Dubai street parking: zones, peak rates and what a fine costs
Dubai’s parking zones run far past A to E — there are around thirty codes, and a P suffix means premium. Peak pricing has been live since 4 April 2025: 08:00–10:00 and 16:00–20:00 cost more. JLT zone I at AED 10.50 an hour is the most expensive published street rate in the city. Parking is free overnight and on Sundays — though two official sources disagree about public holidays and about Ramadan. And no government domain publishes a Dubai parking tariff at all: RTA has handed the whole thing to a listed operator.
Hourly rates by zone
All figures are VAT-inclusive, which is why they carry decimals — AED 4.20 is AED 4.00 plus 5%. Roadside and plot zones charge 08:00 to 22:00, Monday to Saturday unless noted.
| Zone | Off-peak | Peak | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | AED 10.50 | AED 10.50 | Jumeirah Lakes Towers — flat, no peak discount |
| AP | AED 4.20 | AED 6.30 | Premium roadside |
| A | AED 4.20 | AED 4.20 | Standard roadside |
| GP | AED 4.20 | AED 6.30 | Burj Khalifa, Business Bay, Dubai Healthcare City |
| BP / B | AED 3.15 | AED 6.30 / 4.20 | Premium and standard plots |
| CP / DP | AED 2.10 | AED 6.30 | Premium roadside and plots |
| C / D | AED 2.10 | AED 4.20 | Standard roadside and plots |
| J, K | AED 4.20 | AED 6.30 | Jumeirah Lakes Towers |
| G, H | AED 4.20 | AED 4.20 | Dubai Hills, Damac Hills |
| W | AED 4.20 | AED 4.20 | Al Qusais First, Al Karama — charges 24 hours, Monday to Sunday |
| Multi-storey | AED 5 + VAT | AED 5 + VAT | AED 40 + VAT for 24 hours |
Peak is 08:00–10:00 and 16:00–20:00; off-peak is 10:00–16:00 and 20:00–22:00. Note that the C, CP, D and DP zones triple at peak while zone A does not move at all — the cheap zones take the biggest proportional hit.
There is no single maximum daily charge. Caps are per zone, expressed as a longest-duration row: AED 42 for fourteen hours in BP and K, AED 31.50 in B and DP. Many zones publish no cap row at all and simply stop at four hours.
Free windows — and where the two sources disagree
| Rule | The operator | The Dubai government portal |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight | Free 22:00–08:00 | Payable 08:00–22:00, i.e. the same |
| Sundays | Free all day | Free — “throughout the week except Sundays” |
| Public holidays | Free all day | Not mentioned at all |
| Ramadan | Not mentioned | “public parking is free from 06:00 to 08:00 AM” |
| Peak pricing | Published in full | Not mentioned, despite a 2026 modified date |
Each source carries a rule the other omits, and neither cross-references the other. The government portal page carries a modification stamp from April 2026 yet still describes the pre-2025 flat four-zone system with “codes such as A, B, C, and D” — no premium zones, no peak pricing, eighteen months after both went live.
Paying, and the 30 fils nobody mentions
Payment is by SMS to 7275, by app, or at a machine. The operator states plainly: “Each sent SMS will cost you 30 Fils.” That applies per message, including each hourly extension — so a four-hour stay renewed by SMS costs 1.20 dirhams on top of the tariff. To extend, “simply send a SMS ‘Y’ to 7275”. No surcharge is published for paying by app or machine.
Three fine tables, and the same offence costs five times more in a multi-storey
Parkin’s fines page sets out three tables, headed “Roadside & Plots Parking”, “Multistorey” and “Public Parking Lots”. The first two are the ones a driver meets, and the amounts differ between them. The third covers permits and commercial use of parking and is set out further down.
| Offence | Roadside & plots | Multi-storey |
|---|---|---|
| Parking without paying or displaying a ticket | AED 150 | AED 1,000 if treated as “evading payment” |
| Exceeding the maximum duration | AED 100 | AED 500 |
| Using a space after the ticket expires | AED 100 | — |
| Parking in a People of Determination bay without a permit | AED 1,000 | AED 1,000 |
| Parking in a reserved space, or not displaying the permit | AED 1,000 | AED 1,000 |
| Driving or parking on a pavement | AED 200 | — |
| Vehicle with no number plate | AED 1,000 | — |
| Double parking, or over the lines | — | AED 200 |
| Losing the ticket or card | — | AED 150 |
| Parking in a prohibited place, or outside the marked spaces | AED 200 | AED 200 |
| Exceeding the permitted vehicle height | — | AED 500 |
| Damaging the parking or tampering with its machines or signs | AED 1,000 | AED 1,000 |
| Displaying a vehicle for sale or rent without a permit | AED 1,000 | — |
| Relocating or removing a parking sign or equipment without a permit | AED 10,000 | — |
Disputes are “reviewed within 14 days”. The practical point for a visitor: an unpaid hour on the street is AED 150, and in a multi-storey car park “evading payment of the parking fees by any means whatsoever” is AED 1,000.
The third table, “Public Parking Lots”, is the only one that escalates with repeat offences. It covers work, occupancy permits and commercial use rather than ordinary parking: working in a public parking without an occupancy permit is AED 2,500, then AED 5,000, then AED 10,000; failing to display an authorisation or occupancy permit is AED 500, AED 1,000 and AED 2,000; obstructing Parkin inspectors is AED 1,000, AED 2,000 and AED 4,000; and using the name “Dubai Parking” in a commercial activity or app without a permit is AED 10,000. Parkin’s own fines FAQ adds that a fine notification can be checked against a photo of the vehicle, visible only to the vehicle owner in the Parkin app or website, and that the call centre is 800 72 75.
Two things the government does not publish at all
Whether a tourist needs an International Driving Permit. The UAE government portal defines an IDP purely in the outbound direction — a document that lets UAE motorists “drive their vehicles outside the UAE legally”. It does not address visitors driving here, and no UAE government source publishes which nationalities’ home licences are accepted. The country lists that dominate search results are all rental-company and blog content. We carry none of them; ask your hire company and your embassy.
The authoritative parking tariff table has no date, no version and no effective-from. There is no way for a reader to tell whether they are looking at current figures, and no archive of prior versions. That is the structural cause of the contradictions above, and it is why a superseded RTA tariff page still ranks top of Google for Dubai parking rates while returning a connection timeout — one of several examples on the stale sources page.
Related: mall and venue car park rates, which are a completely separate system — different operators, free windows measured in hours rather than a nightly cut-off, and validation rules that can waive the charge entirely. And Salik toll charges on the way there.
The fine schedules below are transcribed from the operator, not legal advice, and the operator publishes separate tables for roadside and plot parking and for multi-storey car parks.
Check a parking fine — The same offence at the roadside and in a multi-storey car park, which can differ by AED 850. It uses only the figures on this page, shows the arithmetic, and names what nobody publishes.
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Common questions
How much is street parking in Dubai?
It depends on the zone and the hour. Most standard roadside zones are AED 4.20 an hour; the cheapest are AED 2.10 off-peak; JLT zone I at AED 10.50 is the most expensive published street rate in the city. All figures include 5% VAT.
When is parking free in Dubai?
Free 22:00 to 08:00 and all day Sunday. The operator also states public holidays are free; the Dubai government portal does not mention holidays but does state free parking 06:00–08:00 during Ramadan. Each source carries a rule the other omits.
What are Dubai's parking peak hours?
08:00–10:00 and 16:00–20:00. The cheap zones take the biggest proportional hit: zones C and D triple at peak while zone A does not move at all.
How much is a parking fine in Dubai?
Parkin publishes separate tables and they differ. On roadside and plot parking, parking without paying is AED 150. In a multi-storey car park, evading payment is AED 1,000. Parking in a People of Determination bay is AED 1,000 either way.
Do I need an International Driving Permit in Dubai?
No UAE government source answers this for visitors. The government portal defines an IDP only in the outbound direction, for UAE motorists driving abroad. Ask your hire company and your embassy — the country lists circulating online are all commercial content.