaving it out is the most common reason a parking SMS fails.

How to pay parking in Dubai for an Abu Dhabi plate: keep the emirate code and the plate category together (`AUH13`). Then add a space, the plate number, the zone code from the sign and the hours. Writing `AUH12345` (no space) is the classic mistake. The same rule answers how to put parking in Dubai for a RAK plate: `RAK` + category, a space, then the number.

You pay for parking. Salik doesn't. Salik is Dubai's road-toll system and doesn't cover street parking anywhere. The overlap: some private car parks, like Dubai Mall after the free hours, charge the car's Salik account. On a Rentico car, parking paid through Salik carries a 10% service charge; each Salik toll passage carries an AED 1.5 processing fee.

What happens to a parking fine. Municipal fines are linked to the car's registration, so they reach the rental company. Rentico notifies you of every fine, and the processing fee depends on how fast you pay after the notice:

Dubai fines also carry the RTA's AED 20 Knowledge & Innovation fee per fine.

Fines can arrive after you return the car. Authorities report some charges late, so a security deposit can be held for up to 21 calendar days after return. If the car is towed or impounded for a parking violation, the renter pays the towing costs plus the daily rental rate for each day the car is unavailable.

Habits that save money:

• Keep every SMS or app confirmation until your deposit is released.

• Extend before the ticket ends: the grace period in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah is about 10 minutes, no more.

• Never use “residents only” or people-of-determination bays, even for a minute.

• Found a notice under the wiper? Send a photo to Rentico straight away. Paying quickly keeps the processing fee at 5%.

If you're new to driving here, start with our guide to renting a car in Dubai.

Typical parking violations are the same everywhere: not paying, overstaying, parking in a permit-only bay, using a people-of-determination bay, double parking and blocking traffic. The amounts differ by emirate.

*Secondary sources only.

Abu Dhabi parking fines. Q Mobility doesn't publish a fines table in its FAQ. It does confirm a 25% discount if you pay within 60 days of the fine, and that you can check and pay fines in the Darb app or on TAMM.

Sharjah parking fine check. Use the Sharjah Digital app or the Sharjah City Municipality website. How much is a parking fine in Sharjah? Secondary sources give AED 150 for not paying and AED 100 for overstaying, but Sharjah City Municipality's own pages don't list the amounts.

Dubai. Check by plate on the RTA fines portal or on Parkin. Our guide shows how to check and pay Dubai fines online.

The general rule: public parking is free on official UAE public holidays in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah (yellow-sign zones) and Ajman. The exceptions are multi-storey car parks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah's blue-sign seven-day zones, which keep charging.

Weekly free days at a glance:

• Dubai: Sunday

• Abu Dhabi: Sunday (so the answer to “is Mawaqif parking free today?” is yes on Sundays and public holidays)

• Sharjah: Friday, yellow-sign zones only

• Ajman: Friday

UAE National Day. The official holiday in 2026 is Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 December. Holiday rules apply, so street parking is free under each emirate's public-holiday policy, with the exceptions above. Operators usually confirm the details a few days before. Check our UAE public holidays calendar when planning trips.

Ramadan. Sharjah and Abu Dhabi Ramadan parking times are set each year and announced shortly before the month starts. Check the Sharjah City Municipality and Q Mobility announcements before relying on last year's hours.

Airport car parks are run by the airports, not the city operators, and rates change by season.

• Abu Dhabi (Zayed International, AUH): short-term and long-term parking. Check Abu Dhabi airport parking charges on the airport's official site; it has run seasonal long-term offers before.

• Sharjah International (SHJ): short-term and long-term parking; current rates on the official Sharjah Airport website.

• Dubai (DXB): Dubai Airports' official parking page.

Most UAE parking problems come from three wrong assumptions: that every emirate charges until 22:00, that the free day is always Sunday, and that a Dubai SMS works everywhere. Abu Dhabi and Sharjah charge until midnight, Sharjah and Ajman are free on Fridays, and each emirate writes the plate its own way. On a rental car, add the plate's emirate code, keep your confirmations, and pay any fine within three days of notice.