ADJD will registration: the step-by-step process for expats

By MyHaven Team·Published 7 September 2026·7 minute read

Registering a will with the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department is the route most non-Muslim expats in the UAE take when they want their own wishes to decide what happens to their UAE assets. This guide walks the whole thing end to end: who can use it, what you prepare, how the appointment works, and what you hold at the end.

What the ADJD is

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, usually shortened to ADJD, is the judicial authority of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Among the services it runs is a register for the wills of non-Muslims. Under Federal Decree-Law 41 of 2022 on civil personal status, non-Muslims in the UAE may choose how their estate is distributed rather than have the default rules applied, and a will recorded in the register is how that choice is put on the record.

The important practical point is that a will registered in Abu Dhabi is not an Abu Dhabi will in the narrow sense. It covers assets held across the UAE, which is why people living in Dubai, Sharjah or Ras Al Khaimah register there. You can read the department’s own service listing at adjd.gov.ae.

Who can register a will there

The register is for non-Muslims. Beyond that, two things decide whether this is the right route for you.

• You are 21 or older. Twenty-one is the age the ADJD form itself uses for the person making the will, and it is the age MyHaven checks before drafting anything.
• You have assets in the UAE. Property, bank accounts, a vehicle, shares in a company, valuables. You do not have to live here. Someone who moved away but still owns a flat in Dubai is exactly the person this route is built for.

Inheritance for a Muslim UAE or GCC national follows a different legal path, so the civil route is not the right one in that case. MyHaven’s free assessment asks these questions first and says so plainly before you spend anything.

What you need to have ready

Nothing here is unusual, but a page that cannot be read is the most common reason an application is sent back, so it is worth doing carefully the first time.

• Your passport. The photo page, in colour, all four corners visible, scanned flat rather than photographed at an angle.
• Your Emirates ID, if you have one. Front and back. If you are not a resident, the entry stamp or visa page in your passport stands in its place.
• The will itself, in English and Arabic. The court reads Arabic, so an English will is accompanied by a translation produced by a certified legal translator, with the translator’s stamp and signature on the pages. Keep the two languages together in one file and do not re-export or re-save it, because the stamp has to survive on the pages that reach the court.
• Details of the people you name. Full names as they appear on identity documents, dates of birth, nationalities and addresses for your executor, your beneficiaries and any guardians.

The process, step by step

Once the bilingual will exists, registration is six stages. MyHaven customers see exactly these six on their dashboard, whether they are doing it themselves or their case owner is coordinating it.

1. Submit the application. The service sits under the eServices section of adjd.gov.ae. You attach the will and your identity documents against their own labels on the form rather than bundling everything into one file.
2. The court reviews it. A court employee checks the application before any fee is taken. The ADJD emails you directly about this, so watch the inbox you registered with, spam folder included.
3. Pay the registration fee. Paid on the ADJD portal by card once the review clears, and paid to the court rather than to anyone who helped you draft. Keep the receipt.
4. Book the notarization appointment. You pick a slot in the portal after paying. Waiting for a slot is usually the long part of the process, not the review.
5. Attend the appointment and sign. This is done by video call. Have your original Emirates ID and passport in your hand rather than copies, and take the call somewhere quiet with a steady connection. The notary confirms who you are and goes through the will with you, and you sign.
6. Keep the registered copy.The registration is recorded and you receive the court’s own copy of your will. Store it where the people who will need it can find it.

MyHaven customers choose at that point between doing the submission themselves with a tracker and written instructions for each stage, or asking the MyHaven team to handle it. On that route the team supports you end to end: uploading your will and documents to the ADJD portal, paying the court’s fee at the right moment, booking the notarization appointment and staying with you until the registered copy is in your folder. Neither route costs more. The full picture of what comes before this is in how it works.

What registration costs

Two separate figures are involved, and keeping them apart is the whole trick to understanding will pricing in the UAE. The court charges a registration fee. Whoever prepares the will charges a service fee. They are paid to different people.

The court fee is paid directly to the court and never to MyHaven.

The full price list, including two coordinated single wills and the optional fast-track option, is on the pricing page. If you are weighing this against the other registries, the fees sit side by side in ADJD vs DIFC.

How long it takes

The drafting is the fast part. With MyHaven the questionnaire takes around twenty minutes and your English draft is ready immediately. Once you approve it, the final will, including the Arabic translation, is ready within seven working days.

Registration after that runs on the court’s clock rather than anyone else’s. The review and the fee move quickly; the appointment slot is what sets the overall timeline. The ADJD also offers expedited options for an additional court fee, which your case owner can talk you through once the draft is ready.

Where an ADJD will applies

A will registered with the ADJD covers your assets across the UAE, in all seven emirates. That is what makes it a practical choice for a family living in Dubai or Abu Dhabi with a property in one emirate and bank accounts in another. It does not govern assets you hold outside the UAE. Those follow the law of the country they sit in, which usually means a separate will made there, written so the two do not contradict each other.

If you own property abroad, say so during the assessment. It changes what we recommend, and it is better raised at the start than after a will has been drafted.

After your will is registered

A registered will sits in the register until you change it. Three things are worth doing once it is done.

• Tell your executor that the will exists and where the copy is. A will nobody can find does not help anyone.
• Keep the court’s copy somewhere your family can reach, not only in your own email. MyHaven customers keep theirs in their account folder for exactly this reason.
• Revisit it when your life changes. A marriage, a divorce, a new child, a property bought or sold. Changes to an already registered will are quoted case by case, because the work depends on what is changing and how far along the will is.

Not sure this is the right route for your situation? Start with do I need a will in the UAE, or read the frequently asked questions.

MyHaven is not a law firm and this guide is not legal advice. It explains how the process works so you can make your own decisions. What that means