How to Register a DIFC Will: Step by Step, With Real Costs
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Official registration fees: AED 10,000 for a single Full Will, AED 15,000 for mirror wills (couples). Narrower will types cost less: standalone Guardianship at AED 5,000 single, and template-based Property, Financial Assets, and Business Owners wills in the same lower tier.
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Professional drafting is separate, typically AED 3,000 to 6,000, so a complete single Full Will realistically costs AED 13,000 to 16,000 all-in.
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The whole process takes roughly 2 to 4 weeks and can be done entirely remotely: the DIFC's virtual registry lets you sign by video conference from anywhere, and UAE residency is not required.
Registering a DIFC will is closer to a structured admin task than a legal odyssey. Here is the full sequence, the real costs, and the decisions that matter at each step.
Step 0: Confirm eligibility and pick the right will type
You must be non-Muslim and of adult age under the registry's rules (the long-standing criterion is 21+; confirm current eligibility when booking), with assets in the UAE or minor children here. Then choose the instrument:
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Full Will: the default choice. Covers all UAE assets you own at death without listing each one, so new accounts and properties are automatically included, and it can carry guardianship provisions. Optionally extendable to worldwide assets (foreign enforcement is case-by-case, which is why the two-will structure usually remains the answer for cross-border estates).
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Guardianship Will: standalone nomination of guardians for children under 21 residing in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah. The economical choice if a home-country will already handles assets.
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Property Will: specific UAE real estate only (listed, so it needs updating when holdings change).
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Financial Assets Will: up to ten UAE bank or brokerage accounts.
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Business Owners Will: shares in UAE companies; worth pairing with legal advice because shareholder agreements and free-zone rules interact.
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Digital Assets Will: the registry's newer instrument for crypto and digital assets.
The template-based narrow wills are cheaper but must be maintained; the Full Will costs more once and stays current by design.
Step 1: Draft
You can draft yourself, but most people engage a practitioner from the registry's published list; the rules impose minimum formal requirements (executor appointment, two witnesses who aren't beneficiaries, prescribed formalities) and a defective will is an unenforceable one. Drafting runs AED 3,000 to 6,000 depending on complexity. Decisions to make before the call, not during it: executor (plus a substitute), beneficiaries with alternates (mirror wills without alternate beneficiaries fall back to the statutory default if both spouses die), guardians (interim and permanent, same names in both mirror wills), and specific gifts. Our UAE Will Checklist walks the full decision list and asset inventory.
Step 2: Book and pay
Registration is booked with the DIFC Courts Wills Service; the government fee is collected at booking, and the fees are VAT-exempt. Bring or upload valid ID (passport; Emirates ID if resident).
Step 3: Sign, witness, register
At an in-person appointment in the DIFC or by video conference through the virtual registry, you confirm capacity and sign before two witnesses under the registry's procedure; providers commonly supply witnesses for virtual signings. The will is then registered and stored electronically. End to end from first draft, 2 to 4 weeks is typical; urgent drafting is purchasable.
Costs summary (registration, official; drafting, typical market)
| Item | Single | Mirror |
|---|---|---|
| Full Will | AED 10,000 | AED 15,000 |
| Guardianship Will | AED 5,000 | AED 7,500 |
| Property / Financial / Business (template) | ~AED 5,000 | ~AED 7,500 |
| Drafting (market) | AED 3,000 to 6,000 | shared/discounted |
| Later amendments | from ~AED 3,000 |
Fees change; the registry's schedule is authoritative on the day you book. The lower-cost alternative is Abu Dhabi's ADJD registry (bilingual wills from roughly AED 950 official fee, valid across the emirates, different probate mechanics); for many simple estates it's the rational budget choice, with the DIFC winning on English-law certainty, Dubai/RAK guardianship, and probate speed.
After registration: the part everyone skips
Tell your executor the will exists and where, keep your asset inventory current, revisit after every life event (marriage, child, property purchase, business formation), and remember what the will does not cover: how each account actually behaves on death is a separate mechanical question, mapped in what happens to your UAE assets and beneficiary nominations on accounts.
Sources and References
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DIFC Courts Wills Service, will types, rules, and fee schedule (difccourts.ae)
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Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017; Dubai Law No. 2 of 2025
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Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, non-Muslim wills service (adjd.gov.ae)
This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Estate planning should be reviewed with a qualified professional.
Published on 9 September 2026.