Probate Cost Calculator 2026 (England & Wales)

How Much Does Probate Cost in England and Wales? (2026)

Probate costs depend on three factors: the estate value, how you apply and whether you use a solicitor. There is no single “probate fee” — the total is made up of court fees, professional fees and disbursements.

Probate Court Fees 2026

The HMCTS probate application fee is £526 for estates valued over £5,000. It rose from £300 on 13 July 2026, when the fee for extra copies of the Grant fell from £16 to £2. Estates worth £5,000 or less pay no court fee. This is a flat fee regardless of estate size. Certified copies of the Grant of Probate cost £2 each — you will typically need 4–6 copies for banks, property sales and investment providers.

Solicitor Probate Fees

Most solicitors charge between 1% and 4% of the gross estate value, plus VAT. On an estate of £350,000, that means professional fees of £3,500 to £14,000 before VAT. Some solicitors offer fixed fees for simpler estates, but these typically start at £2,000–£3,000.

DIY Probate Cost

If you apply for probate yourself through gov.uk, your only mandatory cost is the £526 court fee plus certified copies. Most estates with no inheritance tax to pay no longer need an HMRC form at all; estates that do owe tax, or claim certain reliefs, need the full IHT400, which can be complex. Errors can lead to penalties, delays, or personal liability for the executor.

A Will makes probate simpler

Probate is usually quicker and cheaper when there is a clear, valid Will: the executor is already named, the beneficiaries are clear and there is less room for dispute. Without a Will, the intestacy rules decide who inherits and who can apply to deal with the estate.

Why Do Solicitors Charge a Percentage?

Historically, solicitors justified percentage-based fees by taking on personal liability for the estate administration. In practice, for straightforward estates this rarely translates into additional work. A 2% fee on a £500,000 estate is £10,000 — for work that might take 20–30 hours.

There is no regulatory requirement to use a solicitor for probate in England and Wales. The application can be made directly by the executor, or through a probate specialist or solicitor.

What Does the Court Fee Cover?

The HMCTS probate court fee of £526 is a flat charge payable to the court when applying for a Grant of Probate. It is the same regardless of estate size (for estates over £5,000). Estates worth £5,000 or less pay no court fee.

Hidden Costs to Watch For

• Certified copies of the Grant — £2 each; you typically need 4–6
• Bankruptcy searches — £2 per beneficiary (recommended before distributing)
• Section 27 Trustee Act notice — £150–£300 if using a solicitor (protects executors)
• IHT penalties — if HMRC forms are completed incorrectly
• Hourly overruns — some solicitors switch to hourly billing if complexity increases

Why Probate Costs Have Climbed

Probate is meaningfully more expensive today than it was a decade ago. Three forces are driving the rise:

• Property values. The average estate has roughly doubled in nominal value since 2014, driven mostly by house prices. Because solicitor fees are typically a percentage of the estate, the bill scales automatically without any change in the underlying workload.
• HMRC complexity. The introduction of the residence nil-rate band in 2017 added new tapering rules; transferable nil-rate band claims require gathering documentation from a deceased spouse's estate that may have been settled years earlier. More forms, more time, more billable hours.
• Frozen IHT thresholds. The £325,000 nil-rate band has been frozen since 2009 (extended again to April 2031 at Budget 2025 — threshold last confirmed August 2026). With property values rising, more estates fall into IHT scope — increasing the chance you'll need an IHT400 (full return) rather than reporting the estate as an excepted estate with no IHT form.

What hasn't changed: the actual administrative process is the same paperwork it always was. Estate registration, IHT return, probate application, asset gathering, beneficiary distribution. Online and fixed-fee services exist precisely because the per-case workload doesn't scale with estate size — but solicitor fees do.

Worked Examples: Probate Costs at Different Estate Sizes

Percentage-based fees scale unfavourably with estate size — the work doesn't double when the estate doubles, but the bill does. Here's what probate typically costs at four common estate sizes (assuming a "typical" 2% solicitor rate; many charge 3–4% on larger estates):

Numbers include the £526 HMCTS court fee and £8 for four copies of the Grant in both columns. Applying yourself means doing the paperwork and estate administration yourself. They exclude inheritance tax due (which is a separate liability of the estate, not a professional fee), VAT on solicitor fees and complex-case surcharges.

The pattern is consistent: the larger the estate, the larger the gap. On a £1.5m estate, a percentage-based solicitor charges roughly the price of a new car for work that takes 30–60 hours.

Solicitor Fee Structures Compared

Not all solicitors charge the same way. Before signing up for any probate service, ask which structure they use:

• Percentage of estate (most common). Typically 1–4% of the gross estate, plus VAT. The fee scales with estate value regardless of complexity. A £2m straightforward estate pays the same as a £2m complex estate — even if the work involved is the same.
• Hourly billing. Typically £200–£400 per hour for partner-level work, £150–£250 for junior solicitors. Estate administration takes 20–60 hours for a typical case. Hourly billing can be cheaper than percentage for large simple estates, but you bear the open-ended risk if hours overrun.
• Fixed fee. Some solicitors offer fixed fees for simpler estates — typically £2,000–£5,000 depending on scope. Read the small print: many "fixed fee" services revert to hourly billing if specific conditions arise.
• Hybrid (fixed fee + hourly excess). A capped-hourly arrangement: you agree a base fee but pay extra at the hourly rate if hours exceed a threshold. Common with mid-sized regional firms.

When comparing quotes, always ask three questions: (1) Does the fee include VAT? (2) Does it include HMRC IHT400 preparation? (3) What triggers an additional charge?

What Probate Doesn't Cost

A few things people commonly assume cost money but don't:

• Reading the Will. There's no legal requirement to gather everyone for a formal Will reading. The executor reads the Will and notifies beneficiaries directly. No fee.
• Submitting an inheritance tax return when no tax is due. For estates below the £325,000 nil-rate band (or £500,000 with the residence nil-rate band), most estates are "excepted estates" and need no IHT form at all — and there is no fee to HMRC. The IHT400 (full return) is also free to submit; it's only your time, or a solicitor's time, that costs money.
• The Grant of Probate itself. The Grant is the £526 court fee — that's it. The application form is free.
• Appointing yourself as executor. If you're already named as executor in the Will, you don't pay for the privilege. Executors can claim reasonable out-of-pocket expenses from the estate but don't typically charge a fee for their own time unless they're a professional.
• Probate insurance. Some firms try to sell "probate insurance" to executors. For straightforward estates, it's almost never necessary — the executor's personal liability is limited if reasonable steps were taken (Trustee Act 1925).

When Paying a Solicitor IS Worth It

Many straightforward estates can be handled by the executor. But there are real situations where paying a solicitor's premium makes sense:

• Disputed estates. Family members challenging the Will, contested beneficiary status, or threatened Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims all require contentious-probate expertise. Most fixed-fee services aren't set up for this.
• Business succession. Estates including a working business (limited company shares, partnerships, sole-trader assets) often need solicitor-supervised valuation, transfer paperwork and IHT business property relief claims.
• Multi-jurisdiction estates. Property in multiple countries triggers parallel probate processes (or apostille-based recognition). Cross-border tax planning is specialist work.
• Significant IHT exposure with planning opportunities. Estates well over the nil-rate band where a Deed of Variation, post-death rearrangement, or use of agricultural/business property relief can save tax. A specialist's £3,000 fee might save £30,000 in IHT.

For everything else — a normal home, ordinary savings, named beneficiaries, no business interests, no disputes — many executors apply themselves through GOV.UK, or ask for a fixed quote before agreeing to a percentage fee.

Frequently Asked Questions