Hit and run and unknown driver accidents in the UAE

If a driver damages your car and leaves, you report it as an accident against an unknown person. If anyone was hurt, call 999 first: that is a police case.

What should you do if a driver hits you and drives off?

Call 999 if anyone is injured. A driver who does not stop without an acceptable excuse after an accident that injures people commits a crime: up to one year in prison and a fine of AED 50,000 to AED 100,000, or one of the two, under the Arabic text of Article 38.¹ The UAE Government’s emergency guidance is to call 999, tell the police what happened and follow their instructions.²

If nobody is hurt, you still have to report the accident within 3 hours.³ Give the police any plate number you saw.

How do you report damage when you do not know who did it?

Use the unknown person report. The Ministry of Interior sets three conditions:⁴

• no data on the person responsible
• no cameras or surveillance devices at the location
• photos of all four sides of the car, including the damaged area.

The app flow asks the same injury and movement questions as a minor accident report.⁵ In some emirates private companies issue the report.⁴

Sources for Table 1

Cabinet Resolution 30 of 2017,⁶ the Ministry of Interior⁴ and Rafid.⁷

Gulf News and Emirates 24|7 give AED 400 as the usual cost of an unknown party report.^8,9 Dubai Police’s petrol station desks had issued 1,375 unknown party reports by May 2026, according to Emirates 24|7.¹⁰

What if there is a camera near where it happened?

The Ministry of Interior’s unknown person service requires that there are no cameras or surveillance devices at the location.⁴ If there is a camera, the person may be traceable, and the self-service report is not the route. Ask the police how to report it.

Can you use the unknown person report if you have the plate number?

The Ministry of Interior’s service is for cases with no data on the person responsible.⁴ If you noted the other car’s plate, you have that data, and the police need it: the owner of a vehicle that caused an accident commits an offence by not giving information that would show who was responsible.³ Give the plate number to the police when you report.

How long is the report valid?

The Ministry of Interior’s unknown person report is valid for 3 months from issue.⁴ Rafid’s is valid for 30 calendar days.⁷

Send it to your insurer or garage within that time.

Will your insurance pay?

That depends on your own policy. A third party policy pays for damage your car causes to other people. It does not pay for damage to your own car.¹¹ A comprehensive (loss and damage) policy covers your car, and its deductible may apply to a case deemed committed by an unknown person.¹² The details are on carinsurance.ae’s claims guide.

If you were injured by a driver who was never found, ask the police and your own insurers what can be claimed. See compensation after a road injury.

What if you hit a parked car and nobody is there?

Report it. The 3-hour duty applies to any accident that happens to you.³ The federal fine for not stopping after causing a minor accident is AED 500, 8 black points and 7 days’ impound.¹³ See accident fines.

The small print

The reporting duty is Article 5(1)(c) of Federal Decree-Law 14 of 2024. Leaving an injury accident and an owner withholding information about who was responsible are both Article 38 offences.³ The fee is item 76 of the schedule to Cabinet Resolution 30 of 2017.⁶ The deductible rule is Chapter 3, clause 6 of the unified Loss and Damage policy.¹²