Do I need probate for a small estate?
England and Wales has no official small-estate procedure. What decides it is each organisation's own limit, and for a genuinely small estate those limits are rarely reached.
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The short answer
- There is no fixed value below which probate is not needed. The law leaves it to each organisation holding an asset.
- Most large banks and building societies release up to around £50,000 in sole-name accounts on the death certificate and a form. Smaller institutions may set lower limits.
- NS&I's limit is £5,000, and share registrars are typically £20,000 to £30,000. These are the ones that catch small estates.
- A house in a sole name always needs a grant, however small the rest of the estate.
- Under £5,000 there is no court fee if you do apply; above it the fee is £526.
People searching for a small-estate rule are often thinking of Scotland, which has a statutory small estates procedure, or of the £5,000 figure that appears in the court fee rules. England and Wales has neither a threshold nor a simplified procedure. The good news is that for a small estate the practical answer is usually still "no grant", because the limits the organisations set are well above what most small estates contain.
Why there is no threshold
A grant is needed when an organisation will not release an asset without one. Parliament has never set a figure; instead the Administration of Estates (Small Payments) Act 1965 allows certain bodies to pay out up to £5,000 without a grant, and banks have chosen, as a matter of policy, to go far beyond that. The result is a patchwork:
- Large banks and building societies: mostly around £50,000 per customer across all sole-name accounts at that institution, some higher, a few lower. They will ask for the death certificate, a closure form, identification, and sometimes sight of the will.
- Smaller building societies and credit unions: often lower, sometimes £15,000 to £30,000. Ask.
- NS&I: £5,000 across all NS&I holdings.
- Share registrars (Equiniti, Computershare, MUFG): small-estate procedures typically up to £20,000 to £30,000 per company holding, with an indemnity.
- Investment platforms: their own limits, often similar to banks.
- Insurers: their own limits for policies not written in trust.
- The Land Registry: no limit at all. Sole-name land always needs a grant.
The limits apply per organisation, not to the estate. £40,000 at each of two banks needs no grant; £80,000 at one does.
A genuinely small estate
Take an estate consisting of a current account with £3,000, a savings account at the same bank with £9,000, a car worth £4,000, and furniture and personal effects. Total, about £16,000. The bank releases the £12,000 on the death certificate and closure form. The car is sold by the family with the V5C and a copy of the death certificate. The effects are distributed. No grant is applied for; nothing about the estate required one.
Now add £6,000 of Premium Bonds. NS&I's limit is £5,000, so NS&I requires a grant. The estate is only £22,000, but the grant has to be obtained and it covers everything. This is the pattern to watch for: a small estate with one asset held somewhere with a low limit.
The £5,000 court fee rule
If a grant is applied for, the application fee in England and Wales is £526 for estates over £5,000 and nothing for estates of £5,000 or less. "Estate" here means the net value passing under the grant, after debts, and excluding jointly owned assets that pass by survivorship. The nil fee exists precisely because small estates occasionally need a grant (a small sole-name flat, or an insurer that insists) and it would be disproportionate to charge for it.
The rule is about the fee, not about whether a grant is needed. An estate of £4,000 that is all in one bank account needs no grant and pays no fee; an estate of £4,000 consisting of a share in a plot of land needs a grant and pays no fee.
Administering a small estate without a grant
- Register the death and use Tell Us Once for DWP, HMRC, the DVLA, the council and the passport office.
- Tell each bank, by phone, online or through the Death Notification Service. Ask for the closure forms and confirm they will not need a grant.
- Send the funeral invoice to the bank to be paid from the account before it is closed.
- Pay the other debts from what is released: utilities, credit cards, any care fees. Debts do not pass to the family, but they come before any inheritance.
- Distribute the rest under the will or the intestacy rules, and keep a simple record of what came in and where it went.
Our step-by-step guide to what to do when someone dies covers each of these in more detail.
Common questions
Is there a small estate threshold for probate in the UK?
Not in England and Wales. There is no value below which a grant is automatically unnecessary; each bank, registrar and insurer sets its own limit for releasing assets without one. Scotland has a separate statutory small estates procedure. The £5,000 figure often quoted is the level below which the probate application fee is nil, not a threshold for needing probate.
Do you need probate for an estate under £5,000?
Almost never. Every bank's limit is well above £5,000, so cash and savings at that level are released on the death certificate. The exception is sole-name land, which needs a grant whatever it is worth, and NS&I holdings just over £5,000. If a grant is applied for at this level, there is no court fee.
How much money can you have in the bank before probate is needed?
It depends on the bank. Most large UK banks and building societies release balances up to around £50,000 without a grant; some go higher, and some smaller institutions are lower. The limit applies per institution across all sole-name accounts held there, so ask each bank directly for its current figure.
Do you need probate if there is no property?
Only if a sole-name account or holding is above its holder's limit. Without property the commonest reasons a grant is still needed are NS&I holdings over £5,000, a share portfolio above the registrar's limit, or a large single bank balance. If everything is under the limits, no grant is required.
Do you need probate if the person only had savings?
Usually not. GOV.UK lists "only had savings" as a situation where probate may not be needed. The savings are released by each institution on the death certificate provided the balance is below that institution's limit. A very large balance at one bank, or savings with NS&I over £5,000, would need a grant.
What is the smallest estate that has needed probate?
There is no lower limit in practice. A share in a small piece of land, a single company shareholding above the registrar's limit, or an insurer that will not pay a modest policy without a grant can all require one for an estate worth only a few thousand pounds. The court recognises this by charging no fee for estates of £5,000 or less.
Related guides
Important
Solace is not a firm of solicitors and does not provide legal, tax or financial advice. We are an estate administration service and we are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority or any equivalent body. Nothing in this guide constitutes legal, tax or financial advice, and no solicitor–client relationship is created by reading it.
This article is general information only. It reflects the position in England and Wales at the date shown above; the law and the figures change, and Scotland and Northern Ireland differ in important respects. It may not apply to your circumstances. Whether a particular estate needs a grant is ultimately decided by the organisations holding the assets, and their limits change. Administering an estate carries personal legal responsibility, and you should obtain advice from a qualified solicitor, accountant or other regulated professional where appropriate. Always check current rates, fees and deadlines against GOV.UK before acting.