Applying for Probate in England and Wales (2026): Timeline, Fees and What the HMRC Inheritance Tax Check Involves

Applying for a grant of probate in England and Wales means submitting a probate application to HMCTS, paying a £300 court fee (for estates above £5,000 — rising to £526 from 13 July 2026), and — if the estate is potentially liable for inheritance tax — completing an HMRC account form before the Probate Registry will process your application. Most straightforward estates take four to eight weeks from submission to grant; contested or taxable estates routinely run six months or longer.

What probate actually is and when you need it

A grant of probate is the legal document that confirms an executor's authority to administer a deceased person's estate. Banks, Land Registry, and investment platforms typically require it before releasing assets. The grant does not transfer ownership automatically — it authorises the executor to collect, pay debts from, and distribute the estate.

Not every death triggers the probate process. Small estates where all assets were held jointly, or where accounts sit below bank-imposed thresholds (often £15,000–£50,000 depending on the institution), can usually be dealt with using a death certificate and a statutory declaration. If the deceased held a solely-owned property registered at Land Registry, probate is almost always required to transfer or sell it.

The two application forms: PA1P and PA1A

HMCTS uses two versions of the probate application form. Form PA1P applies when the deceased left a valid will; form PA1A applies on an intestacy, where the person died without a will and an administrator is applying rather than an executor. Both forms are completed online through the MyHMCTS portal, though paper applications remain available for applicants without internet access.

The PA1P asks for the will date, a list of named executors (and a reason for any who are not applying — death, renunciation, or power reserved), the gross estate value, and confirmation that the will has not been revoked. The PA1A requires the administrator to demonstrate their entitlement under the Administration of Estates Act 1925, which sets a strict priority order: spouse or civil partner first, then children, then parents, then siblings.

The HMRC inheritance tax step — and why it runs before probate

Inheritance tax under the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 is charged at 40% on the portion of an estate above the nil-rate band, currently £325,000 (or up to £1 million for a couple passing a residence to direct descendants under the residence nil-rate band). HMRC must confirm that the estate's IHT position has been addressed before HMCTS issues the grant — executors cannot simply apply for probate and sort out the tax later.

For estates that are clearly below the nil-rate band and meet HMRC's excepted estate criteria, the process was simplified in January 2022 when IHT205 was withdrawn for deaths on or after 1 January 2022. Executors of qualifying excepted estates now confirm the IHT position through the PA1P/PA1A form itself, rather than filing a separate HMRC return. An estate qualifies as excepted if its gross value (including gifts in the seven years before death) is below £325,000, or below £650,000 where the deceased's unused nil-rate band is being transferred from a pre-deceased spouse.

For taxable estates — or where the estate exceeds £3 million, or includes foreign assets above £100,000 — executors must complete IHT400 with the relevant schedules and pay any tax due before submitting the probate application. HMRC aims to confirm receipt within 20 working days; in practice, complex estates can take longer. Tax must be paid (or at least a binding payment arrangement agreed) before HMCTS will grant probate, which creates a practical problem: executors often need the grant to access estate funds to pay the tax. The solution is the Direct Payment Scheme, under which banks release funds directly to HMRC before probate, using HMRC form IHT423.

Step-by-step: how to apply in 2026

Step 1: Locate and validate the will. Check whether the will was deposited with the National Will Register or a solicitor. Confirm it meets the requirements of the Wills Act 1837: signed by the testator in the presence of two independent witnesses who also signed. A beneficiary or their spouse acting as a witness does not void the will entirely, but that witness forfeits their gift.

Step 2: Value the estate. Obtain date-of-death valuations for all assets — bank statements, property valuations (an estate agent letter or RICS survey), investment portfolio summaries, and pension death-in-service nominations (which are usually outside the estate). Also list liabilities: mortgages, credit cards, outstanding utility bills. The gross estate figure feeds into the IHT threshold check.

Step 3: Resolve the inheritance tax position. If the estate is excepted (see above), no separate HMRC filing is needed. If it is taxable, complete IHT400 with relevant schedules (IHT401 for domicile, IHT402 for transferred nil-rate band, IHT435 for the residence nil-rate band, and so on). Submit to HMRC Inheritance Tax, BX9 1HT. Use the Direct Payment Scheme via IHT423 to pay any tax owing from bank accounts before probate is issued.

Step 4: Apply for probate online. Create or log into an MyHMCTS account, select the probate jurisdiction (England and Wales — note that Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems, the Commissary Court and the Probate and Matrimonial Office respectively). Complete PA1P or PA1A. Send the original will and any codicils to the HMCTS Probate Registry — post originals, not copies. Pay the £300 fee (no fee for estates of £5,000 or less; £16 per additional copy grant, which banks and Land Registry require — reducing to £2 per copy for copies ordered concurrently with the application from 13 July 2026).

Step 5: Wait for the grant. HMCTS currently processes straightforward applications in four to eight weeks from receipt of the original will and payment confirmation. The grant arrives by post with the sealed will attached.

Step 6: Administer the estate. Notify banks, DWP, pension providers, and Land Registry of the grant. Collect assets, pay debts and funeral expenses, file the estate's income tax return for the period to death (and potentially an estate income tax return during the administration period), then distribute to beneficiaries in accordance with the will or intestacy rules.

Common delays and how to avoid them

Missing or mismatched information causes most rejections. The applicant's name on the probate form must exactly match the name on the will; even a middle-name omission triggers a requisition. If the will was made under a maiden name and the executor has since married, a certified copy of the marriage certificate resolves it.

Unsigned or incompletely signed wills are a separate problem. Under the Wills Act 1837 section 9, both witnesses must be present at the same time when the testator signs (or acknowledges their signature) — a will where only one witness was present during the testator's signing, with the second attending days later, is invalid. The Probate Registry cannot grant probate on an invalid will; it opens an intestacy application instead, which may not distribute the estate as the deceased intended.

Delays also arise when HMRC is waiting on supporting information for IHT400 returns. An executor acting for an estate with significant share portfolios, foreign property, or gifts in the seven years before death should expect an HMRC correspondence period that can extend to three months.

Professional help versus DIY probate

A solicitor-managed probate in England and Wales typically costs 1%–2% of the gross estate value in professional fees, plus disbursements. On a £400,000 estate that is £4,000–£8,000. Many straightforward estates — where there is a clear will, no inheritance tax, no disputes, and assets held in the UK — are managed successfully by lay executors without professional help.

Personal applicants (those without solicitors) now account for a substantial share of probate applications in England and Wales. The MyHMCTS online portal, part of the HMCTS digital reform programme, has made self-service applications significantly more accessible, with digital uptake rising from around 17% in 2019 to over 90% of all applications by 2025.

For executors drafting their initial correspondence with banks and HMRC, a free probate application cover letter template for England and Wales provides a starting point that covers the key identifiers — grant reference once issued, estate reference number, and the standard release request language that major UK banks accept.

Intestacy: when there is no will

Under the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (as amended by the Inheritance and Trustees' Powers Act 2014), an unmarried partner — however long-term — receives nothing on intestacy. Everything passes first to the spouse or civil partner (up to £322,000 plus half the residue if there are children), then to children equally, then up the family tree. This outcome surprises many families and is the most practical argument for making a will regardless of estate size. forms-legal.com has UK will templates available for those who want to ensure their wishes are documented.

What changes are coming

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 does not affect probate directly, but it does affect the valuation of leasehold property in estates, which feeds into IHT400 valuations. Separately, the Law Commission's 2017 report on wills reform — recommending electronic wills and a lower age threshold — has not yet passed into statute. Executors in 2026 are still working with the Wills Act 1837 framework, though several post-pandemic pilot schemes for remote witnessing ended in January 2024 when emergency provisions lapsed.

The probate fee rose from £273 to £300 in January 2025, and HMCTS has announced a further increase to £526 taking effect on 13 July 2026. HMCTS previously consulted on scaling fees to estate value — a proposal that was withdrawn in 2019 after parliamentary opposition — but the 2026 increase is a flat-rate rise, not an estate-value-linked reform.