Grant of probate

What is a grant of probate?

A grant of probate confirms the authority of the executor to administer the estate of someone who has died, which includes tidying up their affairs and distributing their assets to their heirs.

Before you're able to deal with the deceased person's assets - such as their bank accounts - you'll need to obtain legal authority to act. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland this is called a grant of probate; in Scotland, it's a grant of confirmation.

• Need help with probate? Download our free checklist from the experts in our legal advice service to help you through the process.

Do I need a grant of probate?

In the vast majority of cases, you'll need to obtain a grant of probate to act as the executor of someone's estate.

You may not need a grant of probate if the estate is worth less than £10,000, or if the deceased owned everything jointly with someone else, so that the ownership transferred on their death.

To find out whether you can distribute someone's estate without applying for probate, the executor will need to write to each institution, such as banks or investment brokers, informing them of the death and providing a copy of the death certificate.

Otherwise, you'll need to submit an application for probate.

If someone dies without a will, the process is called applying for letters of administration.

Step-by-step checklist

Find out precisely what you need to do with our downloadable probate checklist from the experts in our legal advice service.

Your essential probate checklist

Break down every stage of the probate process into manageable tasks with our free checklist.

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• If you need help or support our legal probate experts are on hand to guide you, step by step, through the process. Join the legal advice service today from £9 a month (with a one off £29 joining fee). Find out more about the Which? legal advice service here. 

How to apply for probate

Before you file the forms applying for a grant of probate, you'll need to value the size of the estate.

Below, we explain the steps you need to take to be granted probate.

1. Register the death

First, you'll need to register the person's death. This needs to be done within five days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and eight days in Scotland.

It's a good idea to buy extra copies of the death certificate at this stage. Copies cost £11.00 in England and Wales, £8.00 in Northern Ireland and £10.00 in Scotland.

2. Value the estate

You will need to go through the deceased's papers and bank statements to establish their assets and liabilities, and find records of any other accounts they hold.

For some estates, this is straightforward, but others are far more complex, with multiple investments, properties and personal belongings to consider.

You'll need to contact the following institutions:

• banks, in relation to cash assets and accounts
• lenders, including for mortgages, credit cards and any loans
• fund managers or stockbrokers
• pension providers
• the local government in relation to outstanding council tax
• the Department for Work and Pensions
• HMRC in relation to outstanding tax.

When the death is registered, you should receive an identifier for the government's Tell us Once service, which allows you to contact various government departments in one go.

For each financial institution that the deceased had an account with, you'll need to send them a certified copy of the death certificate and ask for a final statement.

Most assets will then be frozen until a grant of probate has been obtained.

Property valuation

Many estates include a property, which also needs to be valued.

You can value the property yourself by looking at similar comparable home sales.

But if inheritance tax (IHT) is likely to be an issue (the current threshold, or 'nil-rate band', is £325,000) a written valuation by an estate agent or surveyor will make dealing with HMRC far more straightforward if it challenges your figure as being too low.

The same applies for any other particularly valuable assets - for example, a wine collection or artwork.

• Find out more: how much is your house worth? - read our step-by-step guide to working out the value of a property

3. File inheritance tax forms

Before applying for probate you will need to determine whether inheritance tax is payable on the estate, and which probate and inheritance tax forms you will be required to fill in.

The forms and processes are different depending on whether someone died before, or on/after 1 January 2022. You can use the Government's online checker to identify the right forms for you.

If you are applying online, and you need to complete the IHT400 form, you'll need to provide the inheritance tax reference and the value of the estate during your application. You will also need to upload a copy of the death certification. More information is available on the Government's website.

As well as the value of the estate at the time of death, HMRC requires details of cash gifts made by the deceased in the seven years prior to death. These can increase the value of the estate for inheritance tax purposes and need to be accounted for carefully.

If the deceased was the surviving spouse or civil partner of someone who died earlier, it is possible to apply for any unused IHT allowance from their partner to be added to their own. For some estates, this can boost the nil-rate band to £650,000.

To claim additional allowance, executors must complete form IHT 402 if the estate is above the threshold, or the full allowance cannot be claimed. There are different processes for claiming the additional allowance if the estate is below the IHT threshold, depending upon when the deceased died.

Find out more: inheritance rates and allowance - get to grips with IHT rules and how to manage them

4. File probate applications

After assessing the size of the estate and what's included, and completing an IHT form (if necessary), you should be in a position to complete a probate application form, or you can apply online on the gov.uk website.

Once you have worked out the details of the estate, the next stage is to complete a probate application form (PA1P). You can download this from the HM Courts & Tribunals Service website.

In Scotland, you send confirmation forms C1 and C5 to the Sheriff Court.

As well as supplying the right paperwork, you need to sign a statement of truth declaring that the details you've provided are correct.

Unless the solicitor is named as co-executor, you are not obliged to use their probate services. You can shop around for a probate solicitor - or try a DIY probate approach.

5. Pay probate fees

The probate application fee in England and Wales is £300, regardless of the size of the estate (though there is an exemption for estates worth less than £5,000) after being hiked 10% in May 2024. 

If you'd like extra copies of the grant of probate, they'll cost £1.50 each. It's worth getting several, as it will cost more if you would like to arrange more copies later. For paper applications, you can pay for copies by cheque or card payment over the phone. If applying online, you can pay by credit or debit card.

In Northern Ireland, fees are £284, and in Scotland, the fee is £266 for estates under £250,000 and £532 if the value exceeds that. There is no fee if the value of the estate is under £50,000 in Scotland, under £10,000 in Northern Ireland, and under £5,000 in England and Wales.

Additional copies of the grant can be ordered for £1.50 each. Multiple copies are essential for the administration process, and it's normal to order at least five.

If you can't afford the fees, the Ministry of Justice has a remission scheme called Help with Fees. Find out more on the gov.uk site.

HMCTS is proposing to increase court and tribunal fees across England and Wales, including probate. 

It has proposed to increase the application fee for a grant of probate by 10% (£27) to £300 for estates valued over £5,000, from March 2024, and then to make full or partial inflation-based increases to selected fees every two years. 

• Find out more: probate inquiry launched over delays and new fees proposed 

6. Pay inheritance tax

Assuming everything is in order, and HMRC accepts your submission, there is still one hurdle left before probate can be granted: if IHT is due, this must be paid in advance.

If there are sufficient funds in one of the deceased's bank accounts, it may be possible to arrange a direct payment to HMRC.

Most UK banks permit this on receipt of an IHT423 form. It's also worth noting that where the major asset of the estate is a property or shares, HMRC will accept IHT in instalments, and only require a tenth of the total in advance.

HMRC may take some time to review the IHT form and will provide approval at a later date to enable you to finalise the estate.

What happens next?

Once you have been granted probate, you should also consider placing a deceased estate notice in the The Gazette asking any unidentified creditors to come forward. If you don't, you may be held personally liable for any of the estate's unidentified debts.

After you have the grant of probate, you can begin administering the estate - find out what to do next in our guide to DIY probate.