How to Apply for Probate in England & Wales 2026: Step-by-Step Guide

Updated: 20 May 2026 • Reading time: 8 min

When someone dies, their personal representatives — executors named in the will, or administrators where there is no will — usually need a court document called a grant of probate (or letters of administration) before banks, land registries, and other institutions will release assets. Obtaining that grant is called applying for probate. In England and Wales in 2026, most applications go through the HMCTS Online Probate Service and take roughly 16 weeks from submission to grant. This guide walks through every step.

Step 1 — Check Whether Probate Is Needed

Not every estate requires a grant. Probate is not needed for:

• Jointly held assets that pass by survivorship — a joint bank account or property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner. The survivor presents the death certificate to the bank or Land Registry; no grant is required.
• Small accounts below each institution’s own threshold — banks set their own limits, commonly between £5,000 and £50,000. Ring each institution to ask. Many will release a modest account on production of the death certificate and will alone.
• Assets held in trust — trust property does not form part of the deceased’s estate for probate purposes and passes under the trust’s own rules.
• Pension death benefits and most life insurance — paid directly to named beneficiaries by the scheme or insurer, outside the estate.

If the estate includes land registered in the sole name of the deceased, shares above the registrar’s small-estate limit, or bank accounts over each institution’s threshold, a grant will almost certainly be required.

Step 2 — Deal with Inheritance Tax First

Before submitting the probate application, you must deal with HMRC. The form you complete depends on whether the estate is taxable:

• IHT205 / Estate Return (excepted estates) — for deaths on or after 1 January 2022, most excepted estates no longer complete a full form at all. Instead, the probate application itself captures the estate summary that HMRC needs. An estate is “excepted” if it is below the IHT threshold, entirely spouse-exempt, or below the excepted estate gross value limits (£3m for deaths from January 2022). Check the current rules at HMRC.gov.uk as thresholds are updated.
• IHT400 (full account) — required where IHT is payable, where the estate includes a trust in which the deceased had an interest, where the deceased made significant gifts in the 7 years before death, or where the estate otherwise falls outside the excepted estate rules. IHT must generally be paid (or an arrangement made to pay in instalments) before HMCTS will issue the grant — the probate application asks for an HMRC reference number confirming IHT has been dealt with.

Paying IHT before probate is issued creates a practical difficulty: the executors cannot access the deceased’s bank accounts (because they need the grant to do so) but must pay IHT before getting the grant. The solution is the Direct Payment Scheme (DPS): most major banks and building societies will pay IHT directly to HMRC from the deceased’s accounts on request, before probate is granted, specifically to break this circularity. Executors apply using HMRC’s IHT423 form.

Step 3 — Gather the Documents You Need

The HMCTS Online Probate Service requires you to upload or post the following:

• The original will — and any codicils. If the original cannot be found, a copy may be admitted in exceptional circumstances but requires a separate application and supporting evidence. Photocopies are not accepted as a matter of course.
• An official copy of the death certificate — issued by the registrar of births, deaths and marriages. The NHS or funeral director’s “cause of death” certificate is not sufficient; you need the registrar’s formal certificate.
• HMRC IHT reference number — where an IHT400 has been submitted, HMRC issues a reference number (IHT421 receipt). For excepted estates in the simplified post-2022 process, this step is completed within the probate application itself.
• ID documents — applicants applying online must verify their identity through the GOV.UK One Login system. Postal applicants may be asked to provide certified copies of ID documents.

Step 4 — Choose PA1P or PA1A (and Online vs Post)

The paper probate forms are:

• PA1P — used where there is a will. The applicant is an executor named in the will (or a person applying as administrator where executors have renounced or died).
• PA1A — used where there is no valid will (intestacy). The applicant must be entitled to a grant under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 priority rules: spouse/civil partner first, then children, then parents, then siblings, and so on down the statutory order.

In practice, since 2019 HMCTS has strongly encouraged the online route via the HMCTS Probate Service portal. The online service replaces both paper forms with a guided questionnaire and is faster, with fewer errors. The application is submitted, fees paid, and the signed legal statement (the statutory declaration equivalent, now called a “statement of truth”) executed within the portal. Applicants then post the original will and death certificate to the Probate Registry.

Paper applications remain available — send the completed PA1P or PA1A, original will, death certificate, and the court fee to the Newcastle Probate Registry (the central processing hub as of 2026).

Step 5 — Pay the Court Fee

The probate registry fee in 2026 is:

• £300 — estates with a gross value above £5,000
• £0 — estates with a gross value of £5,000 or less
• £1.50 per copy — sealed official copies of the grant (order 6–10)

The fee is payable when you submit the application online or by post. There is no sliding scale based on estate value — the single flat fee of £300 applies whether the estate is worth £100,000 or £5 million. Fee remission may be available for applicants on low incomes or certain benefits; see the HM Courts & Tribunals Service fee remission guidance (EX160 form).

Step 6 — Processing Times and What Happens Next

HMCTS processes most online applications within 16 weeks of receiving the complete application (online submission plus physical documents posted). Paper applications take slightly longer. Delays occur where:

• The IHT position has not been cleared with HMRC before submission
• The will has unusual features (alterations, missing pages, unusual execution)
• A caveat has been entered against the estate (to stop probate while a dispute is resolved)
• There are co-executors who have not all consented or renounced
• The application is incomplete when submitted

Once HMCTS is satisfied, it issues the grant of probate (or letters of administration). The grant is a court document sealed with the Probate Registry stamp, confirming the executor’s authority to deal with the estate. You will receive the original grant plus the sealed copies you ordered. Send sealed copies to banks, building societies, Companies House (for company shares), HM Land Registry, and any other relevant institution. Most will accept a sealed copy rather than the original.

Frequently Asked Questions