Costs and fees
Probate: How Much Does It Cost?
The cost of Probate depends almost entirely on the route you take. Do everything yourself for free via GOV.UK, use a platform like ours for a fixed fee, or instruct a solicitor and potentially pay thousands. This guide breaks down every cost you might encounter and helps you decide which approach makes sense for your situation.
What are the unavoidable government fees?
Whatever route you choose, these costs are fixed and cannot be avoided.
The Probate Registry application fee
When you submit your Probate application, HM Courts and Tribunals Service charges a fee of £526 if the value of the estate is £5,000 or over. There is no fee for estates valued under £5,000. This is a government fee paid directly to the Probate Registry and is the same regardless of whether you apply yourself or use a solicitor.
Additional official copies of the Grant
Once your Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration is issued, you will almost certainly need several official copies to send to banks, mortgage lenders, investment platforms, and other financial organisations simultaneously. Each official copy costs £2. Most estates need between three and ten copies, so it is worth ordering enough upfront rather than requesting more later at additional cost.
Death certificates
You will need multiple certified copies of the death certificate when you register the death. Ordering several at the outset saves time chasing them later.
Statutory advertisement in The Gazette
Placing a notice in The Gazette (and optionally a local paper) protects you as Executor against future creditor claims. If a creditor comes forward after the estate has been distributed and you placed a notice, liability passes to the Beneficiaries rather than remaining with you personally. The Gazette charges around £70 plus VAT for this notice.
How much does a Probate solicitor cost?
Solicitor fees for Probate vary widely and are rarely straightforward. Many firms still charge by the hour, and quotes for a standard estate commonly run to £1,500 to £5,000+. For larger or more complex estates, or where a solicitor charges a percentage of the estate value, fees can reach £10,000 to £20,000 or more.
Even “fixed-price Probate” from a solicitor or specialist provider tends to be quoted on application once they have assessed the estate’s complexity. The published figure is rarely the final one. Extras such as completing IHT forms, dealing with property, or handling multiple bank accounts are often priced separately. Always ask exactly what is and is not included before agreeing to anything.
It is also worth noting that much of the information-gathering work — contacting banks, valuing assets, locating the will, gathering documents — still falls to you as Executor even when you use a solicitor. They complete the forms with the information you provide.
What does DIY Probate cost?
Applying for Probate yourself via GOV.UK costs only the unavoidable government fees listed above. There are no professional fees to pay. You complete form PA1P (with a will) or PA1A (without a will) and the relevant HMRC Inheritance Tax forms yourself, value the estate yourself, and submit everything directly.
What does YouCanDoProbate cost, and what does it include?
YouCanDoProbate charges a single fixed fee of £499 inc. VAT. There are no hidden extras, no hourly charges, and no percentage of the estate taken.
For that fee, the platform completes all of the following on your behalf:
- Probate application forms PA1P or PA1A, completed automatically from your answers
- Full IHT400 Inheritance Tax return, including all supplementary schedules where required
- Every IHT exemption and calculation, including nil rate band, residence nil rate band, transferred allowances, and gifts
- Unlimited UK-based expert support by phone, email, live chat, and support ticket
- Secure cloud storage of all your workings and submitted documents
The only additional costs are the standard government fees: the £526 Probate Registry fee plus £2 per official copy of the Grant you need.
The easy and affordable way to apply for probate
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Made probate very easy
Very good takes you through all steps. Don’t need solicitors
This was the first Probate I’d applied for. Initially, I assumed I’d have no choice but to go via a solicitor who would have asked me to gather all the information required yet charge thousands of pounds for the service. After carrying out further research online, I came across the YouCanDoProbate website, read their Trustpilot reviews and made some other sensible checks. I phoned them and had an initial conversation with Tom who was friendly and knowledgeable and asked several questions about the estate (it was over the individual IHT threshold but would be using the Transferable Nil Rate Band of a pre-deceased spouse) and he confirmed the platform would be able to deal with this. I was a little nervous initially about whether this was the right way forward but decided to go for it, signed up and paid the £499 fee which gave me access to the platform via my usual web browser so no special software needed. From then on, it was a relatively straightforward administrative task of putting in the information required. I loved that it saved all the information so that if I was interrupted or had to stop, I could just go back to it later and pick up where I’d left off. It went through the estate details very logically – personal info of all those involved – the deceased, pre-deceased spouse, executors, beneficiaries then assets, liabilities, expenses, gifts etc. After filling in all the required information, the platform then generated the Estate Summary (in my case showing there was no inheritance tax to pay and confirming that I didn’t have to fill in a separate form to send to HMRC). It had autofilled all the relevant information I’d input in the previous sections and made all the calculations for me with a detailed breakdown as to how the figures were arrived at. When I needed help and a bit of reassurance on 4 occasions via support ticket email, requesting a callback for a specific time or calling directly, Adam and Tom answered my queries quickly and knowledgeably and I was fully reassured that the forms had been completed correctly. Once I was satisfied with the Estate Summary details, I was able to move on and the system generated the autofilled Probate form which I could download and print off for review before signing. If anything needed to be amended, it was possible to go back and do so throughout the entire process before completing one stage and moving on to another. While I chose to complete the forms over the course of several days, I think it would be possible to complete the whole process in a few hours if there were no interruptions. On Thurs 28th May, I posted off the PA1P probate form with all the other relevant documents required including the probate fee postal orders (so no time waiting for a cheque to clear). I used the 1st class Royal Mail tracked service which was delivered the next day. I received an acknowledgement of receipt email on Mon 1 June with a reference number, another email on Tues 2 June confirming that Probate had been approved and, finally, on Thurs 4 June, I received the Grant of Probate letter in the post, 4 working days after sending off the application. I was expecting to have to wait 3 or 4 months for a response and am truly amazed at the speed of the turnaround. I cannot thank YouCanDoProbate enough. It is an amazing service, worth every penny of the £499 cost and I highly recommend it.
Simple to use the online tools and help to complete my application
Timely and efficient support at a sensible cost.
I only wish I’d found this service earlier., it has been invaluable. It made what felt a daunting task manageable in a time of great stress and upset. The phone support was also brilliant. I would highly recommend.
Due to the present extenuating circumstances i.e. Coronavirus Lockdown, I decided to do Probate on my own behalf. Having now completed the paper work. Sincerely I should like to thank the support team for their help and guidance.It was reassuring to know that there was always someone at the end of the phone to call upon if I was uncertain.
What a brilliant service, a simple money saver. Thoroughly recommended to do Probate yourself. Very well supported by Probate experts on the end of the telephone. I phoned 4 times and nothing was to much trouble. Reasonably simple forms to download and fill in. You can at any point return to the start and edit anything. Even if you make a total hash of it you can start again as many times as you like. It collates all the information you enter into the forms and then when you print it out it is in a recognised format for the HMCTS people. If you are unsure just phone the help line and talk to an expert, if they bare busy they will call you back. I applied for Probate on 29th April, on 12 May I had conformation that Probate had been granted and I would receive my Grant Of Probate paperwork within 10 working days. You cant beat that, well worth the £499.
Easier to complete than I initially thought.
i had talked to a solicitor to do the probate, he wanted 1 to 5 % of the value of the house approx £4,000 to £20,000 pounds then i found youcandoprobate.co.uk online, for £325 so instead of telling the high cost solicitor all the details he needed to know, i just wrote them same details on the online forms, and any questions i had were only a phone call away and each question was answered. as you go through the online forms every thing is worked out for you and you print the forms off at the end and send them off. this as an excellent service and have no hesitation in recommending them, they are brilliant
Better then spending 1000s on solicitors fees!
My wife and I are sensible, educated and technical people but the probate system via the HMRC/Gov websites just left us confused. We searched for help and YouCanDoProbate appeared on a search. Reviews were good so thought we should try it out. It really has been the best money spent. The step by step process which then completes all the forms you require, not being able to proceed until the previous step is ready and the general hand-holding is excellent. I used the telephone support once for a quick a question, which was answered perfectly. Really appreciate the help during a testing time. Have already recommended and will continue to do so.
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