selling

How long does probate take?

How long does probate take? What GOV.UK says about the grant, what causes delays, and what the wait means if you need to sell the house.

4 min read
Last reviewed 31 October 2026
By Your Property Check team

Part 1 of 6

What GOV.UK says about the wait

The one timescale GOV.UK gives is for the grant itself. Its page on applying for probate says you will usually get probate within 12 weeks of submitting your application, and that it can take longer if you need to provide additional information. We read the page on 31 October 2026. GOV.UK does not say how long it takes to prepare the application, because that depends on the estate.

So the honest answer is in two parts. The grant has a usual window. Everything around it, before and after, does not have a single official figure. We tried to read the Law Society's guidance on typical estate timescales, but the page did not load, so we state no typical overall time here and invent none.

Part 2 of 6

The stages, in order

Gather information and value the estate. The person applying, the executor named in the will or the closest relative if there is none, works out what the estate owns and owes. GOV.UK describes this person as responsible for the assets from the date of death until everything has passed to the beneficiaries, a time it calls the administration period.
Check Inheritance Tax. For an online application, GOV.UK says you must estimate the value of the estate. If it is not an excepted estate, you submit form IHT400 to HMRC, start paying any tax owed, and wait for HMRC to send a unique code. For a paper application you wait for HMRC's letter with a code. GOV.UK gives no time for HMRC's reply, so this step can add time.
Apply. Online is the faster route. GOV.UK says it takes longer to process paper applications than online applications, and advises applying online if you can.
Wait for the grant. The usual window is 12 weeks from submission.
Collect, sell, pay and distribute. After the grant the personal representative can deal with the estate's assets, which includes selling property.

Part 3 of 6

What causes delay

GOV.UK points to a small number of things:

More information needed. If the application is incomplete or unclear, the 12 weeks can be extended.
Paper instead of online. Paper applications take longer to process.
The Inheritance Tax step. You cannot apply until you have your HMRC code, and GOV.UK gives no time for it. A complicated estate, or one with several assets to value, can take longer to prepare.
Disagreement between executors. GOV.UK says that where executors share the role, you should agree what assets to sell and when. A dispute stops progress, and a solicitor can help.

We do not give percentages or averages for how often estates are delayed, because GOV.UK does not publish them.

Part 4 of 6

What it means if you need to sell the house

A house is often the largest asset, and families under pressure ask whether they can speed things up. Three practical points follow from what GOV.UK says.

First, the grant comes before a sale. Our article on selling a house in probate sets out GOV.UK's advice about when to put the property on the market and who can sell. Second, the wait is not wasted. You can arrange a valuation, collect the paperwork and take advice from a solicitor, which keeps the later stages short. Third, the sale itself has its own timescale after the grant, covered in our guide to how long conveyancing takes.

Use the probate timeline tool to lay these stages out against the dates you enter. If the estate may owe tax, the Inheritance Tax checker gives a first look before you start.

Part 5 of 6

Planning around the wait

Because no one can give you a fixed date, plan in ranges and keep the family informed. Write down each stage, who is responsible for it and what is still outstanding. Ask each executor to confirm early that they are willing to act, since GOV.UK says executors who share the role should agree what to sell and when. If one of you lives far away, agree how documents will be signed and shared. Keep the death certificate, the will, statements for every account and the property documents together, because missing paperwork is a common reason for the further information requests that GOV.UK says can extend the usual 12 weeks.

If the estate holds more than a house, deal with the house in step with the rest. The Inheritance Tax position affects when you can apply, and the grant affects when you can sell, so one delay carries through to the others. Take advice before you spend estate money on repairs or marketing, and keep receipts.

Part 6 of 6

Keep costs and records

Carrying costs on an empty property, such as insurance and utilities, run while you wait. Keep a record of every cost, because the estate accounts need it. Our empty property checklist lists what to check. This page is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice. A probate solicitor can tell you what applies to your estate.

Our take

Plan around the grant, not a guess

Our view: nobody can give you a fixed date, and GOV.UK gives only one: usually within 12 weeks of submitting the application, longer if more information is needed. The common mistake is waiting idly. The wait is the time to gather papers and get a sense of value, so the later stages stay short.

While you wait, our free house valuation gives a value range from real HM Land Registry sold prices for the postcode, with the working shown. It is an estimate, not a formal valuation, so it does not replace the figures your solicitor needs for the estate.

Check my value

Our opinion, drawn from the facts on this page: not advice and not a forecast. We earn from OfferCheck reports and from introducing sellers to cash buyers, so weigh it with that in mind (see our disclosure). We are not authorised or regulated by the FCA.

Questions, answered

Frequently asked questions

How long does probate take in the UK?

GOV.UK says you will usually get probate within 12 weeks of submitting your application, and it can take longer if more information is needed. The steps before the application, and the sale of any property after the grant, add their own time.

Why is probate taking so long?

GOV.UK points to requests for more information, paper applications that take longer than online ones, and the Inheritance Tax step, where you wait for an HMRC code. Disagreement between executors also stops progress.

Can you speed up probate?

GOV.UK advises applying online if you can, because paper applications take longer. Giving complete, accurate information the first time also avoids the extra requests that can extend the usual 12 weeks.

Can you sell a house while waiting for probate?

GOV.UK advises not to put property on the market until you have probate. You can prepare, for example by arranging a valuation. Our selling a house in probate article explains the position in more detail.

How long does probate take for a house?

The grant has the same usual window whatever the estate holds. A house adds a sale afterwards, which depends on the buyer and the chain. No official source gives a single figure for the whole process, so we do not.

Where this comes from

Sources

Last reviewed 31 October 2026 by the Your Property Check team. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, speak to a conveyancing solicitor or another qualified professional.