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How much does probate cost? Court fee, copies and other costs for England and Wales

How much does probate cost in England and Wales? The GOV.UK fee is £526 for estates over £5,000, plus copies and Inheritance Tax. Solicitor costs vary.

4 min read
Last reviewed 4 November 2026
By Your Property Check team

Part 1 of 7

The fixed court fee

General information, not advice. The only fee GOV.UK sets for probate is the court fee. On 4 November 2026 GOV.UK listed these amounts for England and Wales:

Cost	Fee	Who pays	Source
Probate application, estate over £5,000	£526	The person applying	GOV.UK, Applying for probate
Probate application, estate £5,000 or less	No fee	n/a	GOV.UK, Applying for probate
Extra copies of the grant ordered with the application	£2 each	The person applying	GOV.UK, Applying for probate
Extra copies ordered after the application	£16 each	The person applying	GOV.UK, Applying for probate
Second application, if probate was already granted	£22	The person applying	GOV.UK, Applying for probate

If you apply online, GOV.UK says you pay the full probate fee when you apply. You may get help with the probate fee and other court fees if you have a low income or receive certain benefits, by applying online or using form EX160 before you apply. GOV.UK says you cannot get help with the fee for extra copies. It does not say whether the fee can be paid from the estate.

Extra copies matter because banks, lenders and the Land Registry may each want a copy of the grant. The cheaper rate applies only if you order copies with the application.

Part 2 of 7

Costs outside the court fee

The court fee is usually the smaller part of the total. GOV.UK gives no figures for the items below, so we quote none, and each needs its own quote.

Cost	What GOV.UK says	Who pays
Inheritance Tax	No tax is normally due below £325,000, which can rise to £500,000 where the home passes to children or grandchildren; 40% above the threshold; you pay it by the end of the sixth month after the death to avoid interest	The estate, usually through the executor
Valuation of the house and other assets	You must value the estate before applying; valuing can take several months	The estate, or the executor first
Solicitor or other professional	You can hire a professional, such as a solicitor, for some or all of the valuing tasks; GOV.UK does not say a solicitor is required to apply	Whoever hires them, subject to the will or the estate
Debts and taxes of the person who died	The estate pays these before it is shared out	The estate
Selling the house	Agent, conveyancing and other sale costs	The estate; see the links below

Part 3 of 7

Do you need a solicitor?

The GOV.UK probate pages we read do not say you must use one. They do say anyone can apply who is an executor named in the will, or the closest living relative if there is no will. Whether to hire a solicitor depends on how complicated the estate is. For a simple estate with a will you may not need one, and for an estate with a house, a business or a tax bill, many people want advice. Any firm should give you a written quote that says whether the fee is fixed, what it includes and whether VAT and expenses are extra.

Part 4 of 7

Can it be paid from the estate?

Inheritance Tax is paid from the estate funds, through the executor, according to GOV.UK. Beyond that, GOV.UK's pages we read do not set out which costs the estate can bear, and executors often have to pay some bills before the estate's funds are available. Whether you can be repaid depends on the will and the law, so ask a solicitor.

Part 5 of 7

The cost of selling the house

If the house is sold, the usual sale costs apply on top of the probate costs. We have worked these through elsewhere: see how much it costs to sell a house, estate agent fees and conveyancing fees when selling. GOV.UK also advises that you should not put the property on the market until you have probate; see selling a house in probate.

Part 6 of 7

How long it takes

Time is also a cost, because the estate carries the house's bills while it waits. Our guide to how long probate takes sets out what GOV.UK says. The probate timeline tool lays the stages out.

Part 7 of 7

A simple way to budget

Start with the court fee from the table.
Add the number of extra copies you expect to need.
Check Inheritance Tax with the Inheritance Tax checker.
Get written quotes for valuation and any solicitor.
Add the sale costs if the house will be sold.

If the house will be sold, our free house value check shows a range from real sold prices in the postcode to set beside a formal valuation.

The fees above were checked on 4 November 2026. GOV.UK can change them, so check the fee page before you apply.

This page is general information, not advice.

Our take

Budget for the whole estate, not just the court fee

The £526 application fee for an estate over £5,000 (checked on 4 November 2026) is the small, certain part. Inheritance Tax, valuation, any solicitor and the cost of selling the house are separate, and no official figure covers them all. We think the mistake is budgeting for the fee alone, so get written quotes and add the sale costs.

What Your Property Check adds: our free house value check gives an honest value range from real HM Land Registry sold prices in the postcode, with the comparable sales shown, to sit alongside any formal valuation. The sale method comparison tool then compares routes on net proceeds.

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 much does probate cost?

The GOV.UK application fee is £526 if the estate is over £5,000, and there is no fee at £5,000 or less. Extra copies cost £2 each with the application. Tax, valuations and any solicitor are extra.

What is the probate fee?

£526 for an estate over £5,000, from GOV.UK, as checked on 4 November 2026. A second application, if probate was already granted, costs £22. Extra copies ordered afterwards cost £16 each.

Do you need a solicitor for probate?

The GOV.UK pages we read do not say you must. Executors named in a will, or the closest relative where there is no will, can apply. You can hire a solicitor for some or all of the tasks.

Can the cost be paid from the estate?

Inheritance Tax is paid from the estate by the executor. GOV.UK does not say whether the court fee can be paid from the estate, so ask a solicitor.

Can I get help with the probate fee?

You may, if you have a low income or receive certain benefits. Apply online or use form EX160 before you apply. GOV.UK says there is no help with the fee for extra copies.

Where this comes from

Sources

Last reviewed 4 November 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.