Registering a civil will in the UAE costs AED 950 in court fees through the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, AED 950 plus USD 155 through the ADGM Courts notary channel, and AED 5,000 to AED 15,000 at the DIFC Courts Wills Service depending on which type of will you register. Preparing the document is charged separately, by whoever writes it, and that is where the published numbers stop agreeing with each other.
This page keeps the two apart. Registration fees are what the authority charges, taken from the authority’s own published schedule where one exists. Preparation fees are shown as a separate line, including ours.
Figures last checked 13 September 2026.
Why the published numbers disagree
Look up what a will costs in the UAE and you will find the same route quoted at AED 950 on one page and AED 3,450 on another. Both can be accurate. They are describing different things.
A UAE will has two costs.
- The registration fee. Paid to the court or registry. Published, fixed, and identical no matter who prepared your document.
- The preparation fee. Paid to a law firm, a consultancy or a platform for drafting the will, translating it where required, and getting it into a state the registry will accept. It varies by a factor of ten.
Most published figures bundle the two and lead with the combined number, because whoever published them is also selling the preparation. That is not improper. It does make the figures useless for comparing one route against another, which is what the tables below are for.
Registration fees, by route
These are the fees the authority charges. Nobody can discount them and nobody should be adding a margin to them.
| Route | One will | Two wills | Typical wait | Paid to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADJD Civil Family Court, standard | AED 950 | AED 1,900 | Around 3 months for an appointment | ADJD |
| ADGM Courts notary channel | AED 950 plus USD 155 | AED 1,900 plus USD 310 | Around 2 weeks | ADJD and ADGM |
| DIFC Courts Wills Service, Full Will | AED 10,000 | AED 15,000 (mirror) | 2 to 4 weeks | DIFC Courts |
| DIFC Courts Wills Service, limited types | AED 5,000 to AED 7,500 | AED 7,500 to AED 10,000 | 2 to 4 weeks | DIFC Courts |
| Dubai Courts Notary Public | Not published | Not published | Not published | Dubai Courts |
Registration and court fees only. Preparation is extra on every row.
Two things worth noticing. The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive registration route is roughly elevenfold for what is, for most families, the same outcome. And ADGM is not a separate registry competing with ADJD: it is an authorised digital notarisation channel into the same ADJD system, which is why its fee sits on top of the AED 950 rather than replacing it.
DIFC fees, by will type
The DIFC publishes a fee schedule by will type. A mirror will means two wills registered by a married couple at the same appointment.
| Will type | Single | Mirror |
|---|---|---|
| Full Will, all assets | AED 10,000 | AED 15,000 |
| Property Will, up to 5 UAE properties | AED 7,500 | AED 10,000 |
| Guardianship Will, minors under 18 | AED 5,000 | AED 7,500 |
| Business Owners Will, up to 5 companies | AED 5,000 | AED 7,500 |
| Financial Assets Will, up to 10 accounts | AED 5,000 | AED 7,500 |
| Amendment, per will | AED 550 | AED 550 per will amended |
DIFC Courts Wills Service registration fees. Not subject to 5% VAT.
There are costs after registration too, which rarely appear in comparisons: cancelling a registered DIFC will is AED 1,000 per will and is non-refundable, and a grant of probate is charged separately.
What preparation costs
This is the part that moves, and the part worth actually shopping around on.
| Who prepares it | Typical fee, one will | What you are paying for |
|---|---|---|
| DIFC registered wills draftsman, Full Will | AED 3,000 to AED 6,000 | Drafting against the DIFC rules, complex estates |
| Law firm or consultancy, ADJD route | AED 800 to AED 6,000 | Drafting and certified Arabic translation |
| Online preparation platform | From around AED 800 | Guided questionnaire, document generated |
| Yourself, ADJD template | Nothing, plus translation | Your own time and your own risk of rejection |
Ranges as advertised by UAE providers in 2026. Add-ons such as urgent drafting and executor appointment are usually priced separately.
Our own position, so you can weigh it. We prepare wills on the official ADJD bilingual template for a single flat fee, currently AED 1,199 for one will and AED 1,799 for a couple, with a promotional rate running to 30 September 2026. The AED 950 court fee is not included and is never paid to us: you pay it to the court directly. Current prices are always on the pricing page rather than in this article, because articles go stale.
We only prepare for the ADJD and ADGM routes, so we are not a neutral party on which route you should take. The DIFC figures are set out above precisely so you can check our recommendation against the alternative rather than taking our word for it.
Three worked totals
Preparation plus registration, for the same family situation on three different routes.
| Situation | Route | Preparation | Registration | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One person, UAE assets, no children | ADJD standard | AED 1,199 | AED 950 | AED 2,149 |
| Couple with children, wants it done in weeks | ADGM fast-track | AED 1,799 | AED 1,900 plus USD 310 | Around AED 4,840 |
| Couple with children, Full Wills | DIFC mirror | AED 6,000 to AED 12,000 | AED 15,000 | AED 21,000 to AED 27,000 |
Illustrative. Preparation figures for the DIFC row are the published market range, not a quote.
Do this: when you get a quote from anyone, ask for the registration fee and the preparation fee as two separate numbers. If a provider will not split them, that tells you something on its own.
What we could not verify
Dubai Courts maintains a register of non-Muslim wills, created by Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017, and opened a dedicated division for non-Muslim inheritance in July 2023. Figures in the region of AED 2,150 per will circulate widely for this route. We could not trace any of them to a published Dubai Courts fee schedule. Some appear to originate in a single press quotation from several years ago. If you are considering this route, ask the Notary Public directly and treat any number you read online, including that one, as unconfirmed.
We also found the u.ae government portal still citing Federal Law 28 of 2005 and Federal Law 5 of 1985 on personal status for non-Muslims. Both have been superseded by Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022. The government portal is currently out of date on this specific topic, which is worth knowing before you rely on it.
Questions people ask
What is the cheapest way to register a will in the UAE?
The ADJD standard route, at AED 950 in court fees, is the least expensive registration available to non-Muslim expats. If you prepare the document yourself from the official template the court fee is the only unavoidable cost. The trade-off is the appointment queue, currently around three months, and the risk of rejection for something as small as a name that does not match a passport exactly.
Do I need a lawyer to write a UAE will?
Not for the ADJD route, and not for the DIFC template will types either: the DIFC permits a testator to self-draft or use a registered draftsman. The DIFC recommends professional drafting for a Full Will. A lawyer is a choice about complexity and risk, not a legal requirement.
Is a DIFC will worth ten times the registration fee?
For some people. The DIFC is a common law jurisdiction with its own probate registry, English-language process, and a long track record with international estates. If you have a complex cross-border estate or corporate structures, that framework may be worth the fee. For an expat family with a bank account, an end-of-service entitlement, a car and children, it is a lot of money for the same practical outcome.
Is VAT charged on top?
DIFC Wills registration fees are not subject to 5% VAT. Preparation fees charged by a UAE provider generally are, so check whether a quoted preparation price includes it.
What does it cost to change a will later?
A DIFC amendment is AED 550 per will plus the draftsman’s fee. On the ADJD route a change means registering afresh and paying the court fee again. Either way, budget for it: a will written before a second child or a property purchase is a will that will need revisiting.
How we checked these figures
Registration fees for DIFC come from the DIFC Courts published fee schedule. The ADJD fee of AED 950 and the ADGM authority fee of USD 155 are the fees charged on the routes we prepare wills for and are what our own clients pay. Preparation ranges are taken from prices advertised publicly by UAE providers in 2026 and are ranges, not quotes. Anything we could not trace to a source is marked as unverified above rather than quietly rounded into a table.
We review this page quarterly and restate the date at the top when we do. If you find a figure here that is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.
Knowing the number is not the same as having the will.
We prepare UAE civil wills on the official Abu Dhabi Judicial Department template and walk you through registering it yourself, so the court fee stays yours and the will stays unambiguously your own.
We prepare will documents. We are not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Fees set by courts and authorities change without notice, so confirm the current figure with the authority before you rely on it.