If you live in Dubai and are not Muslim, you can register your will with the DIFC Courts Wills Service, the Dubai Courts or the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD). The DIFC registers wills in English for people at least 18 years old who are not and have never been Muslim and who own assets in the UAE or have minor children living with them there. ADJD says it also takes the will of anyone who is not a UAE citizen, regardless of religion.

If you live in the UAE and own a flat or land in India, our advice is to make two wills. Register one in the UAE for your UAE assets, and make a separate Indian will for the flat or land, limited to your Indian assets so that it does not revoke the will you register in the UAE. That property passes under Indian law wherever you lived, so registering in the UAE does not settle it.

Where this page sits

The DIFC's fee for each of its six will forms is set out in the cost of making a will in Dubai.

Related guides:

• Can an NRI make a will in India?
• Guardianship will in the UAE

How Do You Register a Will in Dubai?

You can register a will at the DIFC Courts Wills Service or the Dubai Courts in Dubai, or with ADJD in Abu Dhabi. At the DIFC Courts Wills Service, you book online and sign the will electronically, with your two witnesses attending in person or by video, though a Guardianship Will's pre-registration checks are in person only. ADJD takes your request on its website and holds the appointment by video conference. The Dubai Courts register a non-Muslim's will that is signed in front of two witnesses and meets the other conditions of Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017.

We recommend registering your will. Under Article 18 of Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017, a will registered with the Dubai Courts or the DIFC Courts is carried out by a written court order, and an unregistered will only by a court judgment on the beneficiary's written application.

Which Registry Should You Use?

For will registration in Dubai, the registry depends on whether you are, or have ever been, Muslim, on whether you meet the DIFC's age and UAE asset conditions, on the language you want to sign in and on the fee.

How Does DIFC Will Registration Work, Step by Step?

You register a DIFC will at one appointment of about 20 minutes, booked on the Wills Service portal. The Full Will covers movable and immovable property in the UAE, including assets you acquire later. The Property, Business Owners and Financial Assets Wills are online templates for UAE assets that cover only the assets they list, and there are separate Guardianship and Digital Assets Wills.

Because the DIFC does not accept codicils, you change a registered will by signing a new one at a modification appointment, which costs AED 550 per will. Spouses can register mirror wills, which are separate wills signed in one appointment.

How Do You Register With ADJD or the Dubai Courts?

At ADJD, you or a representative under a legal power of attorney submit the request on its website. An ADJD employee reviews the request, you pay the fee and book a video-conference appointment, and if ADJD approves the will, it is certified and notarised. ADJD says a civil will must be registered to be recognised as legally valid.

Under Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017, a will goes on the Dubai Courts register only if the testator is not Muslim and the will is valid. The will must name an executor and say how the property is to be disposed of, and its text must be unaltered; you sign, seal or fingerprint it in front of two witnesses and pay the fees. Confirm the booking route, the document checklist and the fee with the Dubai Courts before you apply.

What Documents Do You Need to Register a Will in Dubai?

At the DIFC, every will needs your valid passport, your Emirates ID if you have one, and your two witnesses' passports.

Your DIFC witnesses must be at least 18, hold a valid passport or government photo ID and have a basic grasp of English, and they cannot be a beneficiary, a guardian, or the spouse of a beneficiary or guardian. The executors and guardians you name need not live in the UAE.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will in the UAE?

If a non-Muslim covered by Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 dies without a will, half of the estate goes to the husband or wife and the other half is shared equally among the children. Under Article 11(3) of that law, an heir of a foreigner may instead ask for the law that applies to the estate under the UAE Civil Code, unless there is a registered will to the contrary.

The Decree-Law gives you the right to leave a will over all the property you own in the UAE, and none of its articles requires you to make one.

Does a Dubai Will Cover Your Property in India?

A will registered in Dubai does not settle the succession to a flat or land in India. Section 5(1) of the Indian Succession Act 1925 provides that succession to immovable property in India "shall be regulated by the law of India, wherever such person may have had his domicile at the time of his death".

A drafted DIFC Full Will may include assets outside the UAE, but the DIFC says that carrying it out abroad is subject to the law where the assets are, and that its enforcement there is not guaranteed. We recommend the route the Consulate General of India in Dubai describes: a will made in the UAE for your UAE assets only, and a separate will for your property in India.

How Do You Stop Your Indian Will Cancelling Your Dubai Will?

Limit the Indian will to your Indian assets, with a clause that revokes only earlier wills about those assets, so that it does not revoke the will you registered in the UAE.

A later will can revoke an earlier one in either country. Under DIFC Rule 18(1)(a), a DIFC will is revoked by a later validly executed will that expressly or impliedly revokes it, whether or not the later will complies with the DIFC Rules, and section 70 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 lets another will revoke an Indian will. If you already have a will in India, check what a DIFC will would do to it.

A registered Indian will is entered in Book 3, the register of wills, at the Sub-Registrar under section 51(1) of the Registration Act 1908. After your death, anyone may apply under section 57 of that Act for a copy signed and sealed by the registering officer, which is admissible to prove the contents of the original.

FAQs

How much does it cost to register a will in Dubai?

The DIFC charges AED 5,000 to AED 15,000 depending on the will form and on whether a couple registers mirror wills, and the 5 per cent VAT does not apply to its will registration fees. ADJD's information sheet gives its civil will fee as AED 950, which you confirm for your will with ADJD, and the Dubai Courts charge a fee set by Dubai Executive Council resolution, which you also confirm with them before booking.

Can I register a will in Dubai if I do not live in the UAE?

You can register at the DIFC without living in the UAE or holding a UAE visa if you are at least 18, are not and have never been Muslim, and own assets in the UAE or have minor children living in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah. You can sign by video, though a Guardianship Will's pre-registration checks are in person only. ADJD's pages do not say whether a non-resident may register; you can ask its Civil Wills department at wills.non-muslim@adjd.gov.ae.

What is the difference between a DIFC will and a Dubai Courts will?

A DIFC will is registered in English for a testator who is at least 18, is not and has never been Muslim, and owns assets in the UAE or has minor children living there, and it is signed electronically. A will on the Dubai Courts register is a non-Muslim's will signed in front of two witnesses, and a document a Dubai notary processes must be in Arabic, bilingual, or carry a certified Arabic translation.

Can my Dubai will cover my flat in India?

Section 5(1) of the Indian Succession Act 1925 applies Indian law to succession to immovable property in India, wherever the owner lived, so a UAE will does not settle your flat. The Consulate General of India in Dubai points out that expatriates can make a UAE will for UAE assets and a separate will for their Indian property.

How long does a DIFC will registration take?

The DIFC says its registration appointment takes about 20 minutes, and you download the registered will when the signing is complete. It does not publish how long you wait for an appointment.

Does marriage revoke a DIFC will?

Marriage after registration revokes a DIFC will unless the will itself shows that you were expecting to marry and did not intend the marriage to revoke it. Divorce cancels only the gifts and appointments to the former spouse.