Dubai Accident Report: What to Do After a Car Accident in Dubai and the UAE

Direct answer. Yes, in Dubai you can report a minor collision yourself in the Dubai Police app, without a patrol attending, as long as nobody is hurt. If anyone is injured, call 999 and leave the vehicles where they are. Either way, the federal Traffic Law, Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2024, makes every driver involved report the accident within three hours. The report goes to the police or to a party the traffic authority approves, unless there is an acceptable excuse for the delay. Your insurer works from the accident report that results, and a garage may not repair accident damage without a repair permit from the traffic authority. This guide covers the scene, the choice between the app and the police, how to read the report, the insurance claim, hit-and-run cases and the other emirates.

At the scene: the first few minutes

Make the scene safe, check whether anyone is hurt, then pick the route that fits.

The UAE government's emergency guidance on u.ae sets out the basic order. Call the police on 999, say what happened and where you are, and wait for their instructions. If the accident is minor and no one is hurt, you can move your car to the shoulder lane so it does not block traffic. Then wait at least 15 metres away from the car. If anyone is injured, leave all vehicles exactly where they are and wait for the ambulance. The ambulance number is 998.

The Traffic Law adds a few duties of its own:

• Do not leave a car standing in the roadway. Article 7 bars leaving a vehicle standing in the roadway. That is why the guidance tells you to clear a minor accident to the shoulder.
• Give first aid if you are trained. Article 5 obliges a driver who has the necessary medical knowledge to give first aid to an injured person.
• Show your documents when asked. Article 5 also requires a driver to show his driving licence, vehicle licence and personal data when the traffic authority asks.
• Report within three hours. This is covered in its own section below.

A few practical habits protect you later:

• Photograph both cars where they stopped, the plates and the road, before anything is moved.
• Write down the other driver's name, licence details, plate and insurer.
• Do not admit liability, promise to pay or hand over money. The unified motor insurance policy forbids the insured from accepting liability or offering payment without the insurer's written consent.
• Do not stop to watch someone else's accident. The violations list linked on u.ae includes "rubber neck (crowding) at the scenes of traffic accidents", listed at AED 1,000. Confirm the current figure on an official channel.

Self-report or call the police: which route applies

The route depends on injuries, on whether the drivers agree, and on whether everyone stayed.

Minor collision, nobody hurt

This is the case the app was built for. The Dubai Media Office describes the service as letting drivers report a minor accident themselves, without a police car attending. The app asks for both drivers' licence numbers, so get the other driver's details before you start. The next section walks through the steps.

Someone is hurt

Any injury takes the case out of the self-report route. Call 999, follow the u.ae guidance to leave the vehicles in place, and wait for the police and ambulance. Under Article 31, traffic officers may arrest a driver caught causing a death or injury while driving. That does not mean every injury leads to arrest, but it shows why the police must attend.

The drivers do not agree

If you and the other driver cannot agree on what happened, do not file a report that one of you disputes. Call 999, explain that you disagree, and follow the police's instructions, as the u.ae guidance advises after any accident. Keep your photos and any dashcam footage to show the police.

A crime may be involved

Article 31 lets traffic officers arrest a driver caught in several situations. They include driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and trying to escape after an accident that harms someone. Refusing to give a name or official document also counts, but only where one of the other crimes in that article has occurred. If you see any of these, do not negotiate at the roadside. Call 999.

The three-hour reporting rule under the UAE Traffic Law

The Traffic Law gives every driver in an accident three hours to report it.

Federal Decree-Law No. 14 of 2024 came into force on 29 March 2025. Its Article 51 repealed Federal Law No. 21 of 1995, the traffic law that many older guides still quote. Article 5(1)(c) of the new law obliges a driver to report an accident "to the police or the party approved by the Traffic Control Authority". The report must be made by a means the authority approves, within three hours, "unless there is an acceptable excuse for the delay".

Three points follow from that wording:

• The duty sits on each driver. It is not only the at-fault driver's job.
• Approved channels count. The law defines the Traffic Control Authority as the traffic and patrols authority in the Ministry of Interior or the police commands. An app or service it approves, such as the Dubai Police app, is a reporting channel in its own right.
• The excuse is the authority's call. The authority decides what counts as an acceptable reason for reporting late.

A private arrangement with no report causes problems beyond the three-hour rule. A garage cannot repair accident damage without a repair permit from the traffic authority, and your insurer expects to be told about the accident. The other driver could also report it later in a version you never saw.

How the Dubai Police accident report works for a minor collision

One driver files through the app, a police officer reviews it, and both drivers receive the report.

The Government of Dubai Media Office described the "Minor Accident Reporting" service in October 2023. It is available on the Dubai Police app and website, and it lets drivers report accidents themselves without a police car coming to the scene. As described then, the process runs like this:

1. One of the drivers opens the minor-accident service in the Dubai Police app or on the website.
2. The driver enters the vehicle plate number and both drivers' driving licence numbers.
3. The driver captures photos of the vehicles.
4. A police officer reviews the submission and sends the report to both parties by email.
5. Each driver forwards the report to the insurer.

The same announcement said Dubai Police was developing an AI version that would identify the liable and affected parties itself. It was described as under development and testing at the time. Check the app for the steps it shows you now.

Check any fee in the app or with Dubai Police before you submit. Fees and conditions change, so do not rely on figures quoted online.

Reading your Dubai accident report and its limits

Insurers settle claims on the basis of the police report.

The 2023 Dubai Media Office announcement said the planned AI version would "determine the liable and affected party". Saaed, an Abu Dhabi-founded company that manages traffic accident reporting with the authorities, describes its officers' role the same way: helping "to determine the liable vehicle owner". For the service as it ran in 2023, the announcement says only that a police officer reviewed each submission and then sent the report. Read your report carefully when it arrives, because your insurer will rely on it.

Keep three limits in mind:

• The report is about the collision, not about criminal guilt. Where someone is injured or a crime is suspected, prosecutors and courts decide criminal liability. Our guide to UAE traffic law fines and imprisonment explains when a traffic matter becomes a criminal case.
• Fines and black points are separate. A traffic violation and its black points follow their own rules. Our guide to black points in Dubai explains the limits.
• Disagree before it is issued, not after. If you think the other driver's account is wrong, call 999 rather than accepting an app report. If a report has already been issued and you believe it is wrong, contact the issuing police station quickly. Ask what review route is available, and take advice before your insurer settles on it.

Using the accident report for your insurance claim and repair

A garage needs a repair permit from the traffic authority, and insurers work from the police report.

Article 28 of the Traffic Law says no vehicle repair centre may repair a vehicle with signs of an accident or damage without a repair permit. The permit is issued by the traffic authority or whoever it authorises. That is why a garage asks for the police paperwork before it starts.

The insurance rules sit in the unified motor insurance policies. The Central Bank of the UAE rulebook publishes the third-party liability policy, consolidated as of January 2021. Under it, the insured or the driver must notify the authorities and the insurer within a reasonable time and supply the accident documents. A late notice with an acceptable excuse is not a reason for the insurer to refuse compensation.

If the other driver was liable

You claim against the liable driver's insurer. Under the unified third-party policy, the insurer must:

• Restore the car to its pre-accident condition, or pay you the repair cost in cash if you ask.
• Use the agency's repair shop if your car is in its first year of registration and use.
• Pay the market value if the damage is more than 50% of the car's market value.
• Apply no deductible to the compensation of an injured third party.
• Pay a loss-of-use allowance to the owner of a private car, capped at AED 300 a day for a maximum of 15 days. The days run from when you deliver the car, the accident report and the title deed to the insurer. There is no allowance if you choose cash compensation. Instead of paying the allowance, the insurer may provide a similar substitute car.

If you and the insurer disagree on the value of the damage, the policy has the regulator appoint a licensed surveyor and loss adjuster at the insurer's expense. These figures come from the consolidated 2021 text, so check your own policy for later changes.

If you were liable

Your own insurer deals with the other driver's claim under your third-party cover. Repairs to your own car depend on whether you hold a loss-and-damage (comprehensive) policy and on its terms. Send your insurer the report as soon as you receive it.

When the insurer can recover from the driver

The third-party policy lets the insurer pay the injured party and then recover the money from the insured or the driver in set cases. They include:

• driving without a licence for that type of vehicle, or with a suspended licence;
• driving on an expired licence, unless it is renewed within 30 days of the accident;
• causing the accident under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
• causing the accident deliberately.

Article 19 of the Traffic Law separately bars insurers from adding policy conditions that reduce their full civil liability for death, injury or damage. Our UAE traffic rules guide covers the insurance and registration duty in general.

If the other driver leaves the scene: hit-and-run in Dubai

Fleeing after an accident that injures people is a crime; fleeing a minor collision is a violation.

Article 38 of the Traffic Law covers anyone who deliberately fails to stop, without an acceptable excuse, after an accident that injures people. The penalty is imprisonment of up to two years and a fine of at least AED 50,000, or one of the two. The same article covers a vehicle owner who withholds information that would reveal the circumstances of an accident or the person responsible. Article 31 also allows the arrest of a driver caught trying to escape after an accident that harms someone.

For a collision with no injuries, the violations list linked on u.ae applies. That list comes from Ministerial Resolution No. 178 of 2017, which u.ae says the UAE still applies. Article 49 of the new law keeps earlier resolutions in force where they do not conflict, until they are replaced. The list includes "non-stop when causing a small accident" at AED 500, 8 black points and 7 days' impoundment for a light vehicle. Confirm the current figure on an official channel, as a new resolution could change it. Our guide to vehicle impound rules in the UAE explains how release works.

If you are the one left with the damage:

• Note the other vehicle's plate, colour, make, the time and the exact place.
• Call 999 if anyone is hurt or if you can identify the vehicle.
• In Dubai, ask Dubai Police for an accident report against an unknown party, and check its current requirements in the app.
• Ask your insurer whether your own policy covers damage where the other party is unknown.

When someone is injured in a Dubai car accident

An injury can turn a damage claim into both a criminal case and a compensation claim.

Compensation for injury or death in a road accident, including diya and civil damages, is covered in our guide to personal injury claims in the UAE. The criminal side, including when an injury accident leads to charges, is covered in our guide to traffic law fines and imprisonment. Both start from the same police report, so keep a copy of everything you receive.

Accident reports in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and the other emirates

u.ae lists five apps for reporting minor accidents online.

The u.ae road safety page says minor accidents can be reported online through the following apps:

Two rules do not change at the emirate border. The three-hour reporting duty in Article 5 is federal, and 999 reaches the police from anywhere in the UAE.

Getting a copy of a Dubai Police accident report later

Keep the report you receive by email; Dubai Police can reissue it if you lose it.

Insurers, garages and courts may ask for the report weeks later. Save the email and a PDF copy somewhere you can find them. If you lose it, ask Dubai Police for a reissued copy. Check the current requirements and any fee in the app before you apply.

Dubai car accident checklist

• Everyone is safe, and 999 or 998 has been called if anyone is hurt.
• A minor accident with nobody hurt has been moved to the shoulder.
• Photos of the cars, plates and road were taken before anything moved.
• You have the other driver's name, licence details, plate and insurer.
• You did not admit liability, promise payment or hand over money.
• The accident was reported within three hours through the app or the police.
• You have the accident report and have sent it to your insurer.
• The garage has the repair permit before work starts.

When to get legal help

Most minor collisions end with an app report and an insurance claim. Get advice if someone was injured or you face a criminal charge. The same applies if you dispute what the report says, the insurer refuses or reduces the claim, or the other driver fled. You can find a criminal or traffic lawyer on LEXAI and contact them directly.

This is general legal information, not legal advice, and your own facts may change the answer. Confirm current procedures and fees with Dubai Police, the police in your emirate, or a licensed UAE lawyer.