Salik is Dubai’s electronic toll system, and if you drive in Dubai you cannot opt out of it. Every vehicle on Dubai roads needs a Salik tag, and every time you pass under one of the ten toll gates on Dubai’s major roads, the charge is automatically deducted from your prepaid account. From 31 January 2025, Salik moved from a flat AED 4 rate to variable pricing: AED 6 during peak hours and AED 4 off-peak. From 1 June 2026, a 5% VAT applies to toll charges and tag activation fees. This guide covers how to get a tag, what it costs, where all ten gates are, how to keep your account topped up, and the fines you get for ignoring it.
What a Salik tag is and how it works?
Salik, meaning open or clear in Arabic, launched in July 2007 as Dubai’s cashless, barrier-free toll system. There are no physical toll booths and no need to slow down or stop. A Salik tag is a small RFID sticker permanently attached to the inside of your windshield. When your car passes under a Salik gate, the system reads the tag automatically at normal driving speed and deducts the toll from your prepaid Salik account. The whole process takes a fraction of a second and requires nothing from you except a positive balance in your account.
Salik became a publicly listed company on the Dubai Financial Market in 2022 and operates under a 49-year concession agreement. The system has grown from two gates in 2007 to ten gates today, with expansion onto Emirates Road and the Dubai to Al Ain Road anticipated at some point during the concession period.
What it costs to get a tag?
A Salik tag costs AED 100 if purchased from a petrol station including ENOC, EPPCO, ADNOC, and Emarat. The AED 100 includes the tag itself and an initial account balance of AED 50 already loaded. The remaining AED 50 covers the tag cost.
Purchasing online through the Salik website or Smart Salik app costs AED 120, which includes free delivery and the tag arrives pre-activated. You do not need to activate it separately if you buy online.
From 1 June 2026, a 5% VAT applies to tag activation fees and toll charges. Factor this into your cost calculations when budgeting for Salik. If you are new to driving in Dubai, the car rental guide for Dubai covers how Salik charges appear on a rental invoice and how to avoid the admin markups some companies add on top of the actual toll.
How to register and activate?
If you buy a tag from a petrol station, you need to register and activate it before using it. You have ten working days from your first toll gate crossing to complete registration. Do not wait until the day after your first crossing. Registering immediately on the day of purchase is the safest approach.
Registration can be completed through the Salik website at salik.ae, the Smart Salik app, or the Dubai Drive app. You will need your vehicle registration card, front and back, and a valid Emirates ID or passport. For vehicles registered under a company, the trade licence is also required. Once data is submitted, you will receive an SMS confirming successful registration.
You can add multiple vehicles to a single Salik account, which simplifies management for families or businesses with several cars.
Current toll rates: peak, off-peak, and free hours
Variable pricing came into effect on 31 January 2025 and these rates apply through 2026.
| Time window | Days | Toll per gate |
|---|---|---|
| 6am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm | Monday to Saturday | AED 6 (peak) |
| 10am to 4pm and 8pm to 1am | Monday to Saturday | AED 4 (off-peak) |
| 1am to 6am | Daily | Free |
| All day except 1am to 6am | Sunday | AED 4 flat |
Ramadan timings are adjusted annually by the RTA. During Ramadan, the free window shifts to 2am to 7am, and peak hours are adjusted to reflect different travel patterns. The Salik website publishes the Ramadan schedule each year before the month begins.
There is no daily cap on Salik charges. The original daily cap of AED 24 was removed in 2013. Every gate crossing is charged separately regardless of how many times you pass through in a day. A commuter passing through four peak-hour gates twice a day pays AED 48 in Salik charges on that day.
The practical savings from understanding the rate structure are real. A driver passing four gates daily during peak hours pays AED 24 per day, or approximately AED 520 per month. Shifting the same commute entirely to off-peak hours reduces daily cost to AED 16, saving roughly AED 170 per month or over AED 2,000 per year. For any resident whose work schedule allows flexibility, this is worth calculating specifically for their own route.
The one-hour rule: if you pass through Al Mamzar North and Al Mamzar South in the same direction within one hour, you are charged only once. The same applies to Al Safa North and Al Safa South. This is worth knowing for routes through Deira and along Sheikh Zayed Road respectively.
All 10 Salik gate locations
As of 2026 there are ten active Salik gates in Dubai. Two new gates were added in November 2024.
Sheikh Zayed Road (E11): Multiple gates along the main artery through Dubai, including at Al Safa North and the newer Al Safa South gate. These are the gates most commonly encountered on daily commutes between the Marina area and Business Bay or Downtown.
Al Garhoud Bridge: The crossing between Deira and the Airport Road area heading south. Heavily used by residents of Garhoud, Al Nahda, and anyone commuting between Deira and Sheikh Zayed Road.
Al Maktoum Bridge: The older Deira to Bur Dubai crossing. Has free-passage hours overnight set by the RTA, check current timings on salik.ae since these can be adjusted.
Airport Tunnel: Connecting the Dubai International Airport corridor to the main road network. Relevant for anyone using the tunnel regularly rather than the surface road alternatives.
Al Mamzar North and South: Two paired gates on the approaches to the Al Mamzar area on the border with Sharjah. The one-hour rule applies here, one charge if both are crossed in the same direction within an hour.
Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road: Added November 2024. Al Khail Road previously had no Salik gates and was widely used as a toll-free alternative to Sheikh Zayed Road. This gate changes that calculation for Business Bay area commuters.
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road: Gates on the main outer ring road connecting Dubai’s residential communities to the city centre and other emirates.
To check whether a specific route crosses a Salik gate, use the Google Maps or Waze route feature with Salik gate locations marked, or use the Salik website’s gate map. The Nol card guide is worth reading alongside this if you are deciding whether public transport on certain days is more cost-effective than paying peak Salik charges on your regular route.
How to top up your Salik account
The minimum top-up is AED 50 and the maximum account balance is AED 50,000. Recharging can be done through several channels.
The Smart Salik app and the Salik website are the most convenient options and process instantly. The Dubai Now app also supports Salik recharge under government services. Most UAE banking apps including ENBD, FAB, ADCB, and Mashreq include Salik recharge directly in their bill payment or services sections. ENOC and EPPCO petrol station kiosks accept top-up and process instantly. SMS recharge incurs a 30-fils service charge per transaction and is slower.
Setting up auto-recharge is strongly recommended. You set a balance threshold, for example AED 25, and a top-up amount, for example AED 100, and link a credit or debit card. When your balance drops below the threshold after a crossing, the top-up triggers automatically. This removes the risk of a low balance fine entirely. If your linked card expires, update it in the app immediately since auto-recharge fails silently on an expired card.
Fines for driving without a valid tag
Driving through a Salik gate without a registered tag or with an account balance that has run to zero triggers automatic fines. The fine structure escalates with repeat violations.
First violation: AED 100. Second violation: AED 200. Third and subsequent violations: AED 400 each. Fines are linked to the vehicle’s licence plate registration. Unpaid Salik fines block renewal of your vehicle registration and other RTA services, so they cannot simply be ignored until they are convenient to pay.
If you have just purchased a vehicle and drive through a gate before registering, you have ten working days from the first crossing to register without a fine applying to that first crossing. This grace period does not extend to subsequent crossings before registration.
Fines can be disputed through the Salik website, the Smart Salik app, or by calling the Salik call centre on 8007 25 45. You have 13 months from the violation date to dispute. Disputes typically take 5 to 10 business days to resolve. Disputing does not pause the payment obligation if the deadline passes during the dispute process.
Salik for rental cars
Rental cars in Dubai come with an active Salik tag pre-installed. You do not need to do anything at the gate. Every crossing is automatically recorded and billed to you by the rental company as part of your final invoice. Rental companies compile Salik charges along with any traffic fines after you return the car, which is one reason deposits take 7 to 21 days to be fully released. Some rental companies add an administrative markup of AED 1 per Salik transaction on top of the actual toll cost. This is worth confirming at booking since the better companies bill at exact cost with no markup.
Abu Dhabi’s Darb toll system
Darb is Abu Dhabi’s road toll, operated separately from Salik and relevant for anyone driving between Dubai and Abu Dhabi regularly. Unlike Salik, Darb uses number plate recognition rather than an RFID tag, so no physical tag is required. Darb charges apply only during weekday peak hours at four bridge crossings onto Abu Dhabi island. The rate is AED 4 per crossing during the charged windows, free at all other times including weekends and outside peak hours.
For rental car drivers, Darb charges apply when crossing into Abu Dhabi and are billed separately from the Salik charges on your final rental invoice. This can appear as an unexpected line item if you took a day trip to Abu Dhabi without asking about inter-emirate toll coverage at the time of rental.
Sharjah and the northern emirates, including Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, and Umm Al Quwain, have no toll systems as of 2026.
How much does a Salik tag cost in Dubai?
A Salik tag costs AED 100 at petrol stations including ENOC, EPPCO, ADNOC, and Emarat. This includes the tag and AED 50 of starting balance already loaded. Purchasing online through the Salik website or Smart Salik app costs AED 120 with free delivery and the tag arrives pre-activated. From 1 June 2026, a 5% VAT applies to tag activation fees and toll charges.
How much is the Salik toll in Dubai in 2026?
Variable pricing applies since 31 January 2025. During peak hours, 6am to 10am and 4pm to 8pm Monday to Saturday, the toll is AED 6 per gate. During off-peak hours, 10am to 4pm and 8pm to 1am, the toll is AED 4. Between 1am and 6am daily, all gates are free. On Sundays the toll is a flat AED 4 all day except during the free window. There is no daily cap on charges.
What is the fine for driving without a Salik tag in Dubai?
The fine for driving through a Salik gate without a registered tag or with an empty account is AED 100 for the first violation, AED 200 for the second, and AED 400 for each subsequent violation. Fines are linked to the vehicle’s licence plate and unpaid fines block vehicle registration renewal. If you have just purchased a vehicle and drive through a gate before registering, you have ten working days to complete registration without a fine applying to that first crossing.
Does Salik apply in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah?
No. Salik is a Dubai-only system. Abu Dhabi has its own separate toll called Darb, which uses number plate recognition rather than an RFID tag and charges only during weekday peak hours at four bridge crossings onto Abu Dhabi island. Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, and Umm Al Quwain have no toll systems as of 2026.
How many Salik gates are there in Dubai?
Ten active Salik gates as of 2026. Two new gates were added in November 2024: Business Bay Crossing on Al Khail Road and Al Safa South on Sheikh Zayed Road. The gates are spread across Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Khail Road, Al Maktoum Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge, the Airport Tunnel, Al Mamzar North and South, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road.
