What is a grant of probate?
A grant of probate is the document from the Probate Registry that confirms the executors named in a will have authority to deal with the estate of the person who died. An executor's authority comes from the will; the grant proves it to everyone else. Banks release funds against it and share registrars transfer holdings against it. Executors can agree a sale of a house and exchange contracts before it issues, but they cannot prove title to the buyer or register the transfer without it, so completion waits for the grant (Administration of Estates Act 1925 ss1 and 2; Land Registration Rules 2003 r162, checked 26 September 2026).
Where there is no will, or the will names nobody able to act, the equivalent document is a grant of letters of administration. The steps are much the same. The difference is who may apply, which is set by the intestacy rules rather than by the will.
Do you need a grant of probate at all?
Not every estate needs one. The question is whether anything the person owned cannot be released or transferred without it. A house or flat in the sole name of the person who died cannot be sold or passed to a beneficiary without a grant. A house held as joint tenants passes to the survivor automatically; the register is updated with form DJP and the death certificate, and no grant is needed for it, though other assets may still need one. Where the owners were tenants in common, the deceased's share is part of the estate.
Money is a matter of each institution's own limit. Each bank and provider decides the balance above which it will not pay out without a grant, so an estate can need a grant for one account and not another. When is probate needed takes each type of asset in turn.
Who can apply for a grant of probate?
Only the executors named in the will may apply for probate. They do not have to apply in the order the will names them. Up to four may take the grant together, which is the statutory maximum for the same part of an estate (Senior Courts Act 1981 section 114(1), checked 19 September 2026). Anyone named who is not applying usually either renounces, giving up the role entirely, or has power reserved, so the others act while they keep the option to join later. An application by someone who is not entitled is stopped by the Registry.
If there is no will, nobody is an executor. The people entitled to apply for letters of administration are set by the intestacy rules in a fixed order, and they have no authority at all until the grant issues. What does an executor do sets out the duties that come with the role.
How do you apply for a grant of probate, step by step?
The application is the last step of the first half of the job, not the first. The Registry needs the estate's values, and HMRC needs to have dealt with the inheritance tax position, before the application can go in. The table sets out the order.
| Step | What the executors do | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gather the papers | Find the original will and any codicils, and get the death certificate | Use the original will; the Registry asks questions about any marks, staples or alterations |
| 2. Value the estate | List every asset and debt with its value at the date of death, writing to each bank, provider and registrar | Every figure comes from a third party, so send the letters early |
| 3. Settle the inheritance tax reporting | Decide whether the estate is an excepted estate, reported on the probate application, or needs a full IHT400 account sent to HMRC first | An IHT400 estate cannot apply until HMRC sends its unique code |
| 4. Pay any tax due | Pay the tax, or the first instalment on land, usually from the deceased's own accounts under the direct payment scheme | The HMRC waiting period runs from the payment where it arrives after the account |
| 5. Apply | Submit the application to the Probate Registry with the will, and sign the statement of truth | A missing signature or document stops the application and restarts the wait |
| 6. Receive the grant | The Registry issues the grant and the sealed copies ordered | Order enough sealed copies for every bank, registrar and buyer who will need one |
Which inheritance tax forms are needed before applying for probate?
In an excepted estate no full account is sent to HMRC, and the values are reported on the probate application itself. An estate that does not qualify as excepted must deliver form IHT400 to HMRC before applying. The transferable basic nil-rate band can be claimed either way. In an excepted estate, for deaths on or after 1 January 2022, it goes on the probate application, but only where it comes from one earlier spouse or civil partner whose estate meets regulation 5A of the Inheritance Tax (Delivery of Accounts) (Excepted Estates) Regulations 2004, and only where the claim is made within two years from the end of the month of death or, if later, three months from when the executors first act (Inheritance Tax Act 1984 section 8B(3), checked 26 September 2026). HMRC accepts a later claim only at its discretion, and then on a full IHT400.
The residence nil-rate band is different. The excepted-estate ceilings in regulations 4 and 5A of the Inheritance Tax (Delivery of Accounts) (Excepted Estates) Regulations 2004, as amended by SI 2021/1167, take no account of it, so an estate that needs it delivers an IHT400, with form IHT435 for the nomination and the claim and IHT436 for a brought-forward allowance. Section 8G(3) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 makes that brought-forward allowance nil if no claim is made (checked 20 September 2026).
For England and Wales HMRC no longer returns form IHT421. Since 17 January 2024 it sends a letter or email containing a unique code, which the probate application asks for and cannot be submitted without. HMRC asks you to allow twenty working days for it, measured from its receiving the IHT400 or the inheritance tax payment, whichever comes later, and says to contact it if nothing has arrived by then (checked 19 September 2026).
Is inheritance tax paid before or after the grant of probate?
Before, in most cases. Where tax is due, HMRC must process the IHT400, and the tax, or at least the first instalment where the estate elects to pay tax on land by instalments under section 227 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984, generally has to be paid before the Registry will issue the grant. Because the twenty working days run from the later of the account and the payment, it is often the payment and not the form that starts the clock.
That creates the obvious problem: the money is in the estate, and the estate cannot be reached without the grant. Banks and building societies in the direct payment scheme can pay inheritance tax directly to HMRC from the deceased's accounts. Tax attributable to land can be paid in ten equal yearly instalments under section 227, which is often what allows the grant to be obtained before the house is sold. Interest runs on the outstanding instalments.
How long does it take to get a grant of probate?
GOV.UK says the grant usually issues within 12 weeks of the application, longer where more information is needed or the application is on paper (checked 26 September 2026). The time before that is the executors' own: gathering date-of-death values and, where an IHT400 is needed, the HMRC waiting period for the code. An estate with tax to pay takes longer, because the tax has to be funded and HMRC has to process the account first.
Four things decide the timescale more than anything else: whether inheritance tax is payable and how quickly it can be funded; how quickly every institution replies with its date-of-death figure; whether any executor needs to renounce or reserve power; and the Registry's processing times at the date of application. How long does probate take sets out the whole timeline from death to distribution.
What goes wrong with probate applications?
The application is stopped by the tax step. Where an IHT400 is needed, the probate application cannot be submitted until HMRC's code arrives. Plan for the waiting period and for funding the tax before anything else.
The wrong person applies. Only the executors named in the will may apply for probate, up to four together. Anyone named who is not applying needs to renounce or have power reserved.
The will was not properly signed. A will needs the maker's signature and two witnesses present at the same time. Where execution is doubtful, the Registry asks for evidence from the witnesses, which adds weeks.
Too few sealed copies. Every bank, registrar and buyer wants to see a sealed copy. Ordering extra with the application is simple; ordering them later costs weeks.
What can executors do once the grant of probate is issued?
The executors have proof of their authority. Banks release funds, registrars transfer shares, and a sale of the property can complete. The executors collect the assets, pay the debts and funeral costs, keep a simple account of what came in and went out, and distribute to the beneficiaries under the will. A grant of probate does not expire.
The house usually goes one of two ways. It can be sold, with the executors as the sellers, and the sale can be marketed while the application is pending so that a buyer is lined up when the grant arrives; selling a parent's house after the grant explains how that sale works. Or it can pass to a beneficiary, in which case the executors sign an assent on form AS1 and HM Land Registry registers the beneficiary as owner, with an official or certified copy of the grant lodged alongside it.