The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) keeps a register of wills for the persons covered by Abu Dhabi's civil family law. Its Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court registers and enforces civil wills where the estate or the assets left in the will are in the UAE.
The law defines those persons as non-Muslim foreigners and non-Muslim UAE nationals. A registered will can cover all the assets a person holds in the UAE, not only those in Abu Dhabi.
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts keep a separate wills registry, which this page covers in one short section.
Key Takeaways
- The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) keeps a register of wills, and its Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court registers and enforces civil wills where the estate or the assets left in the will are in the UAE.
- Abu Dhabi's civil family law covers non-Muslim foreigners and non-Muslim UAE nationals, men and women, and the ADJD's register holds the wills of the persons the law covers.
- A testator the law covers, that is the person making the will, may leave all the assets they hold in the UAE to anyone they choose, not only assets in Abu Dhabi.
What is the ADJD civil wills registry?
Which court keeps the register, and under which law?
The ADJD keeps the register, and its Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court is the court that registers and enforces civil wills. The ADJD office that handles them is its Civil Wills department.
The legal basis is Abu Dhabi Law No. 14 of 2021 on civil marriage and its effects in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as amended later in 2021. It is Abu Dhabi's civil family law, and besides marriage it sets the rules on wills and inheritance for the persons it covers. This page calls it the Abu Dhabi law from here on.
Whom does the law cover?
The Abu Dhabi law covers non-Muslim foreigners and non-Muslim UAE nationals, men and women. For wills and inheritance, it applies where the estate or the assets left in the will are in the UAE.
Is it the same as the DIFC Courts Wills Service?
No. The ADJD registry and the DIFC Courts Wills Service are separate registries under different laws. The ADJD registry works under the Abu Dhabi law, and the DIFC Courts Wills Service under Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017. Both registries are open to non-Muslims.
The DIFC route has its own conditions, which our guide to registering a DIFC will sets out.
What can an ADJD will cover?
Under the Abu Dhabi law, a testator the law covers may leave all the assets they hold in the UAE to anyone they choose. The registry sits in Abu Dhabi, but the assets covered are those in the UAE, not only those in Abu Dhabi.
The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court publishes a standard will template in English and Arabic. Using it is optional. The ADJD says a testator may instead instruct a lawyer who specialises in wills and probate.
The ADJD template appoints executors and trustees, each with substitutes, and leaves the residue of the UAE estate to named beneficiaries. It can also appoint permanent and interim guardians for minor children.
How does registration work?
The ADJD pages we checked leave some practical points open, such as documents, witnesses and residence. The section "Questions the ADJD pages we checked leave open" lists them.
What are the steps?
The ADJD describes these steps:
- A request to register the will is submitted on the ADJD website, with the application and a copy of the will.
- An ADJD employee reviews the request.
- The fee is paid.
- An online appointment by video conference follows.
- If the will is approved, it is certified, notarised and entered in the will register.
All forms and procedures of the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court are in English and Arabic, and the ADJD will forms are available in both languages.
Who submits the request, and who attends?
The ADJD says the request can be submitted by the testator or by a representative under a legal power of attorney.
The registration appointment is a separate step. It is held online by video conference before the notary, and the person making the will attends online.
How is a registered ADJD will revoked?
According to the ADJD, a registered civil will is revoked with the ADJD Civil Will Revocation Form, which is signed and given a revocation number by the court's attestation officer.
What does registration cost?
The ADJD fee to register a regular will is AED 950. The ADJD also lists AED 2,500 to register a "special" will; the ADJD pages we checked on 12 November 2026 do not say what that is.
These are government registration fees charged by the ADJD. Other costs come on top, for example a lawyer's fee if the testator uses a lawyer to draft the will. The ADJD pages we checked give no figure for those other costs.
What happens on death?
That depends on whether there is a registered will.
What happens with a registered will?
According to the ADJD, the executor asks the ADJD to affix the executive wording stamp on the registered will. The applicant pays the fees set in the judicial fees schedule, and the stamp gives the will full force so that execution can start.
What happens without a registered will?
If a person the Abu Dhabi law covers dies with an estate in the UAE and no registered will, the Abu Dhabi law divides the estate. Half goes to the surviving spouse and half to the children in equal shares, with no distinction between sons and daughters. Where there are no children, the Abu Dhabi law's text and the ADJD's FAQ both name the deceased's parents and, in some cases, the siblings as heirs. As checked on 12 November 2026, they word the parents' and siblings' shares differently, so this page does not say how the estate is then split; the Civil Wills department can answer. The same law lets any heir ask that the law applicable to estates under the Civil Transactions Law be applied instead of the shares the Abu Dhabi law sets, unless a registered will says otherwise.
What do the ADGM foundation rules say about forced heirship?
Forced heirship is any rule of law that hands named relatives a fixed share of an estate regardless of what the will says. Under the Abu Dhabi law, a testator it covers may leave all their UAE assets to anyone they choose. Foundations set up in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) are governed by the ADGM Foundations Regulations 2017.
Under those rules, a transfer to an ADGM foundation is not void because of a foreign rule of forced heirship, and inconsistent foreign judgments are not recognised. A transfer can still be set aside where the founder, the person who set up the foundation, was insolvent or intended to defraud.
Our guide to the ADGM foundation rules covers the regime in more detail, and our DIFC will guide explains how a will and a foundation work together.
Questions the ADJD pages we checked leave open
We checked the ADJD's web pages, forms and publications and the Abu Dhabi Official Gazette texts on 12 November 2026. They do not settle the points below. The ADJD's online service page and the TAMM portal, an official Abu Dhabi online channel, could not be read in that check.
- Residence. The ADJD pages and forms we checked on 12 November 2026 do not set a residence rule. The point is unclear, and the ADJD's Civil Wills department can answer.
- Documents and login. The ADJD pages and forms we checked on 12 November 2026 do not say whether identity papers or other documents are needed, or whether a UAE Pass login is needed; the ADJD's online service page could not be read in that check. The point is unclear, and the Civil Wills department can answer.
- Witnesses. The ADJD pages and forms we checked on 12 November 2026 do not set a witness rule for ADJD wills. The point is unclear, and the Civil Wills department can answer.
- Arabic translation. The ADJD pages and forms we checked on 12 November 2026 do not say whether a will drafted outside the template must be translated into Arabic. The point is unclear, and the Civil Wills department can answer.
- Assets outside the UAE. The ADJD's FAQ and the law's wording, as checked on 12 November 2026, point in different directions on assets outside the UAE, so this page does not say either way. The Civil Wills department can answer.
The ADJD gives wills.non-muslim@adjd.gov.ae as the contact address of its Civil Wills department.
Next steps
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The facts on this page come from the ADJD's civil family court, wills and FAQ pages and forms and the Abu Dhabi Official Gazette (checked on 12 November 2026), the DIFC Courts wills pages and the Dubai law that governs the DIFC Courts Wills Service (10 November 2026) and the ADGM Foundations Regulations 2017 (8 November 2026).
Written by
Amine Derag
Director of Strategy, Ancova Associates
Amine Derag is Director of Strategy at Ancova Associates, the Dubai advisory firm for company formation, residency, citizenship by investment, and cross-border tax structuring. He advises founders and private clients relocating to the UAE on how a UAE structure interacts with their home-country tax and reporting obligations.
Connect on LinkedInThis article is general information for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, financial, or immigration advice. Investment thresholds, processing times, and program terms change. Speak with a qualified Ancova adviser before acting.
