Probate in England and Wales, with the official figures

Probate is taking 6.5 weeks on average from application to grant, going by HMCTS figures for August 2026. The court fee is £526 for an estate worth more than £5,000. Whether you need probate at all depends on what the person owned, and how.

HMCTS figures for August 2026, published 8 October 2026 · HMCTS management information - August 2026

• 6.5weeksAverage wait, all applications
• 1.7weeksOnline, if HMCTS doesn't stop it
• £526Court fee, estate over £5,000
• £50,000Most common bank limit without probate (12 of 16)

Start here

• Waiting timesHow long does probate take?6.5 weeks on average in August 2026, from HMCTS's own figures, updated monthly.
• CheckerDo I need probate?Answer a few questions, with what 22 banks and building societies say they release without it.
• CalculatorProbate feesThe £526 court fee, copies, and what a solicitor adds.
• Step by stepApply for probate onlineFrom valuing the estate to posting the will, and how to avoid a stopped application.
• ExplainerWhat is probate?What it means, who gets it, what happens after, and the words you'll meet.
• ExplainerGrant of probateThe three kinds of grant and what each one lets you do.
• InsuranceInsuring an empty homeHome policies usually cut cover after 30 or 60 days empty. What to do, and why probate runs into it.

Where the figures come from

Waiting times come from HMCTS's monthly management information, and the site rebuilds itself when a new release comes out. Fees and rules come from gov.uk and the legislation behind them, and bank limits from each bank's own website. Every figure is dated and linked to its source, and a script re-reads the sources to confirm each one is still there.

See how we source and check figures and who runs the site. This is general information about probate in England and Wales, not legal advice.