Dubai Courts Will — the local registration route
Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017 provides for a register of non-Muslim Wills at the Dubai Courts, alongside the one at the DIFC Courts. This is the Dubai Courts route, prepared in Arabic and English.
AED 1,499 · Our professional fee · Arabic + English included · Government fees quoted separately
What it is
A Will registered with the Dubai Courts rather than the DIFC Courts. Both registers are named in the same Law, and which one you use decides which court hears a dispute about the Will later.
Who it is for
Non-Muslims with assets or family in Dubai who want the local register rather than the DIFC one.
Dubai Courts is a register named in the Law, not an informal alternative
Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017 governs the administration of estates and the implementation of Wills of non-Muslims in the Emirate. Article 3 states that it applies to all Wills and estates of non-Muslims in Dubai, including in the Dubai International Financial Centre — one Law over both.
Article 6 provides for a register of non-Muslim Wills kept at the Dubai Courts and at the DIFC Courts. That is the point most comparisons miss: these are two registers under the same Law, not a formal route and a fallback.
Source: Dubai Law No. (15) of 2017, Articles 3 and 6, official Dubai legislation portal
What the Law requires before a Will is registered
Article 8 sets out the conditions for registration. The testator must be non-Muslim. The Will must nominate an Executor and state how the property is to be disposed of. The testator must have signed it, or affixed a seal or fingerprint, in the presence of two witnesses. The text must carry no alterations. The prescribed fees must be paid.
Article 7 deals with how a Will is made: in writing, or — where the testator is unable to write — by meaningful verbal expressions or intelligible signs.
Two things these conditions are not. They are not a test of whether a Will is sufficient for a particular estate — that is a legal question and a different one. And they are not a description of what happens at the counter today: a statute says what it requires, not how an authority currently operates the service, and implementation, later legislation and Executive Council resolutions can all move in between. So read the two-witness requirement as what the Law sets down, not as an instruction for your appointment. We check the current requirement with the court for your case.
Source: Dubai Law No. (15) of 2017, Articles 7 and 8, official Dubai legislation portal
Where you register decides which court hears a dispute later
This is the part of the choice that is easiest to overlook and hardest to undo. Article 29 provides that jurisdiction follows the place of registration: depending on where the Will is registered, the Dubai Courts or the DIFC Courts will have jurisdiction over it.
Article 33 deals with Wills already on either register when the Law took effect: Wills of non-Muslims registered with the Dubai Courts or the DIFC Courts before that date are deemed valid as if made under the Law.
Which forum suits a particular estate is a legal question and we do not answer it. What we can tell you is that the choice of register is also a choice of court, so it is worth making deliberately rather than by default.
Source: Dubai Law No. (15) of 2017, Articles 29 and 33, official Dubai legislation portal
What Dubai Courts publishes about its own role
Dubai Courts' Personal Status Court page lists its competencies, and Wills appear among them: certifying marriage contracts for Muslims and civil marriage contracts for non-Muslims, statements related to wills, issuing legal notifications, determining heirs, and registering estate files to list and distribute them and to approve agreements related to them.
The same page lists personal status for non-Muslims, pecuniary status for non-Muslims and estates of non-Muslims as distinct competencies, and separately covers the inclusion and exclusion of a non-Muslim heir.
Why nobody can quote you the court's fee from the Law
Article 32 is the reason, and it is worth knowing because it explains an absence rather than hiding one. It provides that for the services it gives under this Law, the Dubai Courts charges the fees prescribed by a resolution of the Chairman of the Executive Council — and the DIFC Courts the fees prescribed by a resolution of the Chairman of the DIFC.
The Law sets who fixes the fee. It does not state the amount. So a figure for this route cannot be derived from the statute, and we will not carry one over from another route or from a summary. We ask the court and quote you its fee separately from ours.
Source: Dubai Law No. (15) of 2017, Article 32, official Dubai legislation portal
What Dubai Courts does not publish, and what we do about it
We hold no Dubai Courts page setting out, for registering a Will: who is eligible beyond the Law's own conditions, which documents to bring, what the court charges, the steps in order, how long it takes, or whether any part of it can be done remotely.
DIFC Courts publishes all of that for its route, and the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department publishes its procedure. We are not going to even out the comparison by taking those details from a commercial summary or a law firm's blog, because a number that is wrong is worse than a number we admit we do not have.
So we confirm the current requirements, cost and timing with Dubai Courts for your case before you commit to this route, and we quote the court's fee separately from ours the moment we have it. If the published detail matters more to you than the register does, the DIFC page sets out what that registry publishes.
How it works
- Complete the online questionnaire in English.
- We produce a bilingual draft for your review.
- We check the draft against the assets and wishes you have given us.
- Sign and register through Dubai Courts, on the route the court confirms for your case.
- The original and registered copy are kept in your Deedbox.
What is included
- Bilingual Arabic and English draft
- A check against the registration conditions the Law sets out
- Signing and registration coordinated with Dubai Courts
What is not included
- Assets outside Dubai unless separately covered
- Sharia-compliant estate planning (this is a non-Muslim route)
- Advice on which register is right for your estate, or on whether a Will is valid
What this page does not tell you
- Everything above is paraphrased from Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017 and from Dubai Courts' own published competencies, both dated in our source registry and last verified 19 September 2026. Where we describe the Law we cite the article, so you can read it yourself.
- We work from the official English version on the Dubai legislation portal. That portal carries its own notice: for interpretation and application, reference must be made to the original Arabic text, and in case of conflict the Arabic prevails. Nothing here should be treated as the operative wording.
- A statute says what it requires; it does not say how an authority runs the service this month. Where this page describes the Law it is describing the Law, and we confirm the current operational requirements with Dubai Courts before you act on anything as a procedure.
- We publish no Dubai Courts registration fee, required-document list, procedure or timing, because we do not hold one from the court. The absence is deliberate. Anyone quoting you those figures from a page that is not the court's own is guessing.
- Nothing here states that a Will is valid, that it is effective over a particular estate, or which register is right for you. Those are legal questions, they are not answered by the registration conditions in Article 8, and they need a lawyer.
- The Deedbox is not a law firm, not a notary and not Dubai Courts. We prepare the document and coordinate the steps; the court applies its own requirements and makes its own decisions.
Common questions
Can I sign a Dubai Courts Will from abroad?
We do not hold a published Dubai Courts page stating whether Wills may be signed remotely on this route, so we will not tell you that they can. The Law requires the testator to sign, seal or fingerprint the Will in the presence of two witnesses; how the court arranges that is the court's to state. We confirm the current position with Dubai Courts for your case before you commit. Where remote signing is the deciding factor, the DIFC route publishes a virtual appointment and we will say so.
Is this the same as a DIFC Will?
No, and the difference is not formality — it is forum. Article 6 of Dubai Law No. 15 of 2017 provides for a register of non-Muslim Wills at the Dubai Courts and at the DIFC Courts, so both are registers under the same Law. Article 29 then ties jurisdiction to the place of registration, which means choosing the register is choosing the court that would hear a dispute about the Will. The practical difference today is how much each publishes: DIFC Courts publishes its will types, conditions and fees; we hold no equivalent published page for this route.
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