How to Pay a Fine to Dubai Police: Channels, Fees, Deadlines

If you're staring at an SMS from Dubai Police saying you owe AED 600 for a speeding fine, you've got more options than the panicked Google search suggests. The how matters less than the when — interest doesn't accrue, but unpaid fines block your car registration renewal and can stop you at the airport. Here's the practical version.

Quick answer: You can pay fine Dubai Police charges through the Dubai Police app, the official website (dubaipolice.gov.ae), the Dubai Now app, RTA kiosks, approved petrol stations, most UAE banks, or in person at a Dubai Police smart station. Card payments are accepted on every digital channel. A 25% discount applies to most traffic fines if you pay within 60 days, 50% within 30 days, and a 35% discount in some campaigns. Black points and vehicle impoundment penalties are not discounted.

Where to actually pay — and which channel is fastest

The Dubai Police app is the path I send 90% of clients down. Download it, log in with UAE Pass, tap "Traffic Fines," enter your plate or traffic file number, and pay by card. Receipt lands in your email within minutes. No queues, no upselling.

The website route is identical in function. Go to dubaipolice.gov.ae, hit "Services," then "Traffic Fines Inquiry and Payment." You'll need your Emirates ID or plate details. Card payment, instant receipt.

Then there's Dubai Now. It's the unified Dubai government app and it pulls fines from Dubai Police, RTA, and Salik in one screen. Honestly, if you live here long-term, just install it.

Want to pay in cash? Approved ENOC and ADNOC stations have terminals. So do RTA customer service centres and most bank ATMs (Emirates NBD, ENBD, Mashreq, FAB all support it). Smart stations operate 24/7 — the one on Sheikh Zayed Road near Al Quoz is the busiest. Expect a 10-minute wait at peak.

For the lazy option: WhatsApp. Send "Hi" to the Dubai Police service number 901 and follow the prompts. It works, though I find the app faster.

If you're paying for someone else's vehicle, you'll need their plate number and emirate of registration. That's it. No power of attorney required for fine payment specifically.

Pick the channel that matches your situation — don't overthink it.

Discounts, deadlines, and what they don't tell you

Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2024 on Traffic and the implementing Cabinet Resolutions set out the discount structure that took effect in March 2025. The standard discounts on most traffic fines work like this: pay within 60 days and you save 25%, pay within 30 days and you save 35% (this used to be 25% — check the current rate on the Dubai Police portal before you pay).[1]

A few categories never get discounted:

Black points (the points themselves can't be paid off)
Vehicle impoundment fines
Fines tied to accidents causing injury or death
Fines exceeding certain thresholds in the major-violation table

Here's what trips people up. The discount runs from the date of the violation, not the date you found out. Your SMS notification might arrive a week late. The clock doesn't pause for that.

Watch out: If you contest a fine and lose, you also lose the discount window. Frankly, unless you have dashcam footage or a clear procedural error, contesting a radar fine in Dubai is a slow path to paying full price.

The 50% discount you sometimes hear about? That's typically a National Day or Eid amnesty campaign — usually announced 2-3 weeks before it runs. Don't plan around it. If it lands, great.

What happens if you just… don't pay

Unpaid Dubai Police fines don't disappear. They compound in inconvenience.

First consequence: you cannot renew your vehicle registration. RTA's system is integrated with Dubai Police, so when your mulkiya expires, you're stuck until every fine is cleared. Driving on an expired registration is itself a AED 500 fine with 4 black points.

Second: travel ban risk. For very large unpaid fines or fines linked to a criminal traffic case (reckless driving, causing injury), the public prosecution can request a travel ban under Federal Law No. 11 of 1992 on Civil Procedures. Routine speeding tickets won't trigger this. A AED 50,000 reckless-driving file might.

Third: license renewal. Driving licence renewal also blocks on unpaid fines.

I had a client last year who ignored AED 2,800 in fines for 18 months. When he went to sell his car, the buyer pulled out because the registration couldn't transfer. He paid the full amount in 10 minutes on the app. The whole saga cost him a AED 4,000 price drop because he relisted in a softer market.

Pay the fines.

Disputing a fine — when it's actually worth it

You have 30 days from the date of notification to formally object. The process runs through the Dubai Police Traffic Department, either via the app's "Objection" service or in person at the Traffic Department on Al Ittihad Road.

You need:

Your Emirates ID
The fine number
Evidence (photos, dashcam video, witness statements, location data)
A written objection in Arabic or English

The committee reviews within 14-30 days. If accepted, the fine is cancelled and any payment refunded. If rejected, you can escalate to the Traffic Public Prosecution within 7 days, and from there to the Traffic Court.

When is it worth it? Plate-cloning cases — someone replicated your plates and got flashed in a neighbourhood you've never been to. Radar errors where you have GPS evidence. Fines issued to the wrong vehicle category (a fine for a heavy truck violation on your sedan). Medical emergencies with hospital documentation.

When isn't it worth it? "I didn't see the sign." "My wife was driving." "Traffic was flowing at that speed." None of these win.

The honest math: most contested fines fail. Pay the AED 300 and move on unless you have hard evidence.

Black points, impoundment, and the fines that don't behave like fines

A traffic violation in Dubai often carries three penalties: money, black points, and vehicle impoundment. You can pay the money on the app in 30 seconds. The other two need actual visits.

Black points stay on your record for 12 months. Accumulate 24 in a year and your licence is suspended — 3 months for the first offence, 6 months for the second, 12 months for the third under Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2024.[2] Driving during suspension is a criminal offence.

Vehicle impoundment requires you to attend the impound yard at Al Awir or Al Qusais. You'll pay a release fee (AED 100-200 daily storage typically applies after the first week), present your Emirates ID, registration, and proof the underlying fines are cleared. Bring patience. The Al Awir yard on a Saturday is its own kind of punishment.

Reckless driving (Article 6 of the new federal traffic law) carries AED 2,000, 23 black points, and 60-day impoundment. That fine cannot be discounted, the points cannot be paid off, and the impoundment cannot be shortened by paying more.

The takeaway here is simple: budget fines are an app problem, but the serious stuff needs a lawyer and a day off work.

Receipts, refunds, and the boring admin

Every payment generates an electronic receipt. Save it. Specifically save it if you're a corporate fleet, because finance departments lose them, and the Dubai Police portal only shows the last 12 months of payment history by default.

For refunds (rare — usually after a successful objection), the money returns to the original payment method within 7-14 business days. Bank refunds occasionally take longer. If it's been a month, call 901 with your receipt reference.

Corporate fleets and rental companies have a separate "Establishment Account" on the Dubai Police portal. Worth setting up if you manage more than five vehicles — bulk payment, consolidated invoicing, and a single login.

One last thing. If you're leaving the UAE permanently, clear every fine before your final exit, because returning to the country and getting stopped at immigration over a AED 400 ticket from three years ago is a story I've heard more than once.

For broader context on traffic law and licence issues, see our traffic category.

Citations:

[1] Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2024 on Traffic and the implementing Cabinet Resolutions, effective March 2025. Discount structure published on Dubai Police official portal — dubaipolice.gov.ae/wps/portal/home/services.

[2] Federal Decree-Law No. 16 of 2024, Articles on black points and licence suspension. Ministry of Interior — moi.gov.ae.

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