How Long Does Probate Take?

Reviewed 30 October 2026 · England and Wales · General information, not legal advice

Most straightforward estates take 6 to 12 months from death to final distribution. The grant usually arrives within weeks of a digital application; valuing the estate, inheritance tax and a property sale take most of the time.

In England and Wales a straightforward estate usually takes between 6 and 12 months from the death to the final payment to the beneficiaries, and an estate with a house to sell, inheritance tax to pay or a family disagreement commonly takes 12 to 18 months or longer. The grant of probate itself is now one of the quicker parts: HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) took about 5 weeks on average to issue a grant in April to June 2026, with digital applications much faster than paper ones. Most of the time goes on valuing the estate, dealing with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and selling property. This guide sets out each stage with realistic timings, what slows things down, when probate is not needed at all, and how to decide between doing it yourself and instructing a solicitor.

The probate timeline stage by stage

People use "probate" loosely for the whole business of administering an estate. Strictly it is the grant of probate, the document from the Probate Registry that proves the executors' authority to act under the will. Where there is no will the equivalent is a grant of letters of administration, applied for by the closest relative under the intestacy rules, and the stages below are the same.

Weeks 1 to 3: registering the death and finding the will

Since 9 September 2024 every death that is not referred to a coroner is reviewed by a medical examiner before it can be registered, so registration usually happens one to two weeks after the death rather than within days of it. Once the death is registered you can buy death certificates (£12.50 each), use the Tell Us Once service and start writing to banks and pension providers. The executors need the original will, not a copy, and should check it is the latest one. What to do in the first days after a death covers this stage in detail; the funeral normally takes place within two to three weeks.

Months 1 to 3: valuing the estate

The executors must establish what everything was worth on the date of death: bank and savings balances with interest to that date, shares and investments, pensions and life policies (and whether each falls inside or outside the estate), the home, vehicles and contents, less debts and the funeral account. Banks generally reply within two to four weeks; pension providers and insurers often take longer. Where there is any chance that inheritance tax (IHT) is payable, the property should be valued by a surveyor or by two or three estate agents, because HMRC can and does challenge a guess. You also need details of gifts made in the 7 years before death. Allow 4 to 12 weeks for this stage.

Months 2 to 6: inheritance tax

How quickly you can move on depends on whether the estate is an "excepted estate". For deaths since 1 January 2022 no IHT account is needed if the estate is worth less than the £325,000 nil-rate band, is worth £650,000 or less and benefits from a full nil-rate band transferred from a late spouse or civil partner, or passes entirely to a spouse, civil partner or charity and is under £3 million. Excepted estates simply report their figures in the probate application.

Any other estate must send HMRC form IHT400 and its schedules within 12 months of the death. Tax due must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the month of death (a death in January means a deadline of 31 July), interest runs after that, and the tax, or at least the first instalment on land and buildings, must normally be paid before the grant can issue. Once HMRC has processed the account it sends a unique code that must be entered on the probate application, so you cannot apply until it arrives; allow several weeks for this. Tax on property and some business assets can be spread over 10 annual instalments. Inheritance tax explained covers the thresholds and reliefs.

Applying for the grant

Apply online through GOV.UK or on paper (form PA1P where there is a will, PA1A where there is not). The fee has been £526 since 13 July 2026, up from £300. There is no fee for an estate worth £5,000 or less, extra sealed copies of the grant cost £2 each when ordered with the application (£16 each later), and Help with Fees is available to applicants on a low income. In April to June 2026 the average grant took around 5 weeks from submission, with 92% of applications made digitally. HMCTS told practitioners in June 2026 that straightforward digital applications average a little over 4 weeks while paper applications average around 16, and GOV.UK still says to expect the grant "usually within 12 weeks". An application that HMCTS stops because a document is missing, the will is not properly witnessed or the figures do not match the IHT forms adds weeks each time.

Months 4 to 9: collecting the assets and paying the debts

With sealed copies of the grant the executors close accounts, sell or transfer shares, claim life policies and collect pension lump sums. Most institutions pay out within two to four weeks of receiving the grant. Before paying anyone, the executors should place statutory notices under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 in The Gazette (and in a local newspaper if the estate includes land), giving creditors at least 2 months to come forward; executors who do this are protected against unknown debts that surface later. The funeral account, the debts and the administration expenses are then paid, and the deceased's own income tax position to the date of death is settled with HMRC.

Selling a property

If a house or flat must be sold it usually sets the pace of the whole estate. Executors can market it and accept an offer before the grant arrives, but they cannot complete, and most buyers will not exchange contracts, until the grant has been issued. From marketing to completion a sale typically adds 3 to 6 months; how long conveyancing takes explains the stages and property solicitors handle the legal work. Where IHT is being paid by instalments, the balance attributable to the property falls due when it is sold.

Final accounts and distribution

The executors prepare estate accounts showing everything received and paid out, settle any income tax and capital gains tax for the period of administration (since 6 April 2024 an estate with income of up to £500 in a tax year pays no income tax on it), and then distribute: specific gifts and cash legacies first, the residue last. Two timing rules apply. Under section 44 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 nobody can compel the executors to distribute before the end of the "executor's year", the first 12 months from death, and interest becomes payable on cash legacies that remain unpaid after it. And because anyone left out of the will has 6 months from the grant to claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, careful executors wait at least that long before parting with the money, often making interim payments while holding back a reserve. What an executor has to do goes through these duties and the personal liability that goes with them.

What slows probate down

The common causes of a slow estate are:

• A caveat. Anyone who wants to challenge the will can lodge a caveat (£4, lasting 6 months and renewable), which stops a grant being issued until the dispute is resolved. How to contest a will explains the process and the costs.
• HMRC queries on the IHT400, and challenges by the District Valuer to the value of property or by HMRC's specialists to shares in a private company.
• Foreign assets, which may need a separate grant abroad or a "resealing" of the English grant.
• Business or farming assets, where valuations and the agricultural and business property reliefs (with a £2.5 million allowance per person since 6 April 2026) take time to get right.
• A beneficiary who cannot be found, an estate that owes more than it owns, a trust created by the will, or executors who do not get on.

When probate is not needed

Whether a grant is needed depends on what the person owned and how, not on whether there was a will. Property and bank accounts held as joint tenants pass automatically to the surviving owner on production of the death certificate. Life policies written in trust and most pension death benefits are paid by the trustees or scheme outside the estate. Each bank and building society sets its own limit below which it will release a sole account on sight of the death certificate and a signed indemnity; at the largest high-street banks that limit is commonly around £50,000, though some institutions set it much lower. A grant is always needed to sell or transfer a house or flat held in the deceased's sole name or as tenants in common, and usually for shareholdings of any size.

Doing it yourself or instructing a solicitor

Executors can reasonably handle an estate themselves where the will is clear and uncontested, the estate is excepted from IHT, the assets are a handful of UK accounts and perhaps a house passing to a spouse, and the executors have the time for many hours of forms, letters and phone calls spread over a year. A solicitor earns the fee where IHT is payable, where there are business, farming or foreign assets, where the will creates a trust or leaves money to children, where the family is in dispute or a 1975 Act claim is possible, where the estate may be insolvent, or simply where the executors live far away or cannot face the paperwork.

Firms charge in three ways: a fixed fee, either for obtaining the grant only or for the whole administration; an hourly rate with an estimate of hours; or a percentage of the estate, often quoted at between 1 and 5 per cent plus VAT, sometimes combined with an hourly element. Fees are paid from the estate, not by the executors personally. How much probate costs sets out typical figures; before instructing anyone, ask who will do the work, what is excluded, how disbursements such as the court fee and valuations are charged, and how long they expect the estate to take. You can compare wills and probate solicitors by location, for example probate solicitors in Leeds, or search solicitors near me. In Scotland the equivalent of probate is "confirmation", granted by the sheriff court, and Northern Ireland has its own Probate Office and rules, so the timings above do not apply there.

What to do next

1. Register the death, use Tell Us Once and order enough death certificates.
2. Find the original will and establish who the executors are.
3. Write to every bank, insurer and pension provider for date-of-death values, and have any property valued.
4. Work out whether the estate is excepted from inheritance tax; if not, start the IHT400 early, because the payment deadline runs from the month of death.
5. Decide whether to apply yourself or instruct a solicitor, and get a written estimate before you do.

Frequently asked questions

Can you apply for probate before paying inheritance tax?

Not normally. Where tax is due, HMRC must receive the tax, or at least the first instalment on land and buildings, and process the IHT400 before it issues the code the probate application needs. Banks will usually pay HMRC directly from the deceased's accounts under the Direct Payment Scheme, and executors can also use a short-term loan repaid from the estate. Excepted estates with no tax to pay skip HMRC and apply straight away.

How long after probate is granted do beneficiaries get their money?

Usually a few months. Once the grant is issued the executors collect the assets, which takes two to four weeks per institution, pay the debts and wait out the 2-month creditor notice period. Many then wait until 6 months from the grant, the deadline for Inheritance Act claims, before making a final distribution, although interim payments are common. Cash legacies attract interest if unpaid a year after the death.

Can you sell a house before probate is granted?

You can market it, accept an offer and let the buyer start their searches, but the executors cannot complete the sale until they hold the grant, and most buyers will not exchange contracts without it either. If the property was owned as joint tenants it passes to the surviving owner outside the estate and no grant is needed to sell. Tell the buyer at the outset that the sale depends on probate so that the timetable is realistic.

Is there a deadline for applying for probate?

There is no statutory deadline for the application itself, but the inheritance tax rules impose one: the IHT400 must be sent within 12 months of the death and tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the month of death, with interest after that. Beneficiaries can also apply to the court if executors delay unreasonably, and an empty property becomes hard to insure, so most estates apply within three to six months.

What is a stopped probate application?

HMCTS stops an application when it cannot proceed without more information: a missing original will or death certificate, a will that appears not to have been witnessed properly, estate values that differ from the inheritance tax forms, or an executor who has not renounced or had power reserved correctly. The registry writes to the applicant, and the clock pauses until a reply is received, so a stop adds weeks. Checking the application against the will before submitting avoids most stops.

Does probate take longer if there is no will?

Not usually by much. The application is for letters of administration rather than probate, made by the closest relative in the order fixed by the intestacy rules, and the same fee, tax deadlines and HMCTS waiting times apply. Delays arise where it is unclear who is entitled to apply, where relatives have to be traced or where a partner or stepchild intends to bring a claim under the Inheritance Act, which may hold up distribution.

Related guides

• What Does an Executor Do? Duties, Responsibilities and Risks
• What to Do When Someone Dies: The Legal Steps Explained
• Inheritance Tax Explained: Thresholds, Exemptions and How to Reduce It
• What Happens If You Die Without a Will? The Intestacy Rules Explained
• How much does probate cost?

This guide describes the law in England and Wales as at 30 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice about your situation; the law and the figures it quotes change, so check the position with a solicitor before acting. LawFirms.co.uk is a directory and does not provide legal services.