A probate application asks the Probate Service for the legal authority to deal with a dead person's estate. In England and Wales you can apply online or by post (form PA1P if there is a will, PA1A if there is not). Before applying, you must value the estate and deal with inheritance tax. The application fee is £526 for estates over £5,000, and the grant usually arrives within 12 weeks. The order of steps matters most. HMRC has to be satisfied first, and the Probate Service will not process the application until it is.
Step 1: check whether probate is needed and who can apply
Probate is not always required. Every bank and institution has its own rules on releasing funds without a grant. Money and shares owned jointly with others normally pass automatically to the surviving owners, and so does land or property owned as joint tenants. Contact the organisations holding the assets to find out what each one requires.
Who applies depends on whether there is a will:
- With a will. The executors named in it apply. Up to 4 can be named on the application, the limit in section 114 of the Senior Courts Act 1981. Executors who do not want to act now can hold "power reserved", give up the role permanently on form PA15, or appoint someone to apply for them on form PA11;
- Without a will. The closest relative applies as administrator. The order of priority in rule 22 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 starts with the surviving spouse or civil partner (including if separated), then any children aged 18 or over. An unmarried partner cannot apply. Where a beneficiary is under 18, or a life interest arises, at least two administrators are normally needed.
You need the original will. A photocopy will not do, and if the original is lost you may be able to apply using form PA13. Once the grant is issued, the will becomes a public record.
Step 2: value the estate
Every application needs a valuation, even where no tax is due. That means listing every asset at its value on the date of death (property, accounts, investments, personal possessions) and every debt, including the funeral cost. Gifts made in the 7 years before death also have to be identified, because they can affect the tax. See our guide on dealing with an estate before probate for what executors can and cannot do in this period.
Most estates are "excepted estates", which means no full inheritance tax account is needed. Typical examples are estates below the £325,000 threshold, estates worth up to £650,000 where an unused threshold is transferred from a spouse or civil partner who died first, and estates under £3 million left entirely to a UK-resident spouse or civil partner or to charity. For an excepted estate, HMRC's online checker produces three of the five figures the application asks for:
- Gross estate value for inheritance tax. Everything the person owned at death;
- Net estate value for inheritance tax. After debts and allowable costs;
- Net qualifying value. After spouse, civil partner and charity exemptions;
- Gross value for probate. Calculated by the applicant: the gross inheritance tax value less joint assets passing to a survivor, gifts, foreign assets and trust assets;
- Net value for probate. Calculated by the applicant: the gross probate value less debts and funeral costs.
Step 3: deal with inheritance tax first
If the estate is not excepted, the full details must go to HMRC on form IHT400 before you apply. The legal deadline is 12 months from the end of the month of death. Any tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the month of death, and interest runs after that. Some of the tax normally has to be paid before a grant is issued. HMRC then sends a unique code, and you need it to apply. Tax on land, buildings and certain shares can be paid in annual instalments over 10 years. The tax can be paid from the deceased's own bank, savings or investment accounts. If an executor pays from their own funds, they can reclaim the money from the estate.
For an excepted estate there is no IHT400 and no code to wait for, so you can apply straight away. Our IHT rules guide covers the rates, thresholds and reliefs.
Step 4: submit the application
The online service is quicker than paper. Where more than one person is applying, one acts as lead applicant, and the application cannot proceed until every applicant has signed the legal declaration online. After submitting, you send the original will (and, in some cases, the death certificate) to the address you are given.
The fee is £526 where the estate exceeds £5,000 and nothing where it is £5,000 or less. The fee rose from £300 on 13 July 2026. Extra official copies of the grant cost £2 each if ordered with the application and £16 each later. The full breakdown is in our guide to how much probate costs. People on a low income or certain benefits can apply for help with fees.
Step 5: the grant and what comes next
The grant usually arrives within 12 weeks, though it can take longer if the registry asks questions. Paper applications are slower. You will receive one of three documents:
- Grant of probate. Where executors named in the will apply;
- Letters of administration with will annexed. Where there is a will but no executor able to act;
- Letters of administration. Where there is no will.
Until the grant arrives, gov.uk advises not to make financial plans or put property on the market. Once you have it, you can collect in the assets, pay debts and tax, prepare estate accounts and distribute to the beneficiaries. Anyone with grounds to dispute who should apply, or whether a will is valid, can enter a caveat before the grant is issued.
HMCTS guidance is on gov.uk and HMRC's payment rules are on its paying inheritance tax page. Acumon prepares estate valuations and IHT400 returns and makes probate applications for executors through our probate and estate administration services. If the estate includes a business, foreign assets or gifts in the last 7 years, involve us before any valuation is submitted.