How to register a will with ADJD: step-by-step (2026)

• Your will as a signed PDF: print every page, sign at the bottom of every page and on the signature lines, with the same signature as on your Emirates ID, then scan all pages into one PDF, in order. Keep the printed original for the video call.
• Clear copies of your passport, your Emirates ID (both sides) and your residence visa page. The portal has a slot for each.
• Your executor's Emirates ID number: the portal verifies the executor by Emirates ID and fills in their name automatically.
• Your own UAE Pass. The application is filed under the will-maker's account, not a relative's. A family member, or a filing service such as WillReady, can complete the screens once you approve the login on your phone.
• Set aside 30 to 45 minutes.

• 1. Go to adjd.gov.ae and sign in with UAE Pass (top right).
• 2. Open the E-Services directory. In the first section, “Alternative solutions Courts and enforcement”, click “Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court”. This opens the Interactive Case Registration page.
• 3. “Who you are?”: choose the first option, “Civil Family Court Registration Requests (Marriage, inheritance, and wills)”.
• 4. “Determine Registration Type”: open the “Civil Will” tab and tick “Civil Will Proof”. That is a new will registration. “Civil Will Cancellation” is for revoking one. Ignore the alert about expedited cases. Press Next.
• 5. Pleadings (“What are your requests from the court?”): tick “Civil Will Proof” inside the box. In Details write: Registration of the attached civil will of [your full name]. In “Additional facts of the dispute” write one sentence, for example: Request to register the civil will of [your full name], an expatriate resident of the UAE, prepared on the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court will template. The will is attached. Press Next.
• 6. Legal Basis: accept what the portal shows and press Next.
• 7. Applicant Details: your identity is filled in from UAE Pass. Complete the address block: Address type Home Address, Country UAE, then your emirate. The City list is a list of areas of that emirate with unusual spellings (for example “Sayd Port” is Port Saeed); type the first letters in the search box at the top of the list and pick the closest match. The map picker only covers Abu Dhabi, so close it and type your address in words. This address is for the court's correspondence only, it is not part of the will.
• 8. Counter Party Details, shown as “Appointee”: this is your executor. Choose Person, enter the executor's Emirates ID number and press “Verify Emirates ID”; their name appears automatically. Region means the court region, choose Abu Dhabi. Nationality as on their passport. The portal then lists them as “Defendant”, which is only the system's word for the other party in any file. Add a second executor with “Add Another Party” if your will names one, then Next.
• 9. Attachments: upload the four documents, one per slot: copy of passport, Emirates ID, residence visa, and the will signed by you.
• 10. Signature and Submit: confirm the application as the portal asks, then submit. You get “Case Registered Successfully” with a request number. Save it.

• A court clerk reviews the application. ADJD's general guidance for electronic requests is a response within about two working days, though the wills pages don't promise a fixed timeline. If something needs fixing you are asked to amend; that is normal, not a rejection.
• Once approved, the “Proceed to Payment” step unlocks and you pay the AED 950 fee on the portal by card. Until then the step stays locked.
• The court then schedules the video call with its notary. Have your original passport, Emirates ID and the printed signed will with you. The notary confirms the will reflects your wishes.
• After the call the will is attested and entered in the court register.

• “Power of attorney” under Notary Public: not the will service.
• “Will and appointment of a guardian” (“Request to notarise the making of a will”): this is the notary public's will service, a different route with different fees. The civil will goes through the Civil Family Court.
• “Civil Inheritance Department”: for distributing an estate after a death, not for registering a will.

ADJD's call centre is 600 599 799 and the Civil Family Court's email is printed on the footer of the will form. If your will was prepared with WillReady, we file the application for you; if you chose to file it yourself, send a photo of any screen to us on WhatsApp and we tell you what to press.