Guide

Dubai Courts guides: guide

Dubai Courts will registration: what to prepare and how it works

Dubai Courts will registration is the process of signing your will before the Dubai Courts notary so that it is attested and kept on record in Dubai. Most of the work happens before the appointment: deciding what the will says, listing your UAE assets, naming executors and guardians, and preparing the Arabic text. Our in-house notary public at our Business Bay office can notarise your will documents in person, online or at a home visit, 24/7.

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At a glance

The notary checks your identity, your capacity and your consent, and reads the content out to you (Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022, Article 7).
Arabic is the language a Dubai notary attests in. A will drafted in English needs an Arabic version by a certified translator, and you sign both texts (Dubai Law No. 4 of 2013, Article 27).
If you do not read Arabic well, an interpreter from the Ministry's Interpreter Register explains the content in your language (Article 8).
The DIFC Courts has its own notary service for DIFC matters. That is a separate route.
Our service for a will starts from AED 4,000. Government fees are paid on top.

Send your name and a short list of your UAE assets on WhatsApp +971 52 947 5935 and we send you the checklist and your price.

In this guide

What registration does, and what it does not
What to prepare
The Arabic text
Will registration, step by step
Changing a registered will
Cost
How we help

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What registration does, and what it does not

Registration puts the signed will on record, so your family does not have to prove later that the document is yours and that you signed it freely. The notary's checks at the appointment are that proof.

It does not make the contents right. If the will leaves out an asset, names an executor who cannot act, or asks for something the applicable law does not allow, the stamp does not fix it. For a complex estate, such as property in several countries, a company, or family members who may object, take legal advice on the contents first.

Checklist

What to prepare

About you

What to prepare

Full name exactly as in your passport, nationality, and Emirates ID if you are a resident.
Marital status, and the full names of your spouse and children as in their passports.

About your UAE assets

Property: the title deed details for each unit.
Bank accounts: the bank and account type.
Vehicles, shares in UAE companies, and valuable items you want to leave to a named person.

About the people in the will

Beneficiaries: who receives what, with full names and ID details.
Executor: the person who carries out the will, and a substitute.
Guardian for children under 18, and a substitute.

The Arabic text

The notary attests the will in Arabic. Wills use words with no simple Arabic match, such as "residuary estate" or "per stirpes", so the translation needs a legal translator who knows how UAE courts read those terms. Your will is translated by a legal translator registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice, and we check both versions against each other. Our legal translation page explains the process.

Step by step

Will registration, step by step

Information and choices.

You give us the details above and your decisions on who receives what.

Drafting.

The will is drafted in English, or the language you choose, and checked against your passports and title deeds.

Arabic translation by a registered legal translator, then a line by line check.

Your approval of both versions.

The appointment.

You attend with your original passport and Emirates ID. The notary confirms who you are, that you understand the will and that you sign it freely, reads it out, and attests it.

After registration.

You receive the attested will. Keep the original safe and tell your executor where it is.

Changing a registered will

Life changes: a child is born, a property is sold, a marriage ends. The usual way to change a will is to sign a new one that revokes the old. Will revocation and drafting go together, so we prepare the new will and its Arabic text the same way as the first. Keep your list of assets current so an update is quick.

Fees

Cost

Item	Amount
Our service: will file, drafting support and Arabic	From AED 4,000
Legal translation	From AED 50 per page
Federal fee for notarising a translation included in an instrument	AED 50 per page

All service prices are starting prices and are negotiable. Government fees are paid on top, at cost, exactly as the authority charges them. We confirm your final price before you pay. Other notary fees are on our fees page.

Two people checking the lines of a document before signing

How we help

We turn your notes into a will file the notary can work from: every name matched to a passport, every property matched to a title deed, and the Arabic prepared and checked. Our in-house notary public notarises your documents in person at Business Bay, in an online session where the document type allows it, or at a home visit. If you want the Dubai Courts route, we tell you what to bring. You decide what the will says and you sign it. For how the court's notary works, see our Dubai Courts notary guide.

WhatsApp us

Call +971 52 947 5935

Questions

Questions about will registration at Dubai Courts

Is a will notary the same as will registration?

A notary attests the signature and records the will. People use "will notary" and "Dubai Courts will registration" for the same appointment on the Dubai Courts route.

Can I register a will written in my home country?

A will made abroad follows the rules of the place it was made. If you want a Dubai will for your UAE assets, it is usually prepared here.

Do I need a lawyer to register a will?

The notary does not require you to have a lawyer. For a simple estate, careful preparation is enough for many people. For a complex estate, take legal advice on the contents.

Can a couple make wills together?

Each person signs their own will. Couples often make matching wills, but they are two documents and two sets of choices.

Is a will registered at Dubai Courts valid outside the UAE?

That depends on the law of the other country. MOFAIC can attest a UAE notarised document for use abroad, but each country decides whether it accepts a foreign will.