Applying for probate How to apply

First actions

A picture of a woman on a mobile phone

Contact your local Probate Registry for information and advice

Your local Probate Registry will have a Personal Application Department with special staff, forms and procedures to help you get the grant of probate or letters of administration. However, after that you'll be left to carry out the rest of the administration.

In cases where IHT is payable, the Capital Taxes Office (a branch of HM Revenue and Customs) is geared up to help you, but make sure mistakes or omissions don't have financial consequences as these will fall on to your shoulders.

You must have a clear understanding of what you are doing and what your obligations are; if you don’t, consult a solicitor.

Obtain copies of the death certificate

All deaths have to be registered, at which point the informant (the person registering the death) receives a death certificate. The most usual person to be the informant is:

  • A relative of the deceased who was present at the death
  • A relative of the deceased who was present during the last illness
  • A relative of the deceased who was not present at the death or during the last illness but who lives in the district or sub-district where the death occurred
  • A person who is not a relative but who was present at the time of death

An informant can also be an executor or administrator. If you are either of these but not the informant, ask the person who is the informant to ensure he or she obtains three copies of the death certificate when registering the deceased’s death (each costs £3.50).

Obtaining copies of a death certificate at a later date is more complicated and expensive. See the General Register Office, Registrar General, Northern Ireland or General Register Office, Scotland websites.

Establishing authority

Establish from the will that you have full authority to act as an executor, either singly or jointly. If you are a joint executor, decide who is going to do what and get this down in writing.

Even if you divide responsibilities, you will still both have to sign the probate documents and claim forms. You are both legally responsible for the proper administration of the estate.

Deed box

Search the contents of the deceased’s deed box, if such a thing exists: many important documents might be stored in there, such as a life insurance policy, National Saving Certificates, a building society account book, Premium Bonds and share certificates.

Get organised

It’s worth setting up a large file with different sections for each organisation you will be contacting, e.g. bank, insurance company, building society. Take a copy of the will for the file, too. If the original gets damaged, the Probate Registry might raise queries about it.

More on this...

Which? works for you