What is probate?

Probate is the legal right to deal with the money, property and possessions of someone who has died, which together are called their estate. Whoever gets it, usually an executor named in the will, can then collect the money, pay the debts and pass on what's left.

Checked against gov.uk 11 October 2026 · gov.uk: applying for probate

Who gets probate

If there's a will, the executors it names apply. Up to 4 can be named on one application, and one who doesn't want to act now can hold “power reserved” and apply later. An executor only inherits if the will also names them as a beneficiary.

If there's no will, the closest living relative applies to become the administrator. That means a husband, wife or civil partner first, including one who was separated, then any children aged 18 or over. An unmarried partner can't apply, however long they lived together.

The document is named after the route: a grant of probate when an executor applies, letters of administration when there's no will.

Source: gov.uk, if there's a will and if there's not a will, checked 11 October 2026.

When you need probate

It depends on what the person owned and how. Things owned jointly pass straight to the surviving owner. Banks release smaller sums without a grant, and each sets its own limit: 12 of the 16 we checked that publish one set it at £50,000. A home in the person's sole name almost always needs a grant before it can be sold.

The probate checker works through your situation, bank by bank.

What probate costs and how long it takes

The court fee is £526 if the estate is worth more than £5,000, and nothing if it's £5,000 or less. HMCTS figures for August 2026 put the wait at 6.5 weeks on average from application to grant, and 1.7 weeks for an online application that went through without a query.

See probate fees, including what a solicitor adds, and how long probate takes, updated every month.

What happens after probate is granted

The grant starts what gov.uk calls the administration period. The executor or administrator is legally responsible for the estate from the death until everything has been passed on. In that time they:

• send copies of the grant to the banks and other organisations holding the person's money
• pay the debts and any tax, including Income Tax on what the estate earns along the way
• sell anything that has to be sold, such as a house or shares
• pass on what's left, as the will says or, without a will, as the law says
• prepare final accounts, approved and signed by the executors and the main beneficiaries

One step protects the executor personally. gov.uk says to place a notice in The Gazette giving creditors 2 months to claim, and not to share anything out before then. Pay out early and a debt turns up, and the executor may have to pay it from their own pocket.

Source: gov.uk, dealing with the estate of someone who's died, checked 11 October 2026.

Probate records are public

The probate registry keeps the original will, and it becomes a public record. Anyone can search probate records on gov.uk for England and Wales back to 1858. A new record goes online about 14 days after the grant is issued, and a copy costs £16.

If you came here looking for someone's will or grant, that search is the place. It's the official service on gov.uk, and this site isn't connected to it.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Probate as described here is for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, and in Scotland the grant is called confirmation.

Probate words, in plain English

Estate

Everything the person owned when they died: money, property and possessions.

Executor

Someone named in the will, or in an update to it, to deal with the estate.

Administrator

The person who deals with the estate when there's no will, usually the closest living relative.

Personal representative

The executor or administrator: whoever is legally responsible for the estate.

Grant of representation

The umbrella name for the court document, whichever kind it is. Also called a probate record.

Grant of probate

The grant an executor gets when there's a will.

Letters of administration

The grant when there's no will. If there's a will but no executor who can act, it's letters of administration with will annexed.

Beneficiary

Someone who inherits under the will. An executor only inherits if they're also named as one.

Codicil

An update to a will, made after the will itself.

Excepted estate

An estate with no Inheritance Tax to pay and no need to send full details to HMRC.

Caveat

A notice that stops a grant being issued while there's a dispute, for example over who can apply or whether there's a will.

Power reserved

When one of several executors steps back for now but keeps the right to apply later.

Administration period

The time from the death until everything has been passed on.