Can I do probate myself, or do I need a solicitor?

You can do it yourself. There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor to apply for probate in England and Wales, and the GOV.UK online service is designed for lay executors rather than lawyers. For a straightforward estate - a will, a house, a handful of accounts, adult beneficiaries who all get on - a capable executor can complete the whole process for the £526 court fee plus copies. Where the estate is disputed, holds a business or agricultural property, involves trusts, foreign assets, missing beneficiaries or a bankrupt beneficiary, paying for help is usually the better decision. The honest test is not whether the estate is large but whether it is complicated.

How much does it cost to apply for probate yourself in 2026?

The court application fee is £526 where the estate is worth more than £5,000, and nothing at all at or below £5,000. That fee rose from £300 on 13 July 2026, so many articles and printed guides still quote the old figure. Extra sealed copies of the grant cost £2 each if you order them with the application and £16 each afterwards, so order generously first time. Beyond that, a DIY application has no professional fees. You may still choose to spend money on a property valuation, on statutory notices in the London Gazette and a local newspaper (roughly £200 to £300), or on an accountant for a complicated income tax position.

What is the difference between a grant of probate and letters of administration?

A grant of probate is issued when there is a valid will that names an executor - the court confirms the executor's authority to deal with the estate. A grant of letters of administration is issued when there is no valid will, or the will names no one able to act. Then an administrator applies instead, and who that is follows the priority order in the Non-Contentious Probate Rules: spouse or civil partner first, then children aged 18 or over, then parents, then siblings, and outwards from there. Both documents do the same practical job - they are the proof banks, registrars and the Land Registry ask for. Collectively they are known as grants of representation.

How do I value an estate for probate?

List every asset at its value on the date of death, then deduct the debts. Write to each bank, building society, pension provider and share registrar asking for a formal date-of-death valuation including accrued interest. Value property with an estate agent appraisal, or a RICS "red book" valuation where the estate is taxable or the property is unusual - HMRC does challenge optimistic figures. Include personal possessions, vehicles, National Savings and premium bonds, and any money owed to the deceased. Deduct the mortgage, loans, credit cards, outstanding household bills, income tax owed and reasonable funeral costs. Separately, record any gifts made in the seven years before death. Valuation routinely takes several weeks to a few months and is the slowest part of most estates.

How long does it take to get a grant of probate?

Typically 8 to 16 weeks from a complete application, with straightforward online applications tending towards the shorter end and paper applications towards the longer. That clock only starts once you apply, and valuing the estate beforehand can itself take weeks or months. Where inheritance tax is due, HMRC needs roughly 20 working days after receiving the IHT400 before the grant can issue, which sits on top. The biggest single cause of delay is a "stop" - a query raised on the application - so accuracy first time is worth far more than speed. HM Courts and Tribunals Service publishes monthly probate timeliness statistics.

Do I have to pay inheritance tax before I get probate?

Generally yes, which is the awkward circularity of probate: you need the money in the estate to pay the tax, but you need the grant to get at the money. There are three practical routes out. HMRC's direct payment scheme lets participating banks and building societies pay inheritance tax straight from the deceased's accounts before the grant is issued. Inheritance tax attributable to property can be paid in ten annual instalments, though interest runs on the outstanding balance. And beneficiaries or executors sometimes fund the tax personally or with a short-term executor loan and are reimbursed from the estate. Note also that most non-taxable estates are now "excepted estates" for deaths on or after 1 January 2022 and need no full return at all.

What is form PA1P and when do I use it?

PA1P is the paper probate application form used where there is a will; PA1A is its counterpart where there is no will and you are applying for letters of administration. You only need either if you are applying by post - the online service at apply-for-probate.service.gov.uk covers both situations and is processed more quickly. The paper forms remain useful where the situation does not fit the online questions neatly, where an executor is renouncing, or where you simply prefer paper. Whichever route you take, the original will still has to be posted to the registry.

Can I send a copy of the will instead of the original?

No. The probate registry needs the original will and any original codicils, and it keeps them permanently - which is why you order sealed copies of the grant instead. Send the will exactly as you found it. Do not remove the staple, do not add a paperclip, do not attach a covering letter to it and do not refold it. Any new pin mark, staple hole or indentation implies that something was attached and then removed, and the registry will stop the application to ask what it was. Post it by a tracked or signed-for service, because an original will cannot be replaced.

How many copies of the grant should I order?

Count the institutions that will each want to see one - every bank, building society, pension provider, insurer and share registrar, plus the Land Registry if property is being transferred or sold - and add two or three spares. Most estates need somewhere between four and ten. Order them with the application at £2 each rather than afterwards at £16 each. Ten copies ordered up front cost £20; the same ten ordered later cost £160. Some institutions will accept a certified copy or return the sealed copy to you, but you cannot rely on it and posting a single copy round in sequence adds weeks.

How long should I wait before distributing the estate?

Two waiting periods matter. Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 must generally be brought within six months of the grant, so distributing before that window closes leaves you exposed if a claim arrives. Separately, placing statutory notices in the London Gazette and a newspaper local to the deceased - roughly £200 to £300, with a two-month notice period - protects you personally against creditors you did not know about. Many executors make interim distributions of part of the estate and hold a reserve back until both periods have run. Executors are personally liable for mistakes, so the caution is not merely procedural.

Does this apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

No. This guide covers England and Wales only. Scotland has a separate process called confirmation, applied for through the sheriff court, with its own forms, fee scale and rules on small estates. Northern Ireland runs its own probate system through the NI Courts and Tribunals Service. The general shape - value the estate, deal with tax, obtain authority, collect in, pay debts, distribute - is broadly similar across all three, but the forms, fees, terminology and timescales all differ, so do not rely on England and Wales guidance if the deceased was domiciled elsewhere in the UK.

How to apply for probate yourself in 2026: step by step

Should you do probate yourself, or pay for help?

Start here, because the honest answer is not always "do it yourself". The question is not how much the estate is worth - a £900,000 estate consisting of a house and three bank accounts is simpler than a £180,000 estate with a half-share in a business and a beneficiary nobody can find. What matters is how complicated the estate is, how much time you have, and how well the family gets on.

Quick check

Is a DIY probate application right for this estate?

1
There is a valid will, the assets are a home plus ordinary bank and investment accounts, and the beneficiaries are adults who agree

→ Do it yourself. This is precisely what the GOV.UK online service was designed for. Budget the £526 fee plus copies and a few evenings of paperwork. Read the steps below and start with the valuation.
2
The estate is straightforward but you cannot face the admin, or you live abroad, or you are grieving and have no capacity for it

→ Consider a fixed-fee "grant only" service. A provider obtains the grant for a set price and you handle the collecting-in and distribution yourself - usually the best value compromise. Never accept a percentage-of-estate quote without comparing it to a fixed fee.
3
Inheritance tax is due, or the estate holds a business, agricultural property, foreign assets or a trust

→ Get professional help, at least for the tax. An IHT400 with business or agricultural relief claims, or an overseas asset, is where DIY errors become expensive. You can still administer the rest yourself once the grant is in hand.
4
Anyone has threatened to contest the will, a beneficiary cannot be traced, or a beneficiary is a minor, bankrupt or lacks capacity

→ Instruct a solicitor. Contested estates, missing beneficiaries and beneficiaries who cannot give a valid receipt all create personal liability for you as executor. This is the case where professional fees genuinely buy you protection.

You can also mix routes: obtain the grant yourself, then pay for an hour of a solicitor's time on the one question that worries you.

Costs vary enormously between routes. Banks acting as executor often charge around 4% of the estate; traditional solicitors commonly charge 1% to 5%, sometimes with an hourly element on top; fixed-fee providers tend to cluster between £1,500 and £3,000 for full administration, and less for grant-only. On a £400,000 estate that is a spread of several thousand pounds for work that may be materially the same. Our probate cost calculator compares the routes side by side for a specific estate value, and probate costs explained sets out what each route actually includes.

What you need before you start

The single biggest cause of a frustrating application is starting it before you have the information. Gather all of this first, and the online form takes an evening rather than a month.

Pre-application checklist

Have all ten of these to hand

The original will and any codicils

Not a copy. Check with the deceased's solicitor, bank, and the National Will Register if you cannot find it.
The death certificate (and several certified copies)

Institutions will each want to see one. Order extra copies from the registrar at registration - far easier than later.
Full name, date of birth, date of death, last address, occupation

Exactly as they appear on the death certificate. A mismatch with the will is a common stop.
Date-of-death balances from every bank, building society and provider

Ask each institution in writing for a formal date-of-death valuation, including interest accrued.
A property valuation

Estate agent appraisal at minimum; a RICS valuation where the estate is taxable or the property is unusual.
A list of debts, plus the funeral invoice

Mortgage, loans, credit cards, utilities, income tax owed. Reasonable funeral costs are deductible.
Details of gifts in the seven years before death

Amount, date and recipient. These can pull an apparently exempt estate into inheritance tax.
Details of the deceased's spouse if they predeceased

Needed to claim a transferable nil-rate band - often worth tens of thousands.
Your own ID details, and those of any co-executors

All applying executors must be named on the application and sign the statement of truth.
A debit card, or an EX160 help-with-fees application

£526 plus £2 per extra copy.

The nine steps of a DIY probate application

These run broadly in order, though in practice steps three and four overlap and step one can save you the other eight entirely. Everything below is England and Wales.

Check whether you actually need a grant at all

Probate is not automatic. Assets held as joint tenants - a jointly owned home, a joint current account - pass to the survivor outside the estate and need no grant. Many banks release balances below their own "small estates" limit on an indemnity form instead, and those limits run from about £5,000 to £50,000 depending on the institution. Write to every bank, provider and share registrar with a certified copy of the death certificate and ask, in writing, what they need.

Watch out: Property held in the deceased's sole name, or as tenants in common, almost always forces a grant - the Land Registry will not transfer or sell it without one.

Find the original will and work out who is entitled to apply

If there is a valid will naming an executor, that executor applies and receives a grant of probate. If there is no valid will, an administrator applies for a grant of letters of administration, and the order of priority is fixed by the Non-Contentious Probate Rules: spouse or civil partner first, then children aged 18 or over, then parents, then siblings, and outwards from there. Up to four people can apply together. An executor who does not want the job can renounce, or have "power reserved" so someone else acts.

Watch out: An unmarried partner cannot apply as administrator, however long the relationship. Only a spouse or civil partner has that standing.

Value the estate at the date of death

This is the step that takes the time, and it comes before the application, not after. List every asset at its value on the day the person died - bank and savings balances with interest to that date, investments, National Savings, premium bonds, the car, personal possessions, any business interest - then deduct debts: mortgage, loans, credit cards, outstanding bills, and reasonable funeral costs. Property normally needs an estate agent valuation or, for larger or unusual estates, a formal RICS "red book" valuation, because HMRC can and does challenge optimistic property figures.

Watch out: You also need gifts made in the seven years before death. Ask family early - people forget, and the figure changes the inheritance tax position.

Deal with inheritance tax before you apply

For deaths on or after 1 January 2022, most non-taxable estates are "excepted estates" and no longer need a full inheritance tax return - you simply report the gross and net figures inside the probate application itself. Where inheritance tax is actually due, you complete form IHT400 with its schedules, and HMRC needs roughly 20 working days after receiving it before the grant can be issued. You cannot get the grant until that clock has run.

Watch out: Inheritance tax generally has to be paid before the grant, which is the chicken-and-egg problem of probate - see the section below on how to solve it.

Apply online, or by post on PA1P or PA1A

The online service at apply-for-probate.service.gov.uk is the default route and is written for lay executors, not lawyers: it asks plain-English questions, saves your progress, and validates as you go. The postal alternative is form PA1P where there is a will, or PA1A where there is not. Online applications are processed faster than paper ones. Either way you confirm the estate figures and sign a statement of truth - a legal declaration, so read it properly.

Watch out: You will need the death certificate details, the original will, the estate figures, and (where IHT400 was required) the unique code HMRC sends you.

Send the original will - and do not tidy it up

The registry needs the original will and any codicils, never a photocopy. Post it exactly as you found it. Do not remove the staple, do not add a paperclip, do not attach a covering note to it, and do not fold it into a new shape. Any pin mark, staple hole or indentation that was not there before suggests a document has been attached and removed, and the registry will stop the application to ask what it was.

Watch out: Send it by a tracked or signed-for service. The original cannot be replaced, and the registry keeps it permanently - which is why you order copies of the grant instead.

Pay the fee - £526 on estates over £5,000

The application fee is £526 where the estate is worth more than £5,000, and nothing at all at or below that. It rose from £300 on 13 July 2026, so a great many articles and printed leaflets still quote the old figure. Order your extra copies of the grant at the same time: £2 each with the application against £16 each afterwards. Help with fees is available on low income or certain benefits, through the online service or form EX160, though it does not cover the copies.

Watch out: Copies are the cheapest mistake to avoid on this page. Ten copies ordered up front cost £20; ordered later they cost £160.

Wait for the grant - typically 8 to 16 weeks

Straightforward online applications with no stops have been arriving at the shorter end of that range; paper applications, estates needing IHT400, and anything the registry queries take longer. HM Courts and Tribunals Service publishes monthly probate timeliness figures if you want the current picture rather than an anecdote. You will receive the grant plus however many sealed copies you ordered.

Watch out: A "stop" - a query on the application - is the single biggest cause of delay, and most stops come from avoidable errors. See the common mistakes section.

Collect in, settle debts, distribute, and keep estate accounts

Send a sealed copy of the grant to each bank, provider and registrar to release funds into an executor account. Pay the debts before any beneficiary gets a penny, in the statutory order. Then distribute according to the will or the intestacy rules, get written receipts, and prepare estate accounts showing everything that came in, everything that went out and how the residue was divided. Beneficiaries are entitled to see them.

Watch out: Do not rush the final distribution. The protective waiting periods below exist because you, personally, carry the risk if you get this wrong.

Apply online where you can

The probate service at gov.uk/applying-for-probate links through to the online application. It asks plain-English questions, checks your answers as you go, saves your progress so you can stop and come back, and is processed faster than a paper application. The paper forms - PA1P where there is a will, PA1A where there is not - still exist and are the right choice for situations the online questions do not fit neatly, such as an executor renouncing.

Either way, the original will goes to the registry by post. There is no way to submit a will electronically.

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How to value an estate for probate

Valuation is the work. The application itself is a form; the valuation is weeks of letters, phone calls and waiting for replies. Everything is measured at the date of death, not today's value, and the discipline is simply to be systematic.

Category	What to include	How to get the figure
Property	Home, second homes, land, the deceased's share of jointly owned property	Estate agent appraisal, or a RICS "red book" valuation where the estate is taxable or the property is unusual
Cash and savings	Current accounts, savings, ISAs, National Savings, premium bonds	Written date-of-death valuation from each provider, including interest accrued to that date
Investments	Shares, funds, investment bonds, corporate holdings	Registrar or platform valuation at the date of death; quoted shares use the standard closing-price basis
Pensions and life cover	Death-in-service lump sums, unused pension funds, life policies	Ask each scheme. Many pay at trustee discretion and fall outside the estate - but see the April 2027 change below
Possessions	Car, jewellery, art, antiques, household contents	Open-market resale value, not insurance value. A professional valuation for anything individually significant
Money owed to the estate	Loans made to family, refunds due, final salary or benefits owed	Correspondence, bank records, and asking the family directly
Debts (deduct)	Mortgage, loans, credit cards, outstanding bills, income tax owed, reasonable funeral costs	Final statements from each creditor as at the date of death
Gifts in the last 7 years	Cash gifts, gifts of assets, gifts with reservation of benefit	Bank statements and family memory. Record amount, date and recipient - these can create a tax charge

Do not guess at the property figure

Property is usually the largest single number in the estate and the one HMRC scrutinises most closely. An optimistic-in-your-favour valuation invites a challenge from HMRC's Valuation Office Agency, with penalties and interest on any additional tax. An over-cautious valuation creates a different problem: if the property later sells for materially more, the gain above the probate value can produce a capital gains tax charge on the estate.

The practical answer is a written valuation you can defend. Three estate agent appraisals and take the middle is a reasonable approach for an ordinary house in a straightforward market; a RICS valuation is the right call where inheritance tax is in play, where the property is unusual, or where beneficiaries might later disagree about it.

The inheritance tax interaction - and the chicken-and-egg problem

Inheritance tax and probate are separate processes that are wired together, and understanding the join saves a lot of confusion.

For deaths on or after 1 January 2022, most non-taxable estates count as excepted estates and no longer need a full inheritance tax account. You report the gross and net figures inside the probate application itself and that is the end of it - a genuine simplification that removed a great deal of form-filling from ordinary estates. Where inheritance tax is due, you complete IHT400 and its schedules, and HMRC needs roughly 20 working days after receiving it before the grant can be issued.

Allowance	Amount	Conditions
Nil-rate band	£325,000	Available to every estate
Residence nil-rate band	up to £175,000	Where a home passes to children, grandchildren or other direct descendants; tapers on larger estates
Transferable from a spouse	up to £500,000	Unused proportion of a late spouse or civil partner's bands - which is why couples are often quoted a combined £1m

Claiming a transferred nil-rate band from a spouse who died years earlier is one of the most valuable things a DIY executor can get right, and one of the easiest to miss. You need the earlier death certificate, the marriage certificate and details of that estate. Our inheritance tax calculator gives you the estate's likely position before you start the forms.

Paying the tax before you can access the money

Inheritance tax generally has to be paid before the grant is issued - but you need the grant to release the money that pays it. Three routes out:

HMRC's direct payment scheme. Participating banks and building societies pay the inheritance tax straight from the deceased's own accounts to HMRC, before the grant. This is the usual answer and worth asking about early.
Instalments on property. Inheritance tax attributable to land and buildings can be paid in ten annual instalments, with interest running on the outstanding balance. Useful where the estate is asset-rich and cash-poor.
Funding it personally or with an executor loan. Beneficiaries sometimes advance the tax and are reimbursed from the estate. Executor loans exist but are not cheap - compare against the instalment option first.

April 2027: unused pensions come into the estate

From 6 April 2027, unused defined-contribution pension funds and most lump-sum death benefits fall inside the estate for inheritance tax, rather than sitting outside it as they do now. For executors, that is a structural change: pensions move from "ask the scheme, note it, move on" to a number that has to be valued, reported and potentially taxed at 40% above the available bands. Estates that would comfortably have been excepted may cross into IHT400 territory.

If you are administering an estate where death occurs on or after that date, read inheritance tax on pensions before you value anything.

The mistakes that get applications stopped

A "stop" is the registry pausing your application to raise a query. It is the main reason people's timelines blow out from ten weeks to six months, and almost all of the common causes are avoidable at the point of applying.

Mistake	What happens
Sending a photocopy of the will, or altering the original	The application is stopped immediately. Removed staples, added paperclips and pin marks all suggest a missing attached document, and the registry will write to ask what it was.
Names that do not match between the will and the death certificate	Where the will says "Elizabeth Mary Fowler" and the certificate says "Betty Fowler", the registry needs a statement explaining the difference. Flag it in the application rather than waiting to be asked.
Estate figures that do not reconcile with what HMRC holds	Where an IHT400 has been filed, the probate figures must line up with it. A mismatch means a query to HMRC and weeks added.
Applying before the inheritance tax position is settled	Where IHT is due you need HMRC's unique code, and HMRC needs roughly 20 working days after receiving the IHT400. Applying early does not shorten that.
Guessing at the property value	An undervalued property can mean an HMRC challenge, a penalty, and interest on unpaid tax. It can also create a capital gains problem when the property sells for more.
Missing an executor off the application	Every executor who intends to act must be included. If one is not applying, the application has to record that power is reserved to them, or that they have renounced.
Under-ordering copies of the grant	£2 each with the application, £16 each afterwards - an eightfold difference for a decision you make in thirty seconds.
Distributing the estate too early	Beneficiaries paid out before the six-month claim window closes, or before unknown creditors surface, are hard to claw back. The shortfall lands on the executor personally.

Executors are personally liable

This is the part law firm marketing leans on hardest, and it is also true. If you distribute an estate and a creditor or a claimant then appears, the shortfall can fall on you personally, not on the beneficiaries who have already spent the money. Two protections cost very little and are worth taking on any estate you are not certain about:

Statutory notices under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925, placed in the London Gazette and a newspaper circulating where the deceased lived. Roughly £200 to £300, with a two-month notice period, after which you are protected against creditors you did not know about.
Waiting six months from the grant before final distribution, because that is the window for claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Interim distributions with a reserve held back are a common middle ground.

Full detail in our guide to executor duties.

Three worked examples

Scenario

Ruth Adeyemi

Executor for her mother, estate ~£410,000

Situation: A will naming Ruth as sole executor. A terraced house worth about £330,000, three bank accounts totalling £68,000, premium bonds and a small ISA. Two beneficiaries - Ruth and her brother - who agree on everything.

This is the textbook DIY case. Ruth writes to each bank for date-of-death balances, gets three estate agent appraisals on the house and takes the middle figure, and finds no gifts in the previous seven years beyond birthday money.

Her mother was widowed in 2019 and her father's estate passed entirely to her mother, so the full transferable nil-rate band is available. With the residence nil-rate band also in play - the house passes to direct descendants - the available allowances comfortably exceed £410,000. The estate is excepted: no IHT400, just the figures reported inside the application.

Ruth applies online, posts the original will by signed-for delivery without touching the staple, and orders eight copies of the grant at £2 each. Total outlay: £542. The grant arrives in around ten weeks. She places statutory notices, waits, sells the house, prepares estate accounts and distributes at the seven-month mark.

What she saved: a solicitor charging 2.5% of this estate would have billed roughly £10,250 plus VAT and disbursements for work she completed herself over a series of evenings.

Scenario

Gareth Pryce

Administrator for his father, no will, estate ~£760,000

Situation: No will, so letters of administration. A house worth £520,000, £190,000 in savings and investments, and a £50,000 gift to Gareth's sister four years before death. Gareth's mother died in 2011; three adult children survive.

With no will, Gareth applies as administrator - his father's spouse having predeceased, the children are next in the priority order under the Non-Contentious Probate Rules. All three siblings could apply; they agree that Gareth alone will.

The numbers are tighter here. The £50,000 gift falls within seven years and counts. Against it, his father's nil-rate band of £325,000, the residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 (the house passes to direct descendants under the intestacy rules) and the unused proportion of his mother's bands from 2011. Gareth digs out his mother's death certificate and his parents' marriage certificate to claim the transfer - the single most valuable hour of work in the whole administration.

Even so, the estate is close enough to the threshold that Gareth pays for two hours of a probate solicitor's time to check the calculation and confirm whether an IHT400 is needed. That is the sensible hybrid: professional input on the one question with real money attached, DIY on everything else.

See what probate is for how letters of administration differ from a grant of probate under the intestacy rules.

Scenario

Priya Raman

Executor for her uncle, estate ~£240,000 but complicated

Situation: A will, a flat, and a half-share in a small printing business. One beneficiary is a cousin nobody has heard from since 2014, and another beneficiary is 14 years old.

Small estate, difficult administration - the opposite of the assumption that value drives complexity. Three things push Priya towards professional help:

The business share. Valuing a half-share in a private company, and working out whether business relief applies, is not lay-executor territory.
The missing cousin. Distributing without tracing him leaves Priya personally exposed. She will need a tracing agent and probably missing-beneficiary indemnity insurance.
The minor beneficiary. A 14-year-old cannot give a valid receipt, so that share has to be held on trust until they reach the age specified in the will.

Priya instructs a solicitor on a fixed fee. Paying perhaps £3,000 on a £240,000 estate looks expensive next to Ruth's £542 - and it is exactly the right decision, because the risks she is buying protection from are personal ones.

When paying for help is the better decision

A page arguing you can do this yourself owes you an honest account of when you should not. The following are the situations where professional involvement earns its fee:

Anyone has hinted at contesting the will, or there is unresolved family tension about who gets what. Contested probate is adversarial and specialist.
The estate holds a business, a farm, or agricultural land. Business and agricultural relief are technical, valuable, and easy to lose through a badly drafted claim.
There are foreign assets - a Spanish apartment, an overseas account, a non-UK pension. Two legal systems have to be satisfied.
The will creates a trust, or a beneficiary is a minor, bankrupt or lacks capacity. Someone has to administer that trust properly, and it is you unless you get help.
A beneficiary cannot be found. Tracing agents and indemnity insurance are usually arranged through a solicitor.
Inheritance tax is due and the estate is complicated. The IHT400 with schedules for relief claims is where DIY mistakes cost real money.
You simply cannot take it on. Grief, distance, illness or work are perfectly good reasons. A fixed-fee grant-only service is the cheapest way to hand over the part you cannot face while keeping the rest.

If you do pay, get a written fixed quote and compare it against at least one alternative. Percentage-based fees on a large estate are rarely good value, because the work of administering a £900,000 estate is not three times the work of administering a £300,000 one. Run the numbers through the probate cost calculator before you sign anything.

Where to go next

If you are earlier in the process than this page assumes, start with what probate is and whether you need it. For timings, how long probate takes breaks down each stage. For the responsibilities you are taking on, executor duties is the one to read before you apply, not after. And the probate, wills and power of attorney hub collects the rest of the pillar.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do probate myself, or do I need a solicitor?: You can do it yourself. There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor to apply for probate in England and Wales, and the GOV.UK online service is designed for lay executors rather than lawyers. For a straightforward estate - a will, a house, a handful of accounts, adult beneficiaries who all get on - a capable executor can complete the whole process for the £526 court fee plus copies. Where the estate is disputed, holds a business or agricultural property, involves trusts, foreign assets, missing beneficiaries or a bankrupt beneficiary, paying for help is usually the better decision. The honest test is not whether the estate is large but whether it is complicated.
How much does it cost to apply for probate yourself in 2026?: The court application fee is £526 where the estate is worth more than £5,000, and nothing at all at or below £5,000. That fee rose from £300 on 13 July 2026, so many articles and printed guides still quote the old figure. Extra sealed copies of the grant cost £2 each if you order them with the application and £16 each afterwards, so order generously first time. Beyond that, a DIY application has no professional fees. You may still choose to spend money on a property valuation, on statutory notices in the London Gazette and a local newspaper (roughly £200 to £300), or on an accountant for a complicated income tax position.
What is the difference between a grant of probate and letters of administration?: A grant of probate is issued when there is a valid will that names an executor - the court confirms the executor's authority to deal with the estate. A grant of letters of administration is issued when there is no valid will, or the will names no one able to act. Then an administrator applies instead, and who that is follows the priority order in the Non-Contentious Probate Rules: spouse or civil partner first, then children aged 18 or over, then parents, then siblings, and outwards from there. Both documents do the same practical job - they are the proof banks, registrars and the Land Registry ask for. Collectively they are known as grants of representation.
How do I value an estate for probate?: List every asset at its value on the date of death, then deduct the debts. Write to each bank, building society, pension provider and share registrar asking for a formal date-of-death valuation including accrued interest. Value property with an estate agent appraisal, or a RICS "red book" valuation where the estate is taxable or the property is unusual - HMRC does challenge optimistic figures. Include personal possessions, vehicles, National Savings and premium bonds, and any money owed to the deceased. Deduct the mortgage, loans, credit cards, outstanding household bills, income tax owed and reasonable funeral costs. Separately, record any gifts made in the seven years before death. Valuation routinely takes several weeks to a few months and is the slowest part of most estates.
How long does it take to get a grant of probate?: Typically 8 to 16 weeks from a complete application, with straightforward online applications tending towards the shorter end and paper applications towards the longer. That clock only starts once you apply, and valuing the estate beforehand can itself take weeks or months. Where inheritance tax is due, HMRC needs roughly 20 working days after receiving the IHT400 before the grant can issue, which sits on top. The biggest single cause of delay is a "stop" - a query raised on the application - so accuracy first time is worth far more than speed. HM Courts and Tribunals Service publishes monthly probate timeliness statistics.
Do I have to pay inheritance tax before I get probate?: Generally yes, which is the awkward circularity of probate: you need the money in the estate to pay the tax, but you need the grant to get at the money. There are three practical routes out. HMRC's direct payment scheme lets participating banks and building societies pay inheritance tax straight from the deceased's accounts before the grant is issued. Inheritance tax attributable to property can be paid in ten annual instalments, though interest runs on the outstanding balance. And beneficiaries or executors sometimes fund the tax personally or with a short-term executor loan and are reimbursed from the estate. Note also that most non-taxable estates are now "excepted estates" for deaths on or after 1 January 2022 and need no full return at all.
What is form PA1P and when do I use it?: PA1P is the paper probate application form used where there is a will; PA1A is its counterpart where there is no will and you are applying for letters of administration. You only need either if you are applying by post - the online service at apply-for-probate.service.gov.uk covers both situations and is processed more quickly. The paper forms remain useful where the situation does not fit the online questions neatly, where an executor is renouncing, or where you simply prefer paper. Whichever route you take, the original will still has to be posted to the registry.
Can I send a copy of the will instead of the original?: No. The probate registry needs the original will and any original codicils, and it keeps them permanently - which is why you order sealed copies of the grant instead. Send the will exactly as you found it. Do not remove the staple, do not add a paperclip, do not attach a covering letter to it and do not refold it. Any new pin mark, staple hole or indentation implies that something was attached and then removed, and the registry will stop the application to ask what it was. Post it by a tracked or signed-for service, because an original will cannot be replaced.
How many copies of the grant should I order?: Count the institutions that will each want to see one - every bank, building society, pension provider, insurer and share registrar, plus the Land Registry if property is being transferred or sold - and add two or three spares. Most estates need somewhere between four and ten. Order them with the application at £2 each rather than afterwards at £16 each. Ten copies ordered up front cost £20; the same ten ordered later cost £160. Some institutions will accept a certified copy or return the sealed copy to you, but you cannot rely on it and posting a single copy round in sequence adds weeks.
How long should I wait before distributing the estate?: Two waiting periods matter. Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 must generally be brought within six months of the grant, so distributing before that window closes leaves you exposed if a claim arrives. Separately, placing statutory notices in the London Gazette and a newspaper local to the deceased - roughly £200 to £300, with a two-month notice period - protects you personally against creditors you did not know about. Many executors make interim distributions of part of the estate and hold a reserve back until both periods have run. Executors are personally liable for mistakes, so the caution is not merely procedural.
Does this apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?: No. This guide covers England and Wales only. Scotland has a separate process called confirmation, applied for through the sheriff court, with its own forms, fee scale and rules on small estates. Northern Ireland runs its own probate system through the NI Courts and Tribunals Service. The general shape - value the estate, deal with tax, obtain authority, collect in, pay debts, distribute - is broadly similar across all three, but the forms, fees, terminology and timescales all differ, so do not rely on England and Wales guidance if the deceased was domiciled elsewhere in the UK.

This is general information, not legal advice

This guide covers probate in England and Wales and reflects the position as at 23 July 2026. Scotland (confirmation) and Northern Ireland run separate systems with different forms, fees and rules. Court fees, HMRC thresholds and processing times change - check GOV.UK for the current figures before you apply. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice tailored to your circumstances, and estates involving disputes, trusts, business assets or foreign property warrant proper professional input. See our disclaimer.

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