Crimes of the UAE Penal Code: A Comprehensive Index of 265 Crimes

05 December 2025

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Crimes of the UAE Penal Code: A Comprehensive Index of 265 Crimes

Crimes of the UAE Penal Code: A Comprehensive Index of 265 Crimes

In criminal matters, the legal characterisation of the act governs everything that follows. A single act may be characterised as a felony or a misdemeanour according to its circumstances and consequences, and that characterisation determines the competent court, the type of penalty, whether settlement is available, the limitation period, and even deportation for non-national residents.

This article is a comprehensive index of every offence set out in the UAE Crimes and Penalties Law and its amendments, arranged in the order of the law’s own books and chapters. It is the first in a series, and each offence listed below will have its own dedicated article covering its constituent elements, its penalty and the defences available.

Legislative reference: Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law, issued on 20 September 2021, published in Official Gazette issue 712 dated 26 September 2021, and in force from 2 January 2022, together with its amendments, the most recent being the 2025 amendment. It repealed Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 promulgating the Penal Code and its amendments.

The three-tier classification: A felony is punishable by retribution, the death penalty, life imprisonment or temporary imprisonment. A misdemeanour is punishable by detention, a fine exceeding AED 10,000, or blood money. A contravention is punishable by custody of between 24 hours and 10 days, or a fine not exceeding AED 10,000.

A note on method: The second column states the prevailing classification, not a conclusive one, since a misdemeanour is elevated to a felony where an aggravating circumstance applies — use of a weapon, multiple offenders, night-time commission, the capacity of the offender, or the gravity of the outcome. This list does not cover offences governed by special legislation such as cybercrime, narcotics, cheques, money laundering and traffic, each of which has its own article.

First: Offences Against the External Security of the State

#	Offence	Classification
1	Joining the forces of a hostile state	Felony
2	Prejudicing the sovereignty of the State	Felony
3	Bearing arms against the State	Felony
4	Undermining the armed forces	Felony
5	Facilitating enemy access to a site or asset	Felony
6	Aiding or guiding the enemy	Felony
7	Assisting prisoners of war to escape	Felony
8	Communicating with a foreign state	Felony
9	Destroying or forging state security documents	Felony
10	Recruiting for a foreign entity	Felony
11	Prejudicing negotiations entrusted to the offender	Felony
12	Accepting a benefit from a foreign entity	Felony
13	Disclosing defence secrets	Felony
14	Holding classified documents without authorisation	Felony
15	Destroying or disabling defence assets	Felony
16	Trading with a hostile country in wartime	Felony
17	Breaching military supply contracts	Felony
18	Harming external relations	Felony or misdemeanour
19	Broadcasting false news in wartime	Felony
20	Flying or photographing in restricted areas	Misdemeanour
21	Entering military sites without permit	Misdemeanour
22	Gathering information for a foreign entity	Felony
23	Publishing restricted government information	Felony

Second: Offences Against the Internal Security of the State

#	Offence	Classification
24	Attempting to overthrow the system of government	Felony
25	Assaulting the President of the State	Felony
26	Insulting the President of the State	Felony
27	Insulting the State or its national symbols	Misdemeanour
28	Coercing senior officials	Felony
29	Assaulting a foreign head of state	Felony
30	Organisation targeting the system of government	Felony
31	Promoting the aims of banned organisations	Felony
32	Organisation prejudicing state security	Felony
33	Financing banned organisations	Felony
34	Training for banned purposes	Felony
35	Unlicensed place of worship or religious teaching	Felony
36	Unlicensed association or organisation	Felony
37	Exploiting religion to incite discord	Felony
38	Assuming command of a force without authority	Felony
39	Inciting military personnel to disobedience	Felony
40	Forming an armed gang	Felony
41	Occupying public buildings by force	Felony
42	Destroying public buildings and property	Felony or misdemeanour
43	Possessing or manufacturing explosives	Felony
44	Using explosives in an assault	Felony
45	Inciting non-compliance with the law	Misdemeanour
46	Assembly disturbing public order	Felony or misdemeanour
47	Organising an assembly for payment	Felony
48	Calling for or leading an assembly	Felony
49	Publishing matter endangering state security	Felony
50	Inciting hatred of a group	Felony
51	Spreading false news and rumours	Felony or misdemeanour
52	Issuing a fatwa disturbing public order	Felony or misdemeanour
53	Joining an armed conflict abroad without permit	Felony
54	Breaching a travel prohibition	Misdemeanour
55	Declaring hostility to the State	Felony
56	Breaching international sanctions measures	Felony

Third: Offences Against the National Economy and Currency Counterfeiting

#	Offence	Classification
57	Sabotaging development facilities	Felony
58	Inciting withdrawal of funds from banks	Misdemeanour
59	Counterfeiting currency or government securities	Felony
60	Importing or exporting counterfeit currency	Felony
61	Circulating counterfeit currency	Felony
62	Circulating withdrawn currency	Misdemeanour
63	Dealing in counterfeit currency after knowledge	Misdemeanour
64	Refusing to accept national currency	Misdemeanour
65	Making or holding counterfeiting tools	Felony or misdemeanour

Fourth: Forgery Offences

#	Offence	Classification
66	Counterfeiting state seals and stamps	Felony
67	Counterfeiting seals of legal persons	Misdemeanour
68	Unlawful use of official seals	Felony
69	Counterfeiting government plates and marks	Misdemeanour
70	Producing printed matter resembling stamps	Misdemeanour
71	Forgery of an official instrument	Felony
72	Forgery of an unofficial instrument	Misdemeanour
73	Forging a copy of an instrument	Felony or misdemeanour
74	Issuing a false medical certificate	Felony
75	False statements in inheritance proceedings	Misdemeanour
76	Providing false personal particulars	Misdemeanour
77	Using a forged instrument	Felony or misdemeanour
78	Using an instrument in another person’s name	Felony or misdemeanour

Fifth: Embezzlement, Damage to Public Funds and Disruption of Work

#	Offence	Classification
79	Embezzlement of public funds	Felony
80	Seizing property by abuse of office	Felony
81	Profiting from the duties of office	Felony
82	Wilful damage to public funds	Felony
83	Fraud in the performance of government contracts	Felony
84	Benefiting from government contracting	Felony
85	Damage to public funds by negligence	Misdemeanour
86	Strike by public officials	Misdemeanour
87	Assaulting officials’ right to work	Misdemeanour
88	Suspending a public utility without cause	Misdemeanour

Sixth: Bribery Offences

#	Offence	Classification
89	Bribery — solicitation or acceptance	Felony
90	Bribery for an act outside the office	Felony
91	Private-sector bribery — solicitation or acceptance	Felony
92	Private-sector bribery — offer or promise	Felony
93	Offering a bribe to a public official	Felony
94	Trading in influence	Felony or misdemeanour
95	Acting as intermediary in bribery	Felony

Seventh: Abuse of Office, Assault on Officials and Impersonation

#	Offence	Classification
96	Unlawful arrest, detention or confinement	Misdemeanour
97	Unlawful search	Misdemeanour
98	Torture to extract a confession	Felony
99	Imposing a penalty harsher than that adjudged	Felony or misdemeanour
100	Breaches in running a penal institution	Misdemeanour
101	Cruelty towards persons by an official	Misdemeanour
102	Obstructing enforcement of laws and judgments	Misdemeanour
103	Opening or concealing correspondence	Misdemeanour
104	Disclosing information obtained through office	Felony
105	Coercing an official to perform an act	Misdemeanour
106	Assaulting or resisting an official	Felony or misdemeanour
107	Impersonating a public office	Misdemeanour
108	Wearing an official uniform or assuming a title	Misdemeanour

Eighth: Offences Against the Administration of Justice

#	Offence	Classification
109	Perjury	Felony or misdemeanour
110	False oath	Misdemeanour
111	False testimony by an expert or interpreter	Felony or misdemeanour
112	Medical testimony for a consideration	Felony
113	Coercing another into untrue statements	Misdemeanour
114	Refusing to testify	Misdemeanour
115	Insulting the standing of the judiciary	Misdemeanour
116	Influencing judges and witnesses	Misdemeanour
117	Publishing prohibited investigation reports	Misdemeanour
118	Publishing court proceedings in bad faith	Misdemeanour
119	Altering the evidence of a crime	Misdemeanour
120	Concealing a document submitted to the court	Misdemeanour
121	Refusing to produce a required document	Misdemeanour
122	Obstructing enforcement proceedings	Misdemeanour
123	Official refusing to execute a judgment	Misdemeanour
124	Concealing a body or burial without permit	Felony or misdemeanour
125	Official neglecting to report an offence	Misdemeanour
126	Physician failing to report a criminal injury	Misdemeanour
127	Failing to report a crime	Misdemeanour
128	False report of an incident	Misdemeanour
129	False accusation against a person	Felony or misdemeanour
130	Breaking judicial seals	Misdemeanour
131	Removing items held under judicial order	Felony or misdemeanour
132	Negligence by the custodian of a seal	Misdemeanour
133	Escape from arrest or detention	Felony or misdemeanour
134	Escape from electronic monitoring	Misdemeanour
135	Negligence of a guard causing an escape	Misdemeanour
136	Assisting a detainee to escape	Felony or misdemeanour
137	Supplying a detainee with means of escape	Felony
138	Concealing or harbouring an accused	Felony or misdemeanour
139	Aiding an offender by concealing evidence	Misdemeanour

Ninth: Offences of General Danger

#	Offence	Classification
140	Hijacking an aircraft or vessel	Felony
141	Endangering a means of public transport	Felony
142	Sabotaging roads, airports and ports	Felony or misdemeanour
143	Disabling a means of public transport	Felony
144	Negligently causing a transport accident	Felony or misdemeanour
145	Endangering a means of private transport	Felony or misdemeanour
146	Removing safety devices or surveillance cameras	Felony or misdemeanour
147	Carrying hazardous materials in transport	Felony
148	Disabling communication systems	Felony
149	Causing nuisance through communication devices	Misdemeanour
150	Endangering life with harmful substances	Felony
151	Contaminating a well or public reservoir	Misdemeanour
152	Damaging water and electricity utilities	Felony
153	Sabotaging health facilities	Felony
154	Disabling ambulance or firefighting equipment	Felony or misdemeanour
155	Arson of buildings	Felony
156	Arson of crops and woodland	Felony
157	Arson of unoccupied buildings	Felony
158	Setting fire for damage or unlawful gain	Misdemeanour
159	Fire caused by negligence	Misdemeanour
160	Neglecting firefighting equipment	Misdemeanour
161	Removing a fire extinguishing device	Misdemeanour

Tenth: Offences Against Religious Beliefs and Rites

#	Offence	Classification
162	Offending Islamic sanctities or rites	Misdemeanour
163	Reviling a recognised divine religion	Misdemeanour
164	Commending or promoting sin	Misdemeanour
165	Offending the sanctities of other religions	Misdemeanour
166	Violating graves or human remains	Misdemeanour
167	Deception, sorcery and charlatanry	Misdemeanour
168	Resorting to or promoting sorcery	Misdemeanour
169	Organisation opposing the foundations of Islam	Felony
170	Joining such an organisation	Felony
171	Opposing the foundations of Islam	Felony
172	Holding a meeting for such purposes	Felony
173	Holding materials to promote such purposes	Misdemeanour
174	Financing such purposes	Misdemeanour
175	Unlicensed alcoholic beverages	Misdemeanour
176	Consuming alcohol in a public place	Misdemeanour
177	Serving alcohol to a person under 21	Misdemeanour

Eleventh: Offences Against the Family

#	Offence	Classification
178	Removing or concealing a newborn child	Felony
179	Refusing to hand over a child	Misdemeanour
180	Abduction of a minor by a parent or grandparent	Misdemeanour
181	Failing to pay adjudged maintenance	Misdemeanour

Twelfth: Offences Against Life, Liberty and Endangerment

#	Offence	Classification
182	Wilful homicide	Felony
183	Homicide with premeditation or lying in wait	Felony
184	Attempted suicide	Misdemeanour
185	Inciting or assisting suicide	Felony or misdemeanour
186	Assault causing death	Felony
187	Wilfully causing permanent disability	Felony
188	Assault resulting in permanent disability	Felony
189	Assault causing illness or incapacity	Misdemeanour
190	Abortion with consent	Misdemeanour
191	Abortion without consent	Felony
192	Assault by a group of three or more	Misdemeanour
193	Manslaughter	Misdemeanour
194	Negligent bodily harm	Misdemeanour
195	Abduction and deprivation of liberty	Felony
196	Enslavement and dealing in a person	Felony
197	Compelling a person to work	Misdemeanour
198	Endangering the public	Misdemeanour
199	Endangering a minor or an incapable person	Felony or misdemeanour
200	Endangering a child under 7 in a populated place	Misdemeanour
201	Threat to commit a felony coupled with a demand	Felony
202	Threat to commit a felony	Misdemeanour
203	Threat by word or gesture	Misdemeanour
204	Carrying a bladed instrument in threatening circumstances	Misdemeanour

Thirteenth: Offences Against Honour

#	Offence	Classification
205	Rape	Felony
206	Indecent assault	Felony or misdemeanour
207	Consensual intercourse between adults	Misdemeanour
208	Intercourse or sexual contact with a person under 18	Felony
209	Intercourse resulting in the birth of a child	Misdemeanour
210	Public indecency	Misdemeanour
211	Accosting a female in a manner offending modesty	Misdemeanour
212	Disguise as a woman or entering a women’s area	Misdemeanour
213	Sexual harassment	Misdemeanour
214	Inciting immorality in a public road	Misdemeanour
215	Public enticement to debauchery	Misdemeanour
216	Materials offending public morals	Misdemeanour
217	Enticement or inducement to debauchery or prostitution	Misdemeanour, felony if victim under 18
218	Inciting prostitution by coercion	Felony
219	Running a place for debauchery or prostitution	Felony
220	Exploiting the prostitution of another	Felony
221	Habitual practice of debauchery	Felony

Fourteenth: Offences Against Reputation and Private Life

#	Offence	Classification
222	Defamation	Misdemeanour
223	Insult	Misdemeanour
224	Defamation or insult in the victim’s presence	Misdemeanour
225	Violation of private or family life	Felony or misdemeanour
226	Disclosing professional secrets	Felony or misdemeanour
227	Opening a letter or intercepting a call	Misdemeanour
228	Copying or distributing content obtained at work	Misdemeanour

Fifteenth: Offences Against Property

#	Offence	Classification
229	Aggravated theft	Felony
230	Theft on the public road	Felony
231	Theft by coercion or armed threat	Felony
232	Theft of armed forces weapons	Felony
233	Theft at night or by an armed person	Felony or misdemeanour
234	Theft by an employee at the workplace	Felony
235	Theft in places of worship or dwellings	Misdemeanour
236	Simple theft	Misdemeanour
237	Misappropriating telecommunication services	Misdemeanour
238	Using a vehicle without the owner’s permission	Misdemeanour
239	Obtaining a document by force	Felony
240	Extortion	Misdemeanour
241	Fraud	Misdemeanour
242	Disposing of property not owned	Misdemeanour
243	Exploiting the need of a minor	Misdemeanour
244	Breach of trust	Misdemeanour
245	Appropriating lost property	Misdemeanour
246	Misappropriating pledged or attached property	Misdemeanour
247	Concealing property derived from a crime	Felony or misdemeanour
248	Lending at interest	Misdemeanour
249	Habitual lending at interest	Felony
250	Gambling	Misdemeanour
251	Running a gambling establishment	Felony
252	Destroying another’s property	Felony or misdemeanour
253	Destroying trees and crops	Felony or misdemeanour
254	Destroying agricultural machinery	Felony or misdemeanour
255	Killing or injuring livestock	Misdemeanour
256	Destroying or poisoning fish	Misdemeanour
257	Leaving an animal loose	Misdemeanour
258	Destroying boundary markers	Misdemeanour
259	Killing or poisoning a domestic animal	Misdemeanour
260	Cruelty to a pet animal	Misdemeanour
261	Negligently wounding livestock	Misdemeanour
262	Violating the sanctity of another’s property	Misdemeanour
263	Begging	Misdemeanour
264	Running organised begging	Misdemeanour
265	Participating in organised begging	Misdemeanour

In practice: The characterisation recorded in the charge sheet determines the applicable provision and the prescribed penalty, and many cases are decided by contesting the legal characterisation rather than denying the act itself. The first thing to request on receiving any summons is the characterisation and the report number.

Have you received a summons or a criminal report? The team at AWADH ALMHEIRI LAW FIRM AND LEGAL CONSULTATIONS reviews the legal characterisation and builds the defence from the police record stage, and represents you before the Public Prosecution and the courts at every level.

Frequently asked questions

QWhat is the difference between a felony, a misdemeanour and a contravention?

The distinction rests on the gravity of the penalty prescribed by the text, not on the label given to the act. A felony is punishable by retribution, the death penalty, life or temporary imprisonment; a misdemeanour by detention or a fine exceeding AED 10,000 or blood money; and a contravention by short custody or the lesser fine.

QCan a misdemeanour become a felony?

Yes. The characterisation is elevated where an aggravating circumstance applies, such as use of a weapon, multiple offenders, commission at night, the capacity of the offender or the gravity of the outcome. That is why the second column states the prevailing classification rather than a conclusive one.

QDoes the complainant’s waiver end the case?

Not in every offence. The legislator has treated settlement and waiver as grounds for extinguishing the action in a defined category only, and a waiver takes effect solely where it is made by the person entitled to it and is documented before a final judgment is issued.

QDoes this list cover every offence in the country?

No. It is confined to the offences set out in the UAE Crimes and Penalties Law and its amendments. Cybercrime, narcotics, cheque, money laundering, human trafficking and traffic offences are each governed by their own legislation and have separate articles in this series.

Legal disclaimer

This article has been prepared to promote legal awareness and public understanding. It does not constitute legal advice or an opinion on any particular set of facts, and no relationship of retainer or representation arises from reading it. The outcome of every case differs according to its facts, its documents and the provisions applicable at the time it is examined, and legislative amendments may occur after the date of publication. Reference to a licensed lawyer is recommended before taking any step. This article is based on Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law, issued on 20 September 2021 and in force from 2 January 2022, together with its amendments in force at the date of publication. Where translated versions exist, the Arabic text is authoritative and prevails in the event of any discrepancy.

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