Parking timings in Dubai split the paid day into peak hours, 8am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm, and off-peak hours, 10am to 4pm and 8pm to 10pm, according to Parkin, the city’s parking operator. In premium areas the first peak hour costs AED 6. Parking is free from 10pm to 8am and on Sundays and public holidays.
Rate tables on other sites do not agree with each other. We read Parkin’s pages on 12 October 2026. General information only, not official advice.
| Time | What Parkin says | What others report |
|---|---|---|
| Peak: 8am to 10am, 4pm to 8pm | Premium parking: AED 6 for the first hour | Time Out reported Dh4 an hour in regular spaces |
| Off-peak: 10am to 4pm, 8pm to 10pm | Rates “remain unchanged”, no figure given | Time Out reported Dhs4 for the first hour in Zone A premium spaces |
| Overnight: 10pm to 8am | Free | One guide says free, except in multi-storey car parks |
| Sundays and public holidays | Free all day | Gulf News reported free parking for National Day 2025, multi-storey excepted |
| Grand events | Adjusted rates in marked zones | Time Out reported Dh25 an hour near the World Trade Centre in February 2025 |
Dubai parking timings: peak, off-peak and free hours
Parkin’s variable tariff page says the system moved to peak and off-peak pricing on 4 April 2025. Event-specific tariffs started earlier, on 17 February 2025.
Premium areas are the busy ones: Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Deira, Jumeirah and similar districts. Off-peak rates there “remain unchanged”, and Parkin gives no number.
The free hours sit under the premium-parking heading on that page. Parkin does not repeat them for standard zones, though other guides say they apply across the board.
Zone codes: standard A to D and premium P
Standard zones keep the codes A, B, C and D, according to Parkin’s FAQ. Premium areas add a P code, so a premium space may read AP, BP, CP or DP. Developers’ areas keep G, H, I, J and F.
The code matters more than the price. Fees differ by zone type, standard or premium, and by time of use, so you need the code on the sign to pay in the right place.
Free parking on Sundays, holidays and National Day
Parkin lists Sundays and public holidays as free all day. Each holiday also brings an RTA announcement, and multi-storey car parks usually stay paid.
For National Day 2025, Gulf News reported that the RTA made public parking free on Monday and Tuesday, 1 and 2 December, with fees back on 3 December. Al Khail Gate multi-storey stayed on regular tariffs.
No 2026 announcement exists yet. Our UAE National Day 2026 guide has the official holiday dates, and you should wait for the RTA notice before leaving a car unpaid.
Paying by app, SMS or machine, and what a missed ticket costs
You can pay in the Parkin app or website, at a machine, or by SMS or WhatsApp to 7275. The SMS format is plate number, zone code, then duration. Each message costs 30 fils, and you get a reminder ten minutes before the ticket ends.
- Reply Y to 7275 to extend by an hour.
- Check the zone code on the sign before you pay, because adjacent streets can sit in different zones.
- Register your plate in the app and keep it up to date.
Parkin says unpaid tickets at barrierless malls and multi-storey car parks turn into fines after five days. You can dispute a fine online for free, and Parkin reviews the dispute within 14 working days.
What drivers report on Reddit
Parkin says Sundays are free, but drivers say the rule is not the same everywhere. Under a March 2026 r/dubai thread titled “Parkin gave me a fine. Isn’t parking supposed to be free today since it’s Sunday?”, the top reply read:
“Some zones have 24/7 paid parking”
– reply in r/dubai, March 2026 (41 upvotes)
A poster in r/UAE reported a Parkonic charge of AED 4 an hour on a Sunday in Nad Al Hamar Street, and a reply said:
“Yup. Some places don’t have free Sunday parking anymore”
– reply in r/UAE, October 2026 (6 upvotes)
We read no official Parkonic page, so we cannot say which zones charge on Sundays. The sign and the app for that zone settle it.
Time limits catch people too. A poster in r/dubai wrote in November 2025 that they paid for four hours in one JLT zone and then switched zones to extend their stay, and were fined:
“I work in JLT and park in 393J zone for 4 hours. I then switch to 393I for 2 hours (which is AED 10 per hour) as the maximum limit to park in 393J is 4 hours.”
– r/dubai, November 2025 (50 upvotes)
These are single accounts, not rulings, and none comes from Parkin or the RTA. They fit Parkin’s own advice that each zone has its own tariff and time limit.
Where rival rate tables disagree
Time Out reported in April 2025 a Zone B day rate of Dhs30 for standard parking. Another guide reported AED 20 for 24 hours in Zone B. Parkin’s pages give neither number.
Parkin’s own pay-for-parking list showed zones such as 111AP in Al Corniche at AED 4.20 an hour, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 10pm. We read it on a Monday around midday. We suspect that is AED 4 plus 5% VAT, but Parkin does not say.
What we could not confirm
Several practical points are left open by Parkin’s pages, and we found no official answer to any of the five below.
- The rate table for standard zones A to D. Time Out and another guide publish tables, and they differ.
- The exact off-peak price in premium areas, which Parkin calls unchanged.
- Fine amounts. One guide lists AED 150 for not paying, but we did not find that on an official page.
- Parking rules for National Day 2026. RTA’s own parking page opened blank for us, so we did not read it.
- Which Parkonic zones charge on Sundays. Only Reddit posters say so, and we found no official Parkonic page.
If a sign shows different hours, follow the sign.
Quick answers on Dubai parking timings
What are the peak parking hours in Dubai?
8am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm, per Parkin. Premium areas charge AED 6 for the first hour at those times.
When is parking free in Dubai?
From 10pm to 8am, and all day on Sundays and public holidays, per Parkin. Multi-storey car parks may differ.
Can I pay for parking by SMS?
Yes. Send the plate, zone code and duration to 7275, at 30 fils per message.
What does the P in a zone code mean?
It marks a premium parking area, so AP, BP, CP and DP are premium versions of zones A to D.
Last checked on 12 October 2026. Tariffs change, so confirm with Parkin before relying on any figure.
