Registering a DIFC will: what the appointment involves
A DIFC will is registered at an appointment booked through the Wills Service portal. It can be held by video conference or in person, it is signed electronically either way, and DIFC Courts states it "should take approximately 20 minutes". You need two witnesses who are not beneficiaries or guardians, and enough English to sign without a translator. The registered will exists only in electronic form - the court keeps no paper copy.
Decide which will first, because it sets the fee
DIFC Courts publishes six will types, and the choice is the first thing the appointment depends on. A Full Will covers a range of assets and can include guardianship. The narrower ones cover one kind of thing: up to five UAE properties, up to ten bank or brokerage accounts held at a UAE branch, up to five shareholdings in a UAE-incorporated company, guardianship of children alone, or digital assets.
The registration fee follows from that choice rather than from the size of the estate. A Full Will is published at AED 10,000; every narrower will except the Property Will is published at AED 5,000. Those are the court’s fees, not the cost of preparing the document.
Booking and signing
DIFC Courts states that "All Will registration appointments must be scheduled online through the Wills Service portal". There is no walk-in route.
The appointment itself can be virtual, by video conference, or in person at the Wills Service office. Both are signed electronically - the virtual option is not a lesser version, and it is what makes the route workable for someone who does not live here.
On timing, the court states the appointment "in person and online, should take approximately 20 minutes". That is the signing session, not the work of deciding what the will should say.
Source: DIFC Courts, Wills FAQ
Your two witnesses
This is the condition people most often arrive at unprepared. DIFC Courts states: "You will need to provide two (2) Witnesses who are not named as a beneficiary or guardian."
They must be at least 18 and hold valid government-issued photo identification. For a virtual appointment they may be located anywhere in the world, which removes the obvious difficulty of finding two qualifying people in the same room.
The exclusion is the part worth reading twice: someone who inherits under the will, or who is named to look after your children, cannot witness it. For couples registering mirror wills that usually rules out the most convenient candidates.
Source: DIFC Courts, Wills FAQ
Language, and why you cannot bring a translator
DIFC Courts states: "The DIFC Courts Wills Service presently does not accept translators or POA for Will signing appointments. Testators and Witnesses must have a basic grasp of the English language."
Two consequences. Someone who cannot follow the appointment in English cannot solve it by bringing an interpreter to the session. And you cannot send an attorney under a power of attorney to sign in your place - a will is not a document the DIFC route lets anyone else execute for you.
Source: DIFC Courts, Wills FAQ
Where the will lives afterwards
There is no paper original to lose. DIFC Courts states that "The Wills, in their electronic format, are considered to be the original Wills", and that the service "does not register or hold any hard copies".
That answers a question people ask in the wrong direction - where to store the will safely. On this route the registry holds the original and it is electronic; what your executor needs is to know the will exists and where it was registered.
Source: DIFC Courts, Wills FAQ
Changing, replacing or withdrawing it
A registered will is not edited. DIFC Courts handles a change by registering a new will, and publishes a fee of "AED 550 per Will" for a modification.
A will can also be taken out of the registry entirely: "A Will and any other documents may be withdrawn from the Registry by the Testator by an application." A cancellation fee of "AED 1,000 per Will is non-refundable".
So the practical planning point is that circumstances changing - a new property, a marriage, a child - means another appointment rather than an amendment.
Source: DIFC Courts, Wills FAQ
What happens when the will is needed
DIFC Courts describes the first step simply: "In the event of your death, your executor should contact the DIFC Courts with a copy of the death certificate, following which they will be guided through the Probate process."
The court publishes a Grant of Probate fee of "USD 1,500" and states that, where matters are straightforward, a grant "is normally issued within a matter of a few weeks".
We quote that as the court’s own wording about straightforward cases. It is not a commitment about any particular estate, and we are not in a position to promise a timeline for one.
Source: DIFC Courts, Wills FAQ
Questions
Can I register a DIFC will without coming to Dubai?
DIFC Courts offers a virtual appointment by video conference, signed electronically, and separately states that residency in the UAE is not required to register. Both facts are published; together they are why the route is used by owners who live elsewhere.
Who can be a witness?
Two people who are not named in the will as a beneficiary or a guardian, each at least 18 and holding valid government-issued photo ID. For a virtual appointment they can be anywhere in the world.
How long does the appointment take?
DIFC Courts states the registration appointment, in person or online, "should take approximately 20 minutes".
Can someone sign the will for me under a power of attorney?
No. DIFC Courts states the Wills Service "does not accept translators or POA for Will signing appointments".
What does it cost to change a DIFC will later?
A modification is made by signing a new will, at a published "AED 550 per Will". Withdrawing a will from the registry carries a non-refundable "AED 1,000 per Will".
Do I get a paper copy?
The court states the electronic wills "are considered to be the original Wills" and that it "does not register or hold any hard copies".
What this page does not do
- Everything here is what DIFC Courts publishes about its own registration process. None of it is a statement that a will is valid, enforceable, or sufficient for your estate.
- The probate timing quoted is the court’s description of straightforward cases. It is not a prediction about any particular estate and must not be read as one.
- Fees and conditions change without notice. Each figure is dated in our source registry and the DIFC Courts page is the version that counts.
- The Deedbox is not a law firm and not a notary office. Whether this route suits your circumstances is a legal question.