National Will Register UK: How to Register Your Will, Find a Will, and What It Costs

Updated: 17 May 2026 • Reading time: 7 min

There is no government-run national will register in England and Wales. The largest voluntary registration service is the National Will Register, operated by Certainty (willregister.co.uk). Registering your will’s location costs around £30–£50 and means your executors can find it in minutes after your death — instead of spending weeks searching. This guide explains how registration works, how executors search it, and what to do if no registration exists.

What the National Will Register Records

The register does not store a copy of your will. It records a location reference:

Your full name and date of birth
The date the will was made
The name and address of the firm or person holding the original will

When your executor runs a search after your death, Certainty returns the contact details of wherever the original is held. The executor can then request the original, use it to apply for a grant of probate, and administer the estate.

How to Register Your Will

Decide where to store the original. Common options: your solicitor’s strong-room, the HMCTS Probate Registry (form DEPO1), a bank, or a private will-storage company. A fireproof home safe is acceptable but risks being overlooked.
Register the location. Visit willregister.co.uk and enter your details and storage location. Alternatively, your solicitor or will-writing service may register on your behalf as part of their service.
Pay the fee. Around £30–£50 for a direct individual registration with Certainty. Many solicitors include registration in their will-drafting fee.
Keep your details current. If you make a new will, update the register to point to the new document. A registered old will can mislead executors into probating a superseded document.
Tell your executor. Always give your executor a clear note of where the original is — the register is a backup, not a substitute for direct communication.

How Executors Search After a Death

An executor (or solicitor acting for the estate) submits a search to the National Will Register via willregister.co.uk. The current search fee is approximately £95–£150. Certainty searches its database and returns a written result within a few working days.

A positive result identifies where the original is held and the date it was made. The executor contacts that firm or location to obtain the original. Always verify that no later will exists — a registered will may not be the most recent one.

A negative result means no will is recorded in the register. The executor should then search the home, contact any known solicitors, check with banks, and apply for a standing search at the Probate Registry (form PA1S, £3) to be notified when a grant is issued against the deceased’s name.

Finding a Will if No Register Record Exists

If the National Will Register returns no result, search in this order:

Search the deceased’s home thoroughly — drawers, filing cabinets, fireproof safes, folders marked “important documents”
Contact every solicitor the deceased used — solicitors frequently hold originals in safe custody indefinitely
Check with any banks or building societies where the deceased held accounts
Look for correspondence from will-writing companies or banks in their papers
Once probate is granted, the proved will is public — copy available at HMCTS for £1.50

If no will is found, the estate is distributed under the intestacy rules — which may produce a result very different from what the deceased intended.

Storing Your WillSafe Will

After downloading and signing your WillSafe will kit, the original signed will should be stored somewhere safe and accessible to your executors. The three most reliable options are:

A local solicitor’s strong-room — call a local firm and ask if they offer will storage for wills they did not draft; fees vary (often £20–£50 per year or a one-off charge)
HMCTS Probate Registry deposit — send the original with form DEPO1 and a small fee; it is held securely and released to executors after death
A fireproof home safe — acceptable if you tell your executor the combination and where it is

Once stored, register the location with the National Will Register so executors can find it quickly without an expensive search.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the National Will Register and who operates it?

The National Will Register is a commercial will-registration database operated by Certainty (willregister.co.uk). It is the largest will registration service in the UK and is endorsed by the Law Society and the Society of Will Writers. Registration does not store the will itself — it records a reference (the name of the testator, their date of birth, the date the will was made, and the name and contact details of the will storage location or solicitor holding the original). The register is used by executors, solicitors, banks, and probate practitioners after a death to establish whether a registered will exists and where the original is held. There is no government-run national will register in England and Wales.

How do I register a will in the UK?

To register a will with Certainty's National Will Register: (1) Visit willregister.co.uk and create an account or instruct a solicitor or will writer to register on your behalf. (2) Enter the testator's details: full name, date of birth, address, and the location where the original will is stored (your solicitor's safe, a bank vault, or the HMCTS probate registry). (3) Pay the registration fee — currently around £30–£50 for individual registration direct with Certainty, or often included in the fee charged by a solicitor or will-writing service. (4) You will receive a registration certificate confirming the entry in the register. The will itself is not uploaded; only the location reference is stored. After registration, update the register whenever you make a new will — a registered old will that has been superseded can cause confusion at probate.

How do executors search the National Will Register?

After a death, executors can search the National Will Register by submitting a search request to Certainty. The search costs approximately £95–£150 (the fee varies — check willregister.co.uk for current pricing). You will need to provide: the deceased's full name, date of birth, and date of death. Certainty searches its database and returns a result confirming whether a will is registered, the date it was made, and the contact details of where the original is held. Solicitors and banks frequently run National Will Register searches as part of the estate administration process. A positive result does not mean the will is the last will — the testator may have made a later will that was not registered.

Is there a free way to register or find a will in the UK?

There is no free national registration service. However, once a grant of probate is issued by HMCTS, the proved will becomes a public document. Anyone can apply for a copy of a proved will from the HMCTS online probate search (probate.service.gov.uk) for £1.50. This only helps after probate has been granted. To find a will before or without probate: (1) Search the home, office, and filing cabinets; (2) Contact the deceased's solicitor — they may hold it in safe custody; (3) Check with any banks where the deceased held accounts (some offer will storage); (4) Pay for a National Will Register search (£95–£150); (5) Apply for a standing search at the Probate Registry (PA1S form, £3) — you will be notified when a grant is issued. Solicitors and probate specialists routinely check all these sources.

What are the alternatives to the National Will Register for storing a will?

Common will storage options include: (1) Solicitor's strong-room — the most traditional method; the solicitor holds the original and provides a copy to you; usually free if they drafted the will, or a small annual fee otherwise. (2) HMCTS Probate Registry — you can deposit a will with the Principal Registry in Birmingham during the testator's lifetime (form DEPO1, small fee); the will is held securely and released on application by the executor after death. (3) Bank safe custody — some banks offer will storage, though availability varies. (4) Home safe — a fireproof safe at home is acceptable but risks the will being overlooked or inaccessible if you become incapacitated. (5) National Will Register recommended storage partner — Certainty offers a physical storage service. Whatever storage method you choose, registering the location on the National Will Register makes it discoverable. Always give your executor a clear note of where the original is kept.

Does registering a will make it legally valid?

No. Registration has no effect on legal validity. A will is valid if it meets the formalities under the Wills Act 1837: it must be in writing; signed by the testator; the testator's signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses present at the same time; the witnesses must each sign in the testator's presence. An unregistered will that meets these formalities is fully valid. A registered will that does not meet the formalities is invalid. Registration is purely a location-recording service — it helps executors find the will after death. If you write a will using WillSafe's DIY kit and store it in a solicitor's safe, you can then register that location with the National Will Register so your executors can find it.

Write Your Will First — Then Store It Safely

A will that cannot be found is almost as bad as no will at all. WillSafe helps you create a legally valid will quickly — and our guide walks you through storage and registration so your executors can act immediately.

Get started with WillSafe