Salik and Darb Explained: How the UAE's Toll Gates Charge You, and How Not to Get Fined

Neither of the UAE’s toll systems has a barrier. You drive through at speed, a gantry reads your car, and an account somewhere goes down by a few dirhams. That convenience has one catch: the system charges an account, so a car without one, or with an empty one, collects violations instead of tolls. Here is how each system works, from its operator’s own pages.

Last checked against the official pages on 14 September 2026. Rates and rules change; the linked page always wins over this article.

Salik — Dubai

How it charges

Salik is a free-flow tolling system: a tag on the windscreen is read as you pass a gate and the toll is deducted from a prepaid Salik account. There are ten gates — Al Safa North and South, Business Bay Crossing, Al Barsha, Al Garhoud Bridge, Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Mamzar North and South, the Airport Tunnel and Jebel Ali.

Variable toll rates

Since 31 January 2025 the toll varies by time of day. Salik publishes the schedule:

• Peak (6:00–10:00 and 16:00–20:00): AED 6 per crossing.
• Off-peak (10:00–16:00 and 20:00–01:00): AED 4.
• Late night (01:00–06:00): free.
• Sundays: AED 4 through peak and off-peak hours, except on public holidays and special occasions.

Getting a tag

Buy the tag online through the Salik website or the Smart Salik app, where it is activated automatically, or at petrol stations and service centres across Dubai. Stick it on the inside of the windscreen where Salik shows in the instructions; a tag in the glovebox reads nothing.

The grace periods and the fines

• No tag: you have 10 working days from your first crossing to buy, activate and fit a tag. After that each crossing is a violation: AED 100 for the first trip, AED 200 for the second, AED 400 for each trip after that.
• Insufficient balance: you have five working days from the trip to recharge. Miss it and a AED 50 violation is incurred each day, per vehicle.

Recharge online, in the app or at the same outlets that sell the tag, and set a low-balance alert — the five-day window is short if you are travelling.

Selling or buying a car

The tag belongs to the account, and the account is tied to the plate. When you sell, remove the tag and update the account so the new owner’s crossings are not billed to you; when you buy a used car, register your own tag before you first drive through a gate, because the ten-day clock starts on that first crossing.

Darb — Abu Dhabi

How it charges

Abu Dhabi’s toll gates are on the four bridges into the island, and the system reads the plate rather than a tag. Charges go to a Darb account with the Integrated Transport Centre.

Rates and the daily cap

• Peak (7:00–9:00 and 17:00–19:00, Saturday to Thursday): AED 4 per crossing.
• Off-peak, Fridays and public holidays: AED 2.
• Daily maximum: AED 16 per vehicle.

Registration

Vehicles registered in Abu Dhabi get an account automatically. A vehicle licensed in another emirate — a Dubai or Sharjah car that commutes in — has to be registered: the ITC’s page takes Emirates ID, plate details, phone and email, and registration costs a minimum of AED 100 of which AED 50 is credited to the account as toll balance. Exemptions exist for certain categories and are applied for through TAMM.

Both systems: the habits that avoid fines

1. Register before the first crossing. Both systems start counting from the first gate you pass.
2. Keep a balance and an alert. Salik’s five-working-day window and Darb’s automatic deduction both assume money is there.
3. Update the account when the plate changes. A new plate design, a reserved number moved to a new car, or a sale — each one needs the account updated.
4. Check the accounts at renewal time. Unpaid toll violations surface as fines on the vehicle, and fines block the registration renewal.
5. Rental cars: the rental company’s account is charged and the tolls are passed on to you; ask how they bill them before you drive through a gate.

Sources

• Salik — How it works, Variable toll rates, Variable pricing from 31 January 2025, FAQs (grace periods and violations) and Pay Salik fines.
• Integrated Transport Centre / TAMM Abu Dhabi — Register a vehicle in the Abu Dhabi toll system (Darb), How to register for Abu Dhabi road tolls online and the DARB platform.

PartMate sells parts and accessories. This article summarises the operators’ public information for convenience; it is not legal advice.