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 support by phone, email, live chat and 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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System was priced sensibly and easy to use
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.
Although my application was fairly straightforward at my age I needed it to be stress free. The help I received and the clear instructions and information made it just that.
Saved a lot of expense using YouCanDoProbate. Everything is easy to follow, could not have been simpler. You answer the questions, you print the generated forms, you send them off. Very glad I used this service.
An excellent service. The team are happy to talk you through the options before you commit and make sure that the software will work for your circumstances. Once you get started it is easy to use and save your work. Very good and recommended.
I’ve used the online tool on two occasions now and personally I believe its the best around. The system is both easy to use and very intuitive and the aftersales is second to none. Well done and congratulations for bring this tool to the masses.
I received my Grant of Probate two weeks after using this service. It was incredibly simple to use, the instructions and prompts were clear and concise. All the calculations were done for me. So much quicker than using a solicitor and much much cheaper. I made the application in between Christmas and New Year when most solicitors would have been closed. Probate was granted on 5th January. Using this service was money well spent.
I had obtained Probate twice before this one so the process was not completely unknown to me. However, since my last effort there have been changes to the process, so I looked for guidance and found YouCanDoProbate and decided to use them and their package. I cannot recommend them highly enough – the package and the support that accompanies it is superb. Thank you so much.
I came across YouCanDoProbate whilst whilst scanning to get a company to help me do probate myself. At first I was surprised that this service was a fraction of the price that I had come across previously. What a great move to choose YCDP A great friendly and professional service. Got through our Probate with ease and total support. We had Tom supporting us. Such a terrific service, and great value Highly recommended Thank you
I would highly recommend YouCanDoProbate. I had originally been quoted thousands by the Co-op legal team. It was an extortionate amount, and I thought “Is it really that difficult?” After Googling I came across YouCanDoProbate and read the reviews. At first I thought “What’s the catch?” I did more research to check out the company more, and indeed everything looked genuine, because it is! I signed up, and simply followed all the sections. The web layout/dashboard is very clear and user friendly. Keen to make sure I was accurate in my thinking, I did use the e mail questioning a couple of times. The responses were very quick and thorough, explaining everything clearly and in simple terms. At the end, all forms are generated ready to print. Having spoken to friends who had lost parents recently, they have said all the information they had to provide to a solicitor was the same as I simply had to tap in. They paid the thousands I had been quoted. You can obviously do all this independently, and simply fill in forms yourself, without using YouCanDoProbate even. But if you are like me thinking “Can I do this? What happens if I get it wrong?” Then YouCanDoProbate gives you the easy web layout, all the calculation functions and the ease of a form completed. This service took the fear out of the process as I didn’t feel alone with no support. I also feel proud of myself that I have managed to achieved this without being ripped off by legal companies who want to take a percentage of the estate. Once submitted, my application was processed within 3 weeks, it flew through, which proves it must have been accurate. I would definitely recommend and use again if I ever needed to complete probate in the future.
I used this platform to complete my father’s HMRC and probate registry applications. The process was clear, straightforward, and easy to follow. I only needed to contact the company once for clarification, and they were very helpful. The platform guides you through questions about assets, gifts, and other estate details, then automatically populates the relevant HMRC and probate forms. It also provides the completed forms ready for printing and submission. Everything was accepted without issue, and probate was granted around eight weeks after submission. As a layperson, I found this service invaluable. It saved me thousands of pounds in legal fees, and I would highly recommend it to anyone handling probate for the first time
Made the process simpler than expected, when needed clarity due to special circumstances, positive support was readily available. Now in min.16 weeks period waiting to see if Letters of Administration will be issued. Would highly recommend!
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