How long does probate take right now?
The current wait, from HMCTS's own figures
HM Courts & Tribunals Service management information for June 2026, published 13 August 2026. 46,957 applications open, of which 24,229 are stopped or waiting for documents. Refreshed when HMCTS publishes each month.
Two different questions hide inside "how long does probate take". One is how long the Probate Registry takes to turn an application into a grant, and that has a precise answer because HMCTS publishes it every month. The other is how long the whole thing takes, from the death to the last payment to the last beneficiary, and that depends far more on banks, HMRC and estate agents than on the court. This page covers both, with the registry figures pulled straight from the published data.
The trend: waits are creeping up again
Average weeks from submission to grant
All applications, digital and paper, by month. Source: HMCTS management information.
Show the figures as a table
| Month | Online (weeks) | Paper (weeks) | All (weeks) | Open caseload |
|---|
In June 2025 the average application took 5.6 weeks; by June 2026 it was 7. Online applications went from 4.2 weeks to 5.2 and paper from 14.3 to 17.9. The open caseload grew from 39,339 to 46,957 over the same period, and 52% of it is applications that are stopped or waiting for documents. The service is a long way from the twelve-week-plus waits of late 2023, but the direction of travel has turned.
The single most useful number in that dataset isn't the headline. It's the split between stopped and not-stopped applications: an online application that goes through without a query is taking under two weeks, while one that gets stopped takes over three months. Most of the wait, in other words, is avoidable, and the section on why applications get stopped is the part of this page worth reading twice.
The full timeline, death to distribution
The registry figures above cover stage four only. Here is the whole sequence, with what gates each stage. Ranges are for a straightforward estate in England and Wales; the "slow case" notes explain what pushes them out.
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Death to registration
3–7 days
Since September 2024 every death not referred to a coroner is reviewed by a medical examiner before the certificate reaches the registrar; that usually takes two to five days. Registration must follow within five days of the certificate being available. A coroner's referral or inquest can add weeks or months, and you can't apply for probate until it's released.
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Registration to a complete valuation
4–12 weeks
The slowest stage that nobody warns you about. Every bank, pension provider, insurer and share registrar has to confirm a date-of-death value, and each takes two to six weeks to reply. Property needs a valuation. Finding everything is most of the work, and you cannot apply until it's done.
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Inheritance tax, if a full return is needed
3–8 weeks
Excepted estates report their figures inside the probate application and skip this stage. Otherwise the IHT400 goes to HMRC, any tax due has to be paid (or a first instalment arranged) and HMRC issues a code confirming it, typically around twenty working days later. You cannot submit the probate application until that code arrives. Note that claiming a late spouse's unused residence allowance requires the full return even where nothing is due.
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Application submitted to grant issued
5 weeks online, 18 on paper
This is the HMCTS figure in the box at the top. The original will has to arrive at the registry by post before the clock really starts, and a query from the registry ("stopped") resets it. How to apply.
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Grant to assets collected
4–12 weeks
Each institution needs a sealed copy of the grant and its own closure form. Banks are usually two to six weeks; pensions and investments slower; shares need a registrar's transfer or sale. Order enough sealed copies with the application (they're £2 each then, £16 each later) so you can write to everyone at once.
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Property sale, if any
3–6 months
Marketing can start before the grant but exchange can't happen without it. Empty because of a death, the property is exempt from council tax until the grant and for six months after.
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Waiting out the claim windows
2–6 months, overlapping
A statutory notice in the Gazette gives creditors two months to come forward. Claims under the Inheritance Act can be made for six months from the grant, so cautious executors don't distribute the residue until then. Every deadline is set out here.
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Estate accounts and distribution
2–4 weeks
Final tax to date of death and on estate income, accounts prepared and approved by the beneficiaries, then payment.
A fast case, excepted estate, no property, online application, no queries: three to five months from death to distribution. A slow case, full IHT400, a house to sell, one stopped application: twelve to eighteen months, and nothing anyone did wrong.
Why applications get stopped, and how to avoid it
HMCTS "stops" an application when something needs checking or is missing, and the data shows what that costs: a stopped online application averages 13.3 weeks against 1.7 for one that isn't. These are the usual reasons, roughly in order of how often we see them.
- The original will hasn't arrived. The online application is complete only when the registry has the physical will. Send it by tracked post the same day you submit, with the cover sheet the service gives you.
- Names don't match. The executor's name on the application must match the will exactly, including middle names and spellings. If the will says "Bob" and the passport says "Robert", explain it in the application rather than hoping.
- The inheritance tax figures don't agree with HMRC's. If you've submitted an IHT400, the values in the probate application must match it to the pound, and the application must wait for HMRC's code.
- The will's condition raises a question. Staple holes, paperclip marks or a torn edge prompt the registry to ask whether another document was attached. If there's a mark, explain it when you apply.
- An executor is missing without explanation. Every executor named in the will must apply, renounce, or have power reserved to them with notice given. Silence stops the application.
- The statement of truth is unsigned or the fee unpaid. More common than you'd think on paper applications.
Applying online is the one change that moves your wait more than anything else: it's a third of the paper time, and the form catches most of the errors above before you submit. Paper applications are still needed for some situations, such as certain foreign wills, but if you have the choice, don't choose paper.
Estimate your dates
Probate timeline estimator
Turns the current HMCTS figures and the stage ranges above into dates for your estate. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Estimates from published averages, not a prediction for your application. Not sure whether the estate needs probate at all? Check first, or tell us about the estate.
What actually speeds it up
- Start the valuation letters in week one. Stage two is the long pole and it runs in parallel with everything else. Write to every institution the day after registration with a death certificate and a request for the date-of-death balance.
- Get the IHT code before you touch the probate form. If a full return is needed, submit it first and wait; applying for probate before HMRC has processed it guarantees a stop.
- Apply online, and post the will the same day. Tracked, with the cover sheet, and keep the tracking number.
- Order ten sealed copies with the application. Collecting assets in parallel after the grant saves weeks; waiting for copies to arrive one at a time wastes them.
- Resolve executor questions before applying. Renunciations signed, power reserved notices sent, name discrepancies explained in the application itself.
- Don't wait for the grant to prepare everything after it. Have every closure form, estate agent and share dealing instruction ready so the sealed copies go out the day they arrive.
Checking progress and when to chase
Online applicants can see the status in their GOV.UK probate account, and a "stopped" status will say what the registry is waiting for; read it carefully, because the fix is usually something only you can send. HMCTS asks applicants not to contact the registry about an application until 16 weeks have passed since submission, and the contact centre will generally say the same if you call earlier. If you're past 16 weeks, or the status has said "stopped" for more than two weeks with no letter explaining why, call the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre on 0300 303 0648 (Monday to Friday) with your case reference.
Solicitors and probate practitioners use a separate professional portal and can see slightly more, which is one of the few real advantages of instructing one for the application itself.
How we got here: 2023 to now
Through 2023 the Probate Registry fell badly behind: average waits passed twelve weeks by the end of the year, paper applications routinely took five months, and the open caseload passed 100,000. HMCTS recruited, moved more of the process online and pushed applicants towards digital, and by December 2024 the government was able to say the average wait had fallen to just over four weeks, with online applications at around two weeks and paper under fifteen; the backlog had come down by more than 50,000 cases from its August 2023 peak.
The figures on this page pick up from there. Over the year to June 2026 the average has drifted back up from 5.6 to 7 weeks, and the open caseload from 39,000 to 47,000, with the growth almost entirely in stopped applications and in cases older than twelve months. It's not 2023, but it's no longer improving, and anyone planning around a two-week grant is planning around a figure that's eighteen months old.
Sources: HMCTS management information (monthly, Open Government Licence); GOV.UK, 14 February 2025. The underlying figures for this page are published at /data/probate-timeliness.json and refreshed from GOV.UK; you're welcome to link to or reuse them with attribution.
Common questions
How long does probate take after applying?
According to HMCTS's figures for June 2026, an online application takes an average of 5.2 weeks from submission to grant and a paper application 17.9 weeks. An online application that isn't stopped for a query averages under two weeks; one that is stopped averages over thirteen. The clock only really starts once the original will has reached the registry.
Why is my probate application taking so long?
Usually because it has been stopped: the original will hasn't arrived, a name doesn't match the will, the inheritance tax figures don't agree with HMRC's, an executor hasn't been accounted for, or the will's condition has raised a question. Check the status in your GOV.UK probate account, which will say what the registry is waiting for. If it has been more than 16 weeks since you submitted, contact the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre.
How long does probate take without a will?
The registry timescales are the same; letters of administration go through the same queue as grants of probate. What tends to take longer is the stage before: establishing who is entitled to apply under the intestacy rules and, where relatives are unknown or abroad, tracing them.
How long does probate take if there is inheritance tax to pay?
Add roughly a month before you can apply. A full IHT400 has to go to HMRC, any tax due has to be paid or an instalment arranged, and HMRC issues a code around twenty working days later. Only then can the probate application be submitted. Overall, an estate with a full inheritance tax return typically takes nine to eighteen months to settle rather than six to twelve.
Can I sell the house before probate is granted?
You can market it and accept an offer, but you cannot exchange contracts or complete without the grant, because until then nobody has legal authority to sell. Tell the buyer and the agent from the start, and expect a buyer's solicitor to ask for the grant before exchange.
How long after probate is money released?
Typically two to six weeks per institution once they have a sealed copy of the grant and their closure form, so four to twelve weeks to collect everything if you write to all of them at once. Share registrars, some pension providers and anything needing a sale rather than a transfer take longer.
When can beneficiaries be paid?
Specific gifts and small legacies are often paid once the assets are in and the debts are known. Most executors hold back the residue until six months after the grant, because that is the window for claims under the Inheritance Act, and until any Gazette notice period has expired. Distributing earlier is allowed but exposes the executor personally if a claim arrives.
How do I check my probate application status?
Log in to the GOV.UK probate service account you used to apply; the case will show as submitted, stopped, or granted, and a stopped case will state what is needed. HMCTS asks applicants to wait 16 weeks from submission before chasing. For paper applications there is no online status, so call the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre with your reference after 16 weeks.
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. Registry timings are national monthly averages published by HM Courts & Tribunals Service and are not a forecast for any individual application. It may not apply to your circumstances. 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.