Speeding Fine UAE: What You'll Pay and How to Fight It

If you're staring at an SMS from the Ministry of Interior telling you that you owe AED 1,500 because a radar caught you on Sheikh Zayed Road, you're not alone. Millions of fines get issued here every year. Most drivers just pay and move on — but you don't always have to.

Quick answer

A speeding fine UAE drivers receive depends on how much over the limit you were going. Fines start at AED 300 for minor excesses and climb to AED 3,000 plus 23 black points and 60-day vehicle impoundment for going more than 80 km/h over the limit. You can check fines through the police app for your emirate, pay online, or contest within roughly 30 days if you have grounds. Discounts of 25–50% apply during periodic government campaigns.

How the speeding fine UAE structure actually works

Federal Traffic Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2017) sets the framework, but each emirate's police force runs the radars and issues the tickets. The penalty grid is unified federally under Cabinet Resolution No. 178 of 2017, updated several times since.

Here's the current ladder you should know:

• Up to 20 km/h over: AED 300
• 20 to 30 km/h over: AED 600
• 30 to 40 km/h over: AED 700
• 40 to 50 km/h over: AED 1,000 + 4 black points
• 50 to 60 km/h over: AED 1,500 + 6 black points + 15-day impoundment
• 60 to 80 km/h over: AED 2,000 + 12 black points + 30-day impoundment
• More than 80 km/h over: AED 3,000 + 23 black points + 60-day impoundment

Black points matter more than the dirhams, frankly. Hit 24 in a year and your licence gets suspended — three months on the first time, six on the second, a year on the third. [1][2]

One quirk worth knowing: Abu Dhabi removed the 20 km/h "buffer" on most roads back in 2018. Dubai never had one in the first place. So if the sign says 100, the radar triggers at 101. Don't trust old advice from forums.

Where the radars actually catch you

Fixed radars are obvious. The smart radars on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, Emirates Road (E611), and the Dubai–Al Ain Road (E66) are the ones piling up tickets. But mobile patrols are quieter and increasingly common — unmarked SUVs sitting at the top of off-ramps in Al Quoz and on the Abu Dhabi corniche.

Then there's the section radar. These measure your average speed between two points. You can't outsmart them by braking. Salik gantries, by the way, don't issue speeding fines, despite what your cousin told you.

Watch out: Tunnel cameras in the Dubai Mall area and the Al Shindagha Tunnel have caught a lot of drivers off-guard. Speed limits drop sharply just before you enter, often from 80 to 60. The fine arrives before you're home.

Paying, checking, and the discount windows

Check your fines on the police app for the emirate where you got caught — Dubai Police, Abu Dhabi Police, or the Ministry of Interior app for the northern emirates. You'll need your Emirates ID or plate number.

Pay online, in the app, or at any police service centre. Salik account top-ups don't cover fines.

Now the part most clients get wrong: the discount.

Abu Dhabi runs periodic campaigns offering 25%, 35%, or 50% off if you pay within set windows — typically the first 60 days after the fine, with deeper discounts during national occasions. Dubai has done similar campaigns, particularly around the National Day period. These aren't permanent. They come and go. If you see a discount window, take it.

In my experience, drivers who let fines sit for years end up locked out of vehicle registration renewal at RTA, which is when the panic starts. Your salik tag also gets suspended if you owe enough.

How to contest a speeding fine UAE radars issued

You have the right to object. Whether you'll win is another question.

Grounds that actually work:

• The radar photo shows a different vehicle or plate
• You'd already sold the car (with proper transfer paperwork on file)
• The vehicle was reported stolen at the time
• A clear technical error in the speed reading or location

Grounds that almost never work: "I didn't see the sign," "I was overtaking a truck," or "my passenger was sick." Save your time.

To file an objection in Dubai, use the Dubai Police website's traffic fines complaint section or visit the Al Barsha traffic department. In Abu Dhabi, it's the Traffic and Patrols Directorate, and you can submit through the TAMM platform. File within 30 days. Bring evidence — dashcam footage, sale documents, anything dated.

If the police reject your complaint, you can escalate to the Public Prosecution and ultimately the Traffic Court. Honestly, for a single AED 600 fine it's rarely worth the legal fees. For an AED 3,000 fine plus 23 black points and impoundment? Different calculation entirely.

Costs: Filing a traffic court complaint is generally free at the police complaint stage. Lawyer fees for representation typically run AED 3,000–8,000 for a straightforward speeding matter, more if criminal reckless-driving charges (Article 5 of the Traffic Law) are added.

Black points, impoundment, and what hurts more than the fine

The dirhams sting once. The black points and impoundment can wreck your year.

Black points stay on your record for 12 months from the date of the offence. They drop off automatically — there's no payment to clear them faster. Hit certain thresholds and your licence is gone:

• 24 points: 3-month suspension (first occurrence)
• 24 points again: 6-month suspension
• Third time: full 12 months

Vehicle impoundment is the one that catches expats out. Your car sits at a police yard, and you keep paying parking fees while it's there — typically AED 50 per day in Dubai after the impoundment period ends. To release it, you pay the fine, the impoundment release fee (AED 50,000 in the most extreme reckless driving cases under Article 5, though usually far less), and any storage charges.

If you're a company car driver, the fine technically goes to the registered owner — your employer. Most companies will deduct it from your salary under the policy you signed when you got the keys. Some insurers also raise premiums after serious speeding offences, particularly anything above 60 km/h over the limit.

Tourists, rental cars, and non-residents

Got caught in a rental? The rental company pays the fine first, then bills your credit card, usually with an admin fee of AED 50–100 on top. They have your card on file for exactly this reason.

Leaving the country with unpaid fines? You can technically depart, but you'll be flagged on re-entry, and the fines accrue. Some serious offences trigger a travel ban under Article 329 of the Civil Procedures Law if the police escalate the matter. Rare for speeding alone. Common when speeding combines with an accident causing injury.

If you're a GCC visitor driving on your home licence, fines still attach to the vehicle and, increasingly, to your unified GCC traffic record. The integration isn't perfect, but it's getting better every year.

A few practical things people miss

Set your speedometer alert. Every car sold in the UAE since 2014 has a mandatory 120 km/h chime, but you can usually set a lower custom alert in the settings menu. Use it.

Check fines monthly, not yearly. Some drivers discover AED 15,000 in accumulated penalties when they go to renew registration, and at that point you're paying everything in one go with no discount window left.

Read the radar location maps published by Dubai Police and Abu Dhabi Police. They publish them. Genuinely. The point isn't to dodge enforcement — it's to remind yourself that your usual stretch of E11 has three new cameras you didn't know about.

And if you've collected a serious fine with black points and impoundment, get advice before you just pay. Paying can be treated as admission, which limits your appeal options later.

Sources

[1] UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2017 on Traffic — u.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law [2] Cabinet Resolution No. 178 of 2017 on Traffic Violations and Penalties (as amended) — moi.gov.ae [3] Dubai Police traffic fines portal — dubaipolice.gov.ae [4] Abu Dhabi Police / TAMM traffic services — tamm.abudhabi [5] Ministry of Interior UAE — moi.gov.ae

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