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Later Life GuidePlan the deadlines after a death

Do I need probate?

Updated 11 September 2026 Figures re-checked 1 November 2026
The short answer

Not always. GOV.UK says you may not need probate if the person only had savings, or owned money, shares or property jointly with someone else, because those pass to the survivor automatically. Each bank decides its own limit. Where probate is needed, the fee is £526 if the estate is over £5,000 and nothing if it is £5,000 or less.

Probate is the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions after they die, and the first question is whether you need it at all. Because each organisation sets its own rules, some estates do not. The second question, where you do, is what it costs, and the fee schedule is shorter than its reputation.

What probate is

Probate is the grant that lets the executor, or the administrator where there is no will, collect the estate’s assets, pay its debts and distribute what remains. GOV.UK’s instruction is blunt: do not make financial plans or put property on the market until you have it (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: what is probate, checked 1 November 2026). Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.

If there is a will, the executors named in it apply. If there is not, the closest living relative applies to become administrator, and the law decides who inherits. Our letters of administration page covers that route.

When you may not need it

Probate is needed when an organisation holding an asset will not release it without the grant, and GOV.UK’s method is to ask them. Contact each bank, building society and mortgage company the person used, because every organisation has its own rules (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: what is probate, checked 1 November 2026).

GOV.UK names three situations where probate may not be needed: the person only had savings; they owned shares or money jointly with others, which automatically passes to the surviving owners unless they had agreed otherwise; or they owned land or property as joint tenants with others, which passes to the surviving owners in the same way (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: what is probate, checked 1 November 2026).

GOV.UK’s list stops at joint tenants, and the other way of owning a home is the one to check. A home owned as joint tenants passes to the survivor without probate. A home owned as tenants in common is different in law: the person’s share is part of their estate rather than passing automatically, so the grant is usually needed for it. The title register at HM Land Registry shows which it is.

The small-estate question

People ask for a figure, and there is not one. GOV.UK does not publish a threshold below which probate is unnecessary; it says each organisation has its own rules (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: what is probate, checked 1 November 2026). In practice a bank sets its own balance below which it releases money on sight of the death certificate, and banks differ.

The figure that does exist is £5,000, and it is about the fee, not the need. Below it, probate is free to apply for. It says nothing about whether a bank will ask for the grant.

What it costs

If the estate is worth more than £5,000, the application fee is £526. If it is £5,000 or less, there is no fee (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: fees, checked 1 November 2026). Extra copies of the probate document cost £2 each when ordered with the application, which is worth doing because each organisation will want to see one, and £16 each if ordered later.

A second application after probate has been granted costs £22, for example where an executor who held “power reserved” on the first application later applies, and that £22 is payable however small the estate.

Help with the fee exists for people on a low income or certain benefits, online or on form EX160. If you apply for probate online, you pay the full fee and are refunded if the help application succeeds; the reference number goes in with the forms or by email to the help with fees team (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: fees, checked 1 November 2026). The help does not cover extra copies.

Doing it yourself is allowed and GOV.UK says it can be cheaper than paying a probate practitioner such as a solicitor to apply for you (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: apply for probate, checked 1 November 2026).

Before you can apply

Three checks come before the application, in GOV.UK’s order: that probate is needed, that you are eligible to apply, and whether there is Inheritance Tax to pay. The estate has to be valued for Inheritance Tax even where none is due, because the estimate is part of the probate application (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: before you apply, checked 1 November 2026).

If Inheritance Tax is due, the estate must be reported on form IHT400 within a year, tax usually has to start being paid before probate is granted, and HMRC sends a code that the application needs. If no full report is needed, the estate is an “excepted estate” and you can apply straight away. Our gifts and the 7-year rule page covers the part of that valuation families most often get wrong.

After you apply

GOV.UK says you will usually get probate within 12 weeks of submitting, longer if more information is needed, and that online applicants can track progress by signing in (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: apply for probate, checked 1 November 2026). Our how long does probate take page carries the HMCTS quarterly figures behind that “usually”, which are more useful than the headline.

Once granted, the will becomes a public record and any death certificate you sent is returned.

Stopping someone else’s application

If there is a dispute about who can apply for probate, or whether there is a will, you can challenge an application before it is granted by entering a caveat (GOV.UK, Applying for probate: what is probate, checked 1 November 2026). That is a formal step with consequences, and it is the point at which advice is worth paying for.

Common questions

Do you need probate if there is a will?

A will does not decide it; what the person owned does. Probate is the legal right to deal with the estate, and it is needed when an organisation holding an asset asks for it. GOV.UK says to contact each bank and mortgage company, because every organisation has its own rules, and some release savings without it.

Is probate needed for a joint bank account?

Usually not. GOV.UK says money or shares owned with others automatically passes to the surviving owners unless they agreed otherwise, and property held as joint tenants passes the same way. GOV.UK stops there; a home held as tenants in common is different in law, and the share does not pass automatically.

How much does probate cost?

The application fee is £526 if the estate is worth more than £5,000, and there is no fee if it is £5,000 or less. Extra copies of the grant are £2 each when ordered with the application and £16 each afterwards. A second application after a grant costs £22, and that is charged whatever the estate is worth.

Can I get help with the probate fee?

Yes, on a low income or certain benefits, through the help with fees scheme, either online or on form EX160. If you apply for probate online you pay the full fee first and are refunded if the help application succeeds. Help does not cover the fee for extra copies of the grant.

What is the small estate limit for probate?

There is no national figure. GOV.UK says each organisation has its own rules, so a bank may release a balance without probate up to a limit it sets itself, and another bank may set a different one. The £5,000 figure is the threshold below which the probate fee is waived, not a rule about whether probate is needed.

How long does probate take once applied for?

GOV.UK says you will usually get probate within 12 weeks of submitting the application, longer if more information is needed. Our probate timescales page carries the HMCTS quarterly figures, which show the mean and the median moving apart, and what tends to stop an application.

What to read next

When an executor or a beneficiary dies before probate is finished: who takes over, and when a new grant is needed
If the executor had already taken out the grant, their own executor inherits the job under the chain of representation and no new grant is needed. If they died before applying, the chain never starts and somebody applies afresh. Where the chain breaks, the answer is a grant de bonis non. A beneficiary who outlived the person leaves their share to their own estate.
When the executor cannot find the will, the accounts or the paperwork: what you are entitled to, and where to look
The law makes the executor collect and get in the estate, and nothing in data protection law stops a bank telling you about a dead person's own account. Where wills are kept and how to find one, what banks can and cannot do before the grant, the free tracing services for pensions, property and savings, the HMRC line, and the notice that protects you from debts you did not know about.
How long does probate take in 2026? 5 weeks on average, and 22 when no named executor can apply
GOV.UK says 12 weeks. The latest published figures say a median of one week for a grant of probate, and 22 weeks for letters of administration with a will annexed.
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