Quick answer
The probate application fee in England and Wales is £526 for estates over £5,000 (free at £5,000 or below), after a 75% rise on 13 July 2026. Extra grant copies cost £2.05 with the application. Solicitor help adds roughly £895 to £5,000-plus; inheritance tax is charged separately.
Probate just got noticeably more expensive. On 13 July 2026 the application fee in England and Wales jumped from £300 to £526 — a rise of roughly 75%, and the second increase in eighteen months (the £300 fee had only applied since January 2025).
The good news: for many families the true cost of probate is far lower than they fear — and for some estates it's £0. Here's the full picture: what the court charges, what professionals charge, what you can legitimately avoid, and how the sums differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
What changed on 13 July 2026
A quick history of the England & Wales application fee:
| Period | Fee (estates over £5,000) |
|---|---|
| January 2025 – 12 July 2026 | £300 |
| From 13 July 2026 | £526 |
That's a 75% jump in one step, on a fee that had itself only been introduced in January 2025. If a fee rise of this size makes probate feel unaffordable, keep two things in view: it's a one-off charge, not a percentage of the estate, and — as we'll see below — a surprising number of estates never need to pay it at all.
The court fee: £526 (or free)
| Estate value | Application fee |
|---|---|
| Over £5,000 | £526 |
| £5,000 or less | Free |
Two things worth knowing:
- The fee is identical whether you apply yourself or through a solicitor. Paying a professional doesn't change what the court charges — it only adds their costs on top.
- Order extra copies of the grant with your application. They cost £2.05 each at the time of applying, but £16 each afterwards. Banks, insurers and the Land Registry often want copies simultaneously, so ordering five or six upfront costs about £12 and saves weeks of posting one copy around in circles.
If you're on a low income, the Help with Fees scheme (form EX160) can reduce or waive the fee entirely — worth checking before you pay. Eligibility looks at your savings and income as the applicant, not the value of the estate, so don't assume a large estate rules you out. Apply for it before or alongside the probate application rather than after: refunds are possible but far slower than never paying in the first place.
One more timing point: the fee is paid when you apply, which for many families lands months before any estate money is accessible. Executors can reclaim it from the estate later, but if fronting £526 personally is a genuine strain, Help with Fees and the free-under-£5,000 rule are the two levers to check first.
When probate costs nothing at all
Plenty of estates never need a grant, which means no fee whatsoever:
- Jointly owned assets pass automatically. Property held as joint tenants and joint bank accounts go straight to the surviving owner — no probate required.
- Banks release small balances without a grant. For 2026, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Santander and Nationwide will all release up to £50,000 with just a death certificate and a declaration form. NatWest decides case by case.
So an estate consisting of a jointly owned home plus £30,000 in a sole-name account at a major bank may need no probate and no fee at all. Two minutes with our free probate checker will tell you where you stand.
Professional costs: the real variable
The court fee is fixed. What varies wildly is what you pay for help:
| Route | Typical cost (2026) |
|---|---|
| DIY with a guided checklist | £526 fee only (+ small extras) |
| Fixed-fee "grant only" service | From ~£895 (e.g. Dignity Legal Services, formerly Farewill) + court fee |
| Full estate administration by a firm | £1,000–£5,000+, or a percentage of the estate |
Percentage-based charging deserves particular caution: a modest-sounding 2% of a £400,000 estate is £8,000. For straightforward estates, doing it yourself with a structured checklist is dramatically cheaper — and the probate registry's own process is designed to be used without a solicitor. Most of the work is organised admin, not law.
That said, professional help earns its keep when there's a business, foreign assets, a contested will, or an insolvent estate.
If you do hire a firm, ask three questions before signing anything: is the quote fixed or hourly, does it include the £526 court fee and disbursements, and what exactly happens if the estate turns out to be more complicated than expected? Vague answers to any of these are a reason to keep shopping.
The small costs that add up
Beyond the headline fee, budget for the incidentals:
- Death certificates: £12.50 each — most estates need several, ordered at registration
- Extra grant copies: £2.05 each with the application (against £16 later)
- Postage and special delivery for wills, certificates and claim forms
- Property costs while the estate is open — insurance, utilities and Council Tax on an empty home can quietly outrun every court fee on this page, which is one more reason a faster probate timeline saves real money, not just stress
Don't confuse the fee with inheritance tax
The £526 is a court fee — inheritance tax is entirely separate and, where it applies, dwarfs it:
- 40% on the value above the £325,000 nil-rate band
- An extra £175,000 residence nil-rate band when a home passes to children or grandchildren
- Married couples and civil partners can combine allowances — up to £1 million tax-free
- IHT is due by the end of the sixth month after the month of death, with interest charged after that
Most estates fall under the thresholds and pay no IHT at all — but the reporting still has to be done, and it directly affects how long probate takes.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Fees differ meaningfully outside England & Wales:
| Nation | Court fee |
|---|---|
| England & Wales | £526 over £5,000; free at or below |
| Northern Ireland | £261 over £10,000 (free below), plus £65 personal application fee if you apply without a solicitor |
| Scotland | No fee for small estates of £36,000 or less; a fee applies above that |
A realistic total-cost picture
- No grant needed (joint assets, small balances): £0 in fees — just death certificates at £12.50 each and postage
- DIY probate, excepted estate: £526 + ~£12 of extra grant copies + certificates
- Grant-only professional service: roughly £1,400–£1,500 all in
- Full professional administration: £1,500–£5,500+, more on percentage deals
Whichever route you take, the sequencing matters as much as the money — notifying the right organisations early (start with Tell Us Once) keeps valuations accurate and stops the fee being the least of your delays.
The bottom line
Probate's headline cost is now £526 — but the real question is whether you need probate at all, and whether you need to pay anyone to help. For a large share of UK estates the honest answers are "maybe not" and "no". Check first, order your grant copies upfront, and keep the professionals for the parts that genuinely need them.