Probate in the UK: how to apply
A plain-English walk through grants of probate, letters of administration, Inheritance Tax and current HMCTS timelines for England and Wales. General information, not legal advice.
When someone dies, the person handling their affairs often has to prove they have the legal authority to do so. In England and Wales that proof is called a grant of representation, and the process of getting it is what most people mean by probate. This guide is general information only, not legal advice, and the rules carry real money and real deadlines, so for anything beyond the basics you should consult a solicitor.
One note before we start: the law described here applies to England and Wales. Scotland has a separate system (the equivalent grant is called confirmation, applied for through the sheriff court), and Northern Ireland has its own rules and forms. If the person lived in Scotland or Northern Ireland, check the guidance for that nation rather than relying on this page.
What probate actually is
Probate is the legal process of dealing with the estate (the money, property and possessions) of someone who has died. To deal with most assets, the person responsible usually needs an official document from the Probate Registry confirming they have the right to act. Banks, building societies, the Land Registry and share registrars will often refuse to release or transfer assets until they see it.
The estate is then collected in, debts and tax are paid, and what remains is distributed to the people entitled to it (under the will, or under the rules of intestacy where there is no will).
Grant of probate vs letters of administration
There are two main types of grant, and which one applies depends on whether there is a valid will.
Grant of probate (where there is a will)
If the person left a valid will, it names one or more executors. The executor is the person legally responsible for carrying out the will, and they apply for a grant of probate. The grant confirms the will is valid and that the executor has authority to act.
Letters of administration (where there is no will)
If there is no will, or the will does not name an executor who is able and willing to act, then a close relative applies instead. They become the administrator, and the document they receive is called letters of administration. The administrator then distributes the estate according to the intestacy rules, which set a strict legal order of who inherits.
The practical difference is mostly in who can apply and on what basis. The duties that follow (gathering assets, paying debts and tax, distributing the estate) are broadly the same.
When probate is and is not needed
Probate is not always required. Whether you need it depends less on the headline size of the estate and more on what the assets are and how they were owned.
Probate is often not needed when:
The estate is small. Many banks and building societies will release modest balances (the threshold varies by institution, commonly somewhere in the low thousands) on sight of a death certificate and a simple form, without a grant.
Assets were held jointly. A home owned as joint tenants, or a joint bank account, usually passes automatically to the surviving owner by survivorship, outside the estate that needs a grant.
There is little or no property and only small holdings.
Probate is usually needed when there is a property held in the deceased's sole name, or larger sums held by a single institution. The only reliable way to know is to ask each organisation that holds an asset what it requires, because each sets its own threshold.
How to apply for probate
For most estates today the application is made online through GOV.UK. You can apply online if you are the executor, the person who died lived permanently in England or Wales, you have the original will and the death certificate, and you have already reported the estate's value to HMRC where required.
If you prefer to apply by post, or your case does not fit the online route, you use a paper form: PA1P if there is a will, or PA1A if there is not. Whichever route you take, you confirm the estate's value, swear or sign a legal statement of truth, and submit supporting documents.
There is an application fee. There is no fee if the estate is valued under 5,000 pounds; at 5,000 pounds or more the fee is 300 pounds, with extra copies of the grant available for a small charge each. Around nine in ten applications are now made digitally rather than on paper.
A word on the tax forms. The old IHT205 short form was withdrawn from January 2022. For most estates that owe no Inheritance Tax (excepted estates), there is no longer a separate HMRC form: the reduced information goes straight into the probate application. Where Inheritance Tax is due, the fuller IHT400 account is still required and is sent to HMRC.
Inheritance Tax: the part to get right first
Inheritance Tax (IHT) is charged on estates above a threshold. The headline figures, set by GOV.UK and HMRC, are:
The nil-rate band is 325,000 pounds. There is normally no Inheritance Tax below this.
The residence nil-rate band adds up to a further 175,000 pounds when a home is passed to direct descendants such as children or grandchildren.
Anything above the available threshold is taxed at 40% (reduced to 36% where at least 10% of the estate is left to charity).
The spouse and civil partner exemption means transfers between spouses or civil partners are generally free of Inheritance Tax, and unused allowance can pass to the survivor. In combination, a married couple or civil partners can often pass on up to 1 million pounds tax-free.
The sequence matters. Inheritance Tax generally has to be paid (or at least the process of paying it started) before the grant is issued. That can create a real squeeze, because the money to pay the tax is frozen inside the very estate you cannot yet access. There are routes around this, including paying tax on some assets in instalments and the direct payment scheme that lets banks release funds straight to HMRC, but the principle that tax comes before the grant catches many families out.
How long does probate take?
Timelines have been a sore point, and have been covered widely in the media. After the system reached a low point in late 2023, with average waits running to around 15 to 16 weeks at the worst, a government recovery plan brought figures down sharply.
The backlog and recovery have been reported by the BBC (whose *Rip Off Britain* and BBC Radio London covered the devastating effect of delays on bereaved families) and consumer champion Which?. According to figures reported by Which? and MoneyWeek from HMCTS and Ministry of Justice data, probate cases taking close to two years surged by 131% at the height of the backlog. GOV.UK has since reported that waiting times were roughly halved following the recovery push, with the open caseload cut by tens of thousands of cases.
The current picture is much better. Per HMCTS quarterly statistics, grants in the quarter to June 2025 took on average around five weeks from submission, with about 92% of applications made digitally. Clean digital files move fastest; paper applications and anything with missing information or a query (a stop) still take longer. The reliable lesson is that accuracy on the first attempt is the biggest thing within your control.
Executor duties in brief
Whether you are an executor or an administrator, the core responsibilities are similar:
Identify and value everything in the estate, and find all the debts.
Report the estate to HMRC and pay any Inheritance Tax due.
Apply for the grant.
Collect in the assets, settle debts and expenses, and keep clear accounts.
Distribute what is left to the beneficiaries, and resolve any final tax.
Executors carry genuine personal responsibility. If you get it wrong (for example, paying out before settling a tax bill), you can be held personally liable, which is one reason many people take advice for larger or more complicated estates.
Solicitor vs DIY
For a straightforward estate (a valid will, no Inheritance Tax, cooperative beneficiaries, and assets that are easy to value), many people apply themselves using GOV.UK guidance, with free help available from Citizens Advice and MoneyHelper. It is achievable and saves on professional fees.
A solicitor or licensed probate practitioner tends to earn their fee when the estate is large or taxable, the will is contested or unclear, there is no will and the family is complex, or a business or trust is involved. Compare how they charge (fixed fee versus a percentage of the estate), because the difference can be substantial.
Where Afterlife AI™ fits
Probate is a legal process, and Afterlife AI™ does not administer estates, apply for grants, or give legal advice. What it does is reduce the chaos that makes probate harder than it needs to be.
Executor Lock™ is a product feature, not a legal appointment. It lets you decide, while you are alive, what happens to your personal Afterlife AI™ Persona and who can reach it afterwards, and it freezes those decisions at the moment of lock so they cannot be quietly altered later. The person you trust with Executor Lock™ is separate from the legal executor named in your will, and it does not replace a will, an executor, or a solicitor. For the legal side of probate, always consult a solicitor.
Frequently asked questions
This page is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, consult a solicitor.