A private trust company is a company a family uses to act as trustee of its own DIFC trusts, so the trustee is an entity the family controls rather than an outside firm. This guide explains what a PTC is, why families use one, how it fits the DIFC Trust Law and the DFSA regime, and why its shares are usually held by a DIFC Foundation.
The short answer
- A private trust company (PTC) is a company set up to act as trustee of one family's trusts, so the trustee is an entity the family itself controls rather than an outside firm.
- DIFC trusts are governed by the DIFC Trust Law, DIFC Law No. 4 of 2018, which lets the settlor reserve powers and does not recognise foreign forced heirship rights.
- Acting as trustee by way of business in or from the DIFC, in practice for two or more trusts, is Providing Trust Services and needs DFSA authorisation; whether a PTC crosses that line is a question to settle with the DFSA before it is formed.
- A PTC's shares are usually held by a DIFC Foundation, which has no owner, so no individual inherits the trustee and continuity is preserved; a DIFC Prescribed Company can also hold them as a passive vehicle.
- The PTC is run by a board of directors the family can sit on or appoint, giving the family a say in trustee decisions while the board still owes fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries.
- A PTC with a trust and a DIFC Foundation solve similar succession problems in different ways, and many families combine them.
Last reviewed 23 October 2026
A private trust company (PTC) is a company set up to act as trustee of one family's trusts. Instead of handing the trustee role to an outside professional firm, the family uses a dedicated company it controls, which holds the trust assets and makes trustee decisions through its own board. In the DIFC a PTC is built from familiar parts: a trust under the DIFC Trust Law, a company to act as trustee, and usually a foundation that owns that company.
Families that have read our guide to the DIFC trust often arrive at the same next question. A trust needs a trustee, and the trustee holds legal title to everything in the trust. Who should that be? A professional trustee firm is one answer. A private trust company is the other, and it is the one families reach for when they want to stay close to the decisions.
What is a private trust company?
A private trust company is a company whose purpose is to act as trustee of the trusts of a single family. The company is the trustee: it holds the assets, exercises the trustee's powers and owes fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries under the trust deed. What makes it "private" is that it serves one family rather than offering trustee services to the public.
The DIFC does not have a separate "PTC licence". A PTC is an ordinary DIFC company that happens to hold the trustee role, with the trust itself governed by the DIFC Trust Law, DIFC Law No. 4 of 2018. That law is a full statutory code: it lets the settlor reserve powers over investment and the appointment of trustees without invalidating the trust, and it does not recognise heirship rights conferred by foreign law. The trust is not registered and the DIFC keeps no register of trusts; the PTC, as a company, is on the Registrar's record.
Why families use a private trust company
Three reasons come up repeatedly.
Control of trustee decisions. With an external trustee, the family asks and the trustee decides. With a PTC, the family sits on or appoints the board that makes those decisions. Investment choices, distributions and the timing of both stay with people who know the family and its assets, within the discipline of fiduciary duty.
Continuity. An individual trustee dies or loses capacity, and a change of trustee is disruptive and sometimes contested. A company does not die. Directors change, but the trustee entity stays the same, and legal title does not have to move each time.
Governance. A PTC gives a family a formal place to make decisions: a board, minutes, and a clear split between who owns, who governs and who benefits. For families thinking about the next generation, that structure is often as valuable as any asset-protection feature. Our guide to family office structuring and governance sets the PTC in that wider picture.
The DIFC line you must settle first
There is one regulatory question to answer before anything is formed. Acting as trustee by way of business in or from the DIFC, which in practice means acting as trustee for two or more trusts, is Providing Trust Services under the DFSA regime, and that needs DFSA authorisation. A relative acting as trustee of the family's single trust is not carrying on a business; a firm that offers the role commercially is.
A PTC can sit in between, and where it falls depends on how many trusts it serves and for whom. A company acting as trustee of one family's single trust is a different thing from a company holding several trusts for different branches. This is a question to settle with the DFSA, through a regulatory adviser, before the company is formed, not after. Atlas does not give this advice and does not act as trustee.
Who should own the private trust company?
If an individual owns the PTC's shares, the problem the family was trying to solve comes straight back: when that person dies, the shares, and with them control of the trustee, pass under a will or by succession law. So the shares are usually held by a vehicle that has no owner.
A DIFC Foundation is the common choice. A foundation is a legal person with no shareholders, established under the DIFC Foundations Law (DIFC Law No. 3 of 2018) and governed by a council under a charter and by-laws. Nobody owns it, so nobody inherits the PTC. The foundation owns the PTC, the PTC acts as trustee of the trust, and the structure holds steady across generations. Our comparison of a foundation and a trust explains how the two interact.
A DIFC Prescribed Company can also hold the shares. A Prescribed Company is a light, passive holding vehicle. Since 24 July 2026 any applicant can register one, for any purpose, provided it stays passive and appoints a DFSA-registered corporate service provider unless it is exempt. It can hold shares in companies, which is all that is needed to hold a PTC. A foundation is usually preferred where succession is the goal, because it removes ownership entirely rather than relocating it; our note on the DIFC Prescribed Company covers when each fits.
The board and annual administration
The PTC is run by a board of directors. The family can sit on it, appoint trusted advisers to it, or mix the two, and that is where "family control of the trustee" actually happens. Choose the board for judgement and continuity, because the directors owe duties both as company directors and, through the company, to the beneficiaries of the trust. Many families add a protector to the trust, or a committee to the board, to formalise how the family's voice is heard without collapsing the separation that makes the structure work.
Underneath that sits ordinary company administration. The PTC needs a registered office, statutory registers, beneficial ownership records and annual filings, and it must keep its know-your-customer file in order. The trust itself is not filed, but the trustee must identify the beneficial owners of entities party to the trust and disclose its trustee status to banks and service providers. Where a foundation owns the PTC, the foundation carries its own council, charter and filings too. This is steady, unglamorous work, and it is where a corporate service provider earns its place.
PTC and trust, or a DIFC Foundation on its own?
| PTC and trust | DIFC Foundation | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal nature | A trust is a relationship with no legal personality; the PTC is a company that holds legal title as trustee | A single legal person that owns assets in its own name |
| Governing law | DIFC Trust Law No. 4 of 2018, with the PTC under the Companies Law | DIFC Foundations Law No. 3 of 2018 |
| On the public record | The trust is not registered; the PTC is on the Registrar's company record | The foundation is registered with the Registrar |
| Who holds the assets | The trustee, which is the PTC | The foundation, directly |
| Decision-making body | The PTC's board of directors | The foundation's council, with a guardian where required |
| Family involvement | The family sits on or appoints the board | The family sits on or appoints the council |
| Regulatory watch-point | Acting as trustee by way of business needs DFSA authorisation | No trustee-authorisation question |
| Best when | The family prefers the trust concept and wants a dedicated trustee it controls | The family wants one entity that holds and contracts in its own name |
Neither is better in the abstract. A PTC with a trust suits a family that thinks in trust terms and wants a dedicated trustee it can shape. A foundation suits a family that wants one entity to hold and contract in its own name. The two are frequently combined, with a foundation owning the PTC, and the right answer depends on the family, its assets and where its members and beneficiaries live.
How Atlas helps
Atlas Corporate Services is a DFSA-registered corporate service provider, a designated non-financial business or profession, not an Authorised Firm. In a private trust company structure, Atlas forms and administers the DIFC companies and the DIFC foundation that sit in it, maintains their registers and beneficial ownership records, runs the customer due diligence the law requires, and keeps the annual filing calendar. Atlas does not act as trustee, does not provide trust services, and does not give legal, tax or regulatory advice. Whether a PTC is the right structure, and whether it needs DFSA authorisation, are questions for your legal and regulatory advisers, and Atlas works alongside them.
This article is general information and does not constitute legal, tax or regulatory advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a private trust company?
A private trust company is a company formed to act as trustee of the trusts of a single family, rather than a professional trustee firm serving many unrelated clients. The family controls the company through its board and its ownership, so it has a say in who makes trustee decisions, while the company itself holds the trust assets and owes fiduciary duties to the beneficiaries under the trust deed.
Does a private trust company need DFSA authorisation in the DIFC?
It depends. Acting as trustee by way of business in or from the DIFC, which in practice means acting for two or more trusts, is Providing Trust Services and requires DFSA authorisation. A company acting as trustee of a single family trust may fall outside that, but the line is fact-specific and turns on how many trusts it serves and for whom. Settle the point with the DFSA, through a regulatory adviser, before the company is formed.
Who owns the shares of a private trust company?
To stop the trustee passing to an individual on death, a PTC's shares are usually held by a vehicle that has no owner. A DIFC Foundation is the common choice, because it is a legal person with no shareholders, so nobody inherits the company. A DIFC Prescribed Company, a passive holding vehicle, can also hold the shares. Either keeps the PTC stable across generations.
What is the difference between a private trust company and a DIFC Foundation?
A PTC is a company that acts as trustee of a family trust, so a trust relationship sits underneath it and the PTC holds legal title to the assets. A DIFC Foundation is a single legal person that owns assets in its own name, under a council, with no trust and no trustee. Both keep wealth together across generations, and families often combine them, with a Foundation owning the PTC.
Does Atlas act as trustee or set up a private trust company for us?
No. Acting as trustee by way of business is a DFSA-regulated activity, and Atlas is a DFSA-registered corporate service provider, not an Authorised Firm or trust services provider. Atlas forms and administers the DIFC companies and foundations in a PTC structure and keeps their records, and works alongside your legal and regulatory advisers, who decide whether a PTC is appropriate and handle any DFSA engagement.