Do I need probate?

When someone dies, one of the first questions families face is whether probate is needed before they can deal with the estate. It’s a question that causes a lot of unnecessary anxiety – many people assume probate is always required, when in fact a significant proportion of estates can be dealt with without it. Others assume they can skip it, only to find that a bank or the Land Registry won’t release assets without a grant.

This guide explains how to work out whether probate is needed for the estate you’re dealing with, what the main exceptions are, and what to do next if it is required. It covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal systems and different processes – see the section at the end for links to the relevant guidance.

The short answer

Probate is required when the estate includes:

• Property held in the deceased’s sole name – the Land Registry and any buyer’s solicitor will require a grant of probate before transferring or selling the property
• Bank or savings accounts in the sole name that are above the institution’s threshold – each bank and building society sets its own threshold; below it, they may release funds without probate
• Shares or investments held in the deceased’s sole name – registrars typically require probate to transfer or encash holdings
• Certain life insurance policies paid to the estate – rather than to a named beneficiary

Probate is unlikely to be needed when:

• Everything was owned jointly – assets held as joint tenants pass automatically to the surviving owner by the right of survivorship, without needing probate
• The estate is very small – if total assets fall below every relevant institution’s threshold, you may be able to deal with everything using a statutory declaration
• Life insurance and pension benefits have named beneficiaries – these fall outside the estate and pass directly to the named person; probate does not affect them

The straightforward answer is that there is no single universal rule. The key step – and one that surprises many people – is that you need to contact each financial institution individually and ask them what they require (gov.uk – Applying for probate).

When you do need probate

Property in the deceased’s sole name

If the deceased owned property – a house, flat, or land – solely in their own name, you will need a grant of probate before the property can be sold or transferred. The Land Registry requires sight of the grant, and any buyer’s conveyancing solicitor will insist on it before their client exchanges contracts.

You can instruct an estate agent and accept offers before probate is granted. What you cannot do is complete the sale. Getting the marketing process started early is worthwhile if you want to minimise delays.

One important distinction: if the property was jointly owned as joint tenants, it passes automatically to the surviving joint owner and probate is not required to deal with it. You simply need to notify HM Land Registry with a death certificate to update the title (gov.uk – Dealing with the estate). If the property was held as tenants in common, each owner’s share forms part of their estate – and probate will be needed to deal with the deceased’s share.

Bank and savings accounts above the institution’s threshold

Banks and building societies each set their own threshold for releasing funds without probate. The government does not set a standard figure. As at April 2026, most of the largest high street banks and building societies – including Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, and Nationwide – share a threshold of £50,000. Below that figure, they may release funds without a grant. HSBC does not publish a fixed threshold and assesses each case individually based on the estate’s complexity, the relationship of the claimant, and other factors. NS&I (National Savings and Investments) has one of the lower thresholds, at £5,000 across all products combined. These thresholds are set by each institution and can change without notice – see the full table below.

This means you need to contact each institution individually to ask what they require. Do this early – it will tell you whether probate is necessary and, if so, how many certified copies of the grant you’ll need to order.

Probate thresholds by bank

Each bank and building society sets its own threshold – the balance below which they may release funds without a grant of probate. The following table shows approximate thresholds for the most commonly used UK institutions, based on published bereavement policies as at April 2026. These figures can change without notice, so always confirm with the bank’s bereavement team before relying on them.

Thresholds last verified April 2026. Sources: individual bank bereavement policies and published guidance. Always contact the institution directly to confirm their current requirements.

A key point: these thresholds apply per institution, not per account. If the deceased held £30,000 in a Barclays current account and £25,000 in a Barclays savings account, the combined balance of £55,000 exceeds Barclays’ £50,000 threshold – and probate would likely be required for those accounts.

Shares and investments

Shares held in the deceased’s sole name – whether directly registered or held through a nominee account – usually require a grant of probate before they can be transferred or sold. The company’s share registrar (Computershare, Link Group, and Equiniti are the most common) will write to the estate’s contact with their specific requirements, which typically include the original grant or a certified copy.

ISAs are slightly more complicated. The ISA itself loses its tax-free wrapper on death, but some providers will release funds to a surviving spouse without a grant, particularly where an Additional Permitted Subscription is being used to transfer the ISA allowance. Speak to the ISA provider directly.

When you don’t need probate

Joint assets and the right of survivorship

When two or more people own an asset as joint tenants, the survivor automatically inherits the deceased’s share. This is called the right of survivorship, and it operates outside the will – regardless of what the will says, the jointly owned asset passes to the surviving joint tenant. Probate is not needed to effect this transfer (gov.uk – Applying for probate).

This applies to:

• Joint bank and savings accounts
• Property held as joint tenants (the most common form of co-ownership between spouses and civil partners)
• Joint investments or savings bonds

The surviving owner needs only to produce a death certificate to the relevant institution or the Land Registry to have the deceased’s name removed and the asset transferred into their sole name.

Small estates

If the total value of the estate – across all sole-name assets – falls below the threshold of every institution involved, it may be possible to deal with everything through a small estate declaration. This is a statutory declaration (a formal written statement with legal weight) that sets out the facts of the situation and confirms you are entitled to deal with the estate.

There is no single legal definition of a “small estate” in England and Wales for probate purposes. Each institution applies its own threshold. In practice, very small estates – where the deceased had a modest bank balance, no property, and all other assets were jointly owned – are routinely dealt with without probate.

If in doubt, contact each institution and ask whether they will accept a small estate declaration rather than a grant of probate.

Named beneficiaries on life insurance and pensions

Life insurance policies written in trust, or where a named beneficiary has been designated, pay out directly to that person. The policy proceeds do not form part of the estate and are not subject to probate. The beneficiary simply needs to contact the insurer with the policy details and a death certificate. For a full explanation of how the trust status of a policy affects the payout, see what happens to life insurance when someone dies.

Pension funds are similarly structured. Most workplace and personal pensions are held in trust by the pension provider or trustees, who have discretion over who receives the funds on death. In practice, trustees almost always follow a completed nomination of beneficiaries form. Because the pension is held in trust, it sits outside the estate – probate is not needed, and the funds are not subject to inheritance tax in most cases. See our guide to what happens to pensions when someone dies for more detail.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

This guide covers England and Wales only. If the deceased was resident in Scotland, the equivalent process is called confirmation and is handled through the Sheriff Court. Small estates (currently under £36,000 in Scotland) can be dealt with through a simplified process. See mygov.scot for Scotland-specific guidance.

In Northern Ireland, the grant of probate is issued by the Probate and Matrimonial Office, part of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service. See nidirect.gov.uk – Applying for probate for guidance specific to Northern Ireland.

How to find out if you need probate

The most reliable way to find out whether probate is needed is to contact each institution directly – before you apply.

Step 1: Make a list of all the deceased’s assets. Bank accounts, savings accounts, ISAs, premium bonds, shares, property, life insurance policies, pensions, and any other financial products. For each one, note whether it was held in the sole name or jointly.

Step 2: Contact each institution. Tell them the person has died and ask:

• Do you require a grant of probate to release funds or transfer the account?
• If not, what process do you use for small estates?
• How many certified copies of the grant will you need (if probate is required)?

Step 3: Use gov.uk’s probate checker. The government’s probate application service includes a short eligibility check that can help you confirm whether probate is required before you apply: gov.uk – Apply for probate.

This contact stage is also a useful opportunity to begin the notification process. Many bereavement teams can take an initial death notification and tell you their next steps, even before you have the grant in hand.

Our guides to individual banks and financial institutions – in the what to do after a death section – include details of each institution’s probate threshold where this is published, and the correct contact route for their bereavement team.

How to apply for probate

If you’ve confirmed that probate is needed, here is a brief overview of how to apply. For the full step-by-step process, see our guide to applying for probate.

Apply online. Most people apply through the government’s online service at gov.uk/applying-for-probate. Online applications are processed faster than paper applications – typically within 12 weeks of submission, often sooner for straightforward cases.

Paper applications are also accepted, using form PA1P (if there is a will) or PA1A (if there is no will). Paper applications take longer to process.

Before you apply, you’ll need to:

1. Value the estate – contact all financial institutions for balances at the date of death, and obtain a probate valuation for any property
2. Determine whether inheritance tax is due – the nil-rate band is currently £325,000 (or up to £500,000 if the family home passes to direct descendants), as at April 2026 (gov.uk – Inheritance Tax)
3. If inheritance tax is due, submit form IHT400 to HMRC and begin paying the tax before applying for probate
4. If no inheritance tax is due and the estate is an “excepted estate,” complete the shorter IHT205 process (or its online equivalent)

Fees. The probate application fee is £300 for estates worth more than £5,000. Estates worth £5,000 or less pay no fee. Extra copies of the grant cost £16 each – order several, as institutions will each need one (gov.uk – Applying for probate: fees). For a full breakdown of all probate costs – including solicitor fees and how to reduce them – see our probate costs guide.

For a full breakdown of timelines at each stage, see our guide to how long probate takes.

What happens if you deal with assets without probate

If you distribute estate assets without obtaining probate when it was required, you may be held personally liable. An executor or administrator who transfers property, pays out money, or distributes assets without the legal authority of a grant takes on significant risk.

Creditors of the estate have a right to be paid before beneficiaries. If you distribute funds and a creditor later comes forward, you could be required to repay those sums from your own pocket. The Administration of Estates Act 1925, s.27 provides a mechanism – placing statutory advertisements in The Gazette and local newspapers – that protects personal representatives from unknown creditors, but only after obtaining the grant. Without probate, this protection is not available to you.

Banks and the Land Registry will not co-operate without a grant for assets above their thresholds. If you attempt to access or transfer assets without proper authority, institutions will refuse the transaction. In cases where someone has misrepresented their authority to access funds, this can constitute fraud.

The practical advice: if you are unsure whether probate is needed, check with each institution before taking any action. There is no penalty for asking, and the answer will protect you from making a costly mistake.

When to get professional help

Many straightforward estates can be administered without a solicitor. If the deceased’s assets are clearly identified, the will is unambiguous, there are no disputes, and inheritance tax does not apply, the online probate application at gov.uk is designed for personal applicants.

Consider instructing a probate solicitor or specialist if:

• The estate includes inheritance tax liability – calculating IHT, applying reliefs and exemptions, and completing the IHT400 form for HMRC requires precision. Errors can result in penalties or overpayment. See our inheritance tax guide for an overview of thresholds and reliefs.
• There are disputes – contested wills, disagreements between beneficiaries, or claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 all benefit from legal advice.
• The estate has complex assets – business interests, overseas property, trusts, or agricultural land require specialist knowledge to value and administer correctly. If the deceased was a sole trader or company director, see our guide to what happens to a business when someone dies.
• There is no will and the family structure is complicated – blended families, estranged relatives, or situations where the intestacy rules produce unexpected results.
• You are unsure about personal liability – if the estate has significant debts or you are concerned about creditor claims, a solicitor can advise on how to protect yourself as executor or administrator.

For a breakdown of what professional help costs and how to keep fees manageable, see our probate costs guide.

Common questions

Do I need probate if there is a will?

Having a will does not determine whether probate is needed. A will names the executors and sets out how the estate should be distributed, but it does not give executors legal authority to act. That authority comes from the grant of probate itself – the court document that confirms the will is valid and authorises the named executors to deal with the estate’s assets.

If the estate includes assets that require probate (sole-name property, bank accounts above institutional thresholds, shares), you will need to apply for a grant of probate regardless of whether a will exists. If the estate is small enough that no institution requires a grant, you may not need probate even though there is a will. The will still determines who inherits – probate is about the legal authority to access and distribute those assets (gov.uk – Applying for probate).

Do I need probate for a joint bank account?

No. A joint bank account passes automatically to the surviving account holder by the right of survivorship. The bank will need to see a death certificate to remove the deceased’s name from the account, but a grant of probate is not required. This applies to all joint bank and savings accounts, regardless of the balance.

The same principle applies to joint investments and property held as joint tenants. The key word is “joint” – if the asset was held in the deceased’s sole name, the rules are different and probate may well be needed depending on the value. If you are unsure how an account was held, the bank’s bereavement team can confirm this when you notify them of the death.

How much money can you inherit without probate?

There is no single figure. Each bank and building society sets its own threshold for releasing funds without a grant – see the bank thresholds table earlier in this guide. Among the major high street banks, £50,000 is the most common threshold as at April 2026, while digital banks and NS&I have lower thresholds (£5,000–£10,000).

The total value of the estate is not what determines whether probate is needed. What matters is the value held at each individual institution and whether that institution requires a grant to release the funds. An estate worth £200,000 spread across joint accounts may need no probate at all. An estate worth £30,000 held entirely in a single Monzo account (threshold: £5,000) would require it.

Do I need probate if there’s no will?

Before concluding that no will exists, carry out a thorough search – at home, with the deceased’s solicitor, through the National Will Register, and via the Probate Registry’s standing search. Our guide on how to find a will explains each step. If no will can be found after a thorough search, the estate is treated as intestate.

Yes – if the estate includes assets that would require probate with a will (sole-name property, bank accounts above institutional thresholds, shares), you still need a grant. The difference is what type of grant you apply for. With a will, you apply for a grant of probate. Without a will (intestacy), you apply for letters of administration. The closest living relative applies, following a set order of priority: spouse or civil partner first, then adult children (aged 18 or over), then parents, then siblings (gov.uk – Applying for probate: if there’s no will). The application process and fees are the same – only the distribution rules change, because the estate must be divided according to the intestacy rules set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (as amended) rather than the wishes expressed in a will.

Do I need probate if the estate is under £325,000?

The £325,000 figure is the inheritance tax nil-rate band – the threshold above which inheritance tax is charged at 40%. It has nothing to do with whether probate is required. An estate worth £100,000 can still need probate if it includes a sole-name property or bank accounts above institutional thresholds. Conversely, an estate worth £500,000 might not need probate if everything was held jointly and passes by survivorship (gov.uk – Inheritance Tax). Whether probate is needed depends on how assets were held and whether the institutions holding them require a grant – not on the total value of the estate.

How long do I have to apply for probate?

There is no strict legal deadline for applying for probate in England and Wales. You can apply at any time. However, there are practical reasons not to delay. Banks will freeze sole-name accounts above their threshold until a grant is produced, so the estate’s assets remain inaccessible. If inheritance tax is due, it must be paid within six months of the date of death – interest accrues on late payments regardless of whether probate has been granted (gov.uk – Inheritance Tax: deadlines). Property still needs maintaining and insuring while it sits in the estate. In practice, most executors apply within a few weeks to a few months of the death. For a full breakdown of timelines, see our guide to how long probate takes.

Can I deal with an estate without probate?

Yes – if none of the assets require it. This is common for surviving spouses and civil partners who held most assets jointly. It’s also possible for small estates where the deceased’s sole-name assets fall below all relevant thresholds and institutions are willing to release funds on the basis of a small estate declaration.

If you’re not sure, contacting each institution directly is the fastest way to find out whether you need probate. There is no cost to enquiring, and it may save you the time and expense of an application you didn’t need.

Who applies for probate?

If there is a will, the executors named in the will apply. If there is no will, the next of kin apply in a set order: spouse or civil partner first, then adult children (aged 18 or over), then other relatives. The person who applies becomes the administrator of the estate and is issued with letters of administration rather than a grant of probate (gov.uk – Applying for probate: if there’s no will).

Summary

Whether you need probate depends on what the estate contains and how assets were owned. If the deceased held property or significant assets in their sole name, probate is almost always required. If everything was jointly owned, or the estate is very small, you may be able to deal with it without going through the probate process at all.

The most important thing you can do in the early days is contact each financial institution and ask what they require. That conversation will tell you quickly whether probate is needed – and if so, what you need to prepare before you apply.

Related guides

• Probate: the full guide – an overview of what probate involves and all the steps from death to distribution
• How to apply for probate – step-by-step guide to the application process, forms, fees, and what to expect
• How long does probate take? – a breakdown of timelines at each stage, from application to final distribution
• Probate costs – a full breakdown of court fees, solicitor fees, and how to reduce what you pay
• What happens to bank accounts when someone dies? – how banks handle sole and joint accounts, and what they need from you
• What happens to savings accounts when someone dies? – probate thresholds for savings, ISAs, NS&I, and Premium Bonds; the full process for each account type
• What happens to a council house when someone dies? – succession rights, who can take over a council tenancy, and what the estate must do if no one qualifies
• What to do after a death: the full checklist – a step-by-step guide to the practical tasks in the weeks following a death

Sources

• gov.uk – Applying for probate – when probate is needed, the application process, fees, and processing times (last verified April 2026)
• gov.uk – Wills, probate and inheritance – overview of grants of representation and who can apply (last verified April 2026)
• gov.uk – Dealing with the estate – estate administration after the grant (last verified April 2026)
• gov.uk – Inheritance Tax – nil-rate band, thresholds, and when IHT is due (last verified April 2026)
• gov.uk – Valuing an estate: check if you need to send full details – excepted estate rules (last verified April 2026)
• Administration of Estates Act 1925, s.27 – protection of personal representatives through statutory advertisements (last verified April 2026)
• Individual bank bereavement policies – thresholds verified against published guidance from Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group, Santander, Nationwide, HSBC, TSB, Co-operative Bank, Virgin Money, Yorkshire Building Society, Metro Bank, Monzo, Starling, Revolut, and NS&I (last verified April 2026)
• nidirect.gov.uk – Applying for probate – Northern Ireland probate guidance (last verified April 2026)
• mygov.scot – When someone dies – Scotland confirmation process (last verified April 2026)