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How to fill in form PA13 — reporting a lost will

PA13 is the HMCTS questionnaire you complete when you're applying for probate yourself and can only produce a copy of the will — not the signed original.

This walkthrough explains why the law presumes a missing will was destroyed on purpose, what evidence displaces that presumption, and how to answer each of PA13's questions so the Probate Registry can accept the copy.

✓ Updated 2026 · verified against GOV.UK
In design
United KingdomInformational, not legal or financial adviceVerified against GOV.UK, 2026

This walkthrough takes PA13 question by question, in plain English. Most of the form asks you to reconstruct a history; what decides the outcome is whether you've displaced the legal presumption that the original was deliberately destroyed.

Presumed destroyed on purpose — unless your evidence says otherwise
Question 3 asks whether the original will has been seen since the date of death.

Answer 'No', and the Probate Registry starts from the position that the deceased destroyed it themselves — which in law counts as revoking it.

That presumption doesn't go away because you have a photocopy. You have to actively displace it: evidence of where the will was kept, who else knew about it, and why it's more likely lost than deliberately destroyed. Silence on this point is what stalls PA13 applications.
The form, in summary
Valoren
PA137 pages34 fields guided
With Valoren45 minutes
–1 hour · with Designated Places and Legal Instruments already recording where the will was kept and who witnessed it
Without Valoren2–4 hours
most of it spent contacting solicitors, banks, and witnesses to reconstruct where the will was kept and why it's missing
Deadline
No deadlinefiled with your
probate application
Who Files
Litigant in personapplying for probate
without a solicitor
£
Fee
Freeno separate fee —
rides on the grant fee
Filed with Probate Registry (with your PA1P or PA1A)
Draws from your Estate File
the records this form is built from
PersonalLegal Instruments·Digital Access Map·Financial Accounts·Asset Inventory·Income & Outgoings·Civil Dossier·Policy Index·Medical Abstract·Property Folio·Succession Plan·Digital Legacy Registry·Business Interests & Directorships·Funeral & Committal Wishes·Dependent Care & Handoff·Personal Record·RegistryDesignated Places·People, Authority & Contacts·Master Registry·Renewal Register·Kinship & Succession Map·SecureAccess Controls·Recovery Routes·Custody & Contingency·EventsDeath & Estate Activation·Incapacity & Medical Proxy·Absence & Continuity Cover·Access Loss & Identity Recovery·Legal Dispute & Evidence Protocol·Theft & Asset Compromise·Property Damage & Incident Response·Relocation & Address Update Protocol·Separation & Custody Documentation·Business Interruption & Continuity·PersonalLegal Instruments·Digital Access Map·Financial Accounts·Asset Inventory·Income & Outgoings·Civil Dossier·Policy Index·Medical Abstract·Property Folio·Succession Plan·Digital Legacy Registry·Business Interests & Directorships·Funeral & Committal Wishes·Dependent Care & Handoff·Personal Record·RegistryDesignated Places·People, Authority & Contacts·Master Registry·Renewal Register·Kinship & Succession Map·SecureAccess Controls·Recovery Routes·Custody & Contingency·EventsDeath & Estate Activation·Incapacity & Medical Proxy·Absence & Continuity Cover·Access Loss & Identity Recovery·Legal Dispute & Evidence Protocol·Theft & Asset Compromise·Property Damage & Incident Response·Relocation & Address Update Protocol·Separation & Custody Documentation·Business Interruption & Continuity·
Legal basisStatute

PA13 is the questionnaire used when you're applying for probate yourself — not through a solicitor — and can produce only a copy of the will, not the original.

Under rule 54 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, a copy will can only be admitted to proof if the Probate Registry is satisfied it reflects a will that genuinely existed and wasn't destroyed by the person who made it with the intention of revoking it.

The starting point works against you: if a will was last known to be in the deceased's possession and can't be found after death, there is a strong presumption they destroyed it deliberately — which the law treats as revocation. PA13 exists to let you rebut that presumption with evidence.

If you're a probate practitioner acting for the estate, this form isn't for you — you file an affidavit or statement of truth with exhibits instead, aimed at the same rule 54 order.

Section by section

The form, section by section.

Before you start, you’ll need:
  • Who Files — The litigant in person applying for probate. Not for probate practitioners, who use an affidavit/statement of truth with exhibits instead.
  • 7 pages · 34 fields guided
  • Draws from your Estate File — Legal Instruments, Designated Places, People, Authority & Contacts
Section 1

Before you start — what PA13 is, and who it's for

PA13 applies in one situation only: you're representing yourself, and you hold a copy of the will rather than the signed original. It doesn't replace your probate application; it supports it, giving the Probate Registry the evidence it needs to accept the copy in place of the original.

Who can use this form

PA13 is for a litigant in person — someone applying for probate themselves, without a solicitor.

If you're a probate practitioner acting for the estate, don't use this form. HMCTS instead expects an affidavit or statement of truth, supported by exhibits, aimed at the same rule 54 order proving the copy will.

What it's asking you to prove

The legal test is whether the will was revoked — not just whether it's missing.

Under rule 54 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, a copy can only be admitted to proof if the district judge or registrar is satisfied it reflects a will that genuinely existed and wasn't destroyed by the testator with the intention of revoking it. PA13 is the questionnaire that gathers the evidence for that decision.

When to submit it

Send PA13 together with your probate application (PA1P if there's a will, or PA1A if none survives to prove) — not separately and not in advance.

Expect the Registry to come back for further detail in complex cases, or where question 14 identifies someone who would be prejudiced by the copy being proved.

PA13 applies in one situation only: you're representing yourself, and you hold a copy of the will rather than the signed original. It doesn't replace your probate application; it supports it, giving the Probate Registry the evidence it needs to accept the copy in place of the original.

HMCTS Probate Registry · PA13
Section 2

About the deceased and about you

Questions 1–2 are straightforward identification — but small mismatches here (a name spelled differently to the death certificate) can hold up an otherwise strong application.

The deceased's full name (Q1)

Title, first names, middle names, last name — copy this exactly as it appears on the death certificate.

If the deceased was also known by another name (a maiden name, a business name), that doesn't go here — it's covered in your main probate application, not on PA13.

Your name and address (Q2)

Full name and postal address of the person completing the form — this is you, the applicant.

HMCTS will write to this address if they need more information, so use one you'll actually check during the weeks the application is under review.

Questions 1–2 are straightforward identification — but small mismatches here (a name spelled differently to the death certificate) can hold up an otherwise strong application.

HMCTS Probate Registry · PA13
Section 3

Was the will destroyed — or just lost? (the presumption you must displace)

Questions 3 and 4 are where the application succeeds or stalls. Answer them thinly and the Registry has nothing to displace the legal starting assumption that a missing will was destroyed on purpose.

Has the original been seen since the date of death? (Q3)

Answer 'Yes' if a probate practitioner or anyone else has seen the original will AFTER the person died — this is the strongest evidence it wasn't destroyed during their lifetime.

Answer 'No', and the form itself warns you: there is a strong presumption the deceased destroyed the original themselves, which the law treats as revocation. You must then set out, in as much detail as possible, why you believe that presumption doesn't apply here — and name anyone else who could give supporting evidence.

If the original was seen after death

File a letter from the probate practitioner (as defined by rule 2 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules) confirming they saw the original after the date of death, or a copy of a receipt for the original will, if you have one.

When the original will was last seen (Q4)

Give the actual date, as best you know it — not an estimate rounded to the nearest year.

The closer this date is to the date of death, the weaker the case for accidental loss becomes; the further back it is, the more searches and enquiries (Q7, Q10) you'll need to document.

Questions 3 and 4 are where the application succeeds or stalls. Answer them thinly and the Registry has nothing to displace the legal starting assumption that a missing will was destroyed on purpose.

HMCTS Probate Registry · PA13
Section 4

Tracing where the will was held (Q5–Q8)

This is the custody chain — who had the original, where it went, and what happened to it. HMCTS wants a paper trail, not a best guess.

Who held it after signing, and where (Q5–Q6)

Name the person or institution — a solicitor's office, a bank, an insurance company, or the deceased themselves at home.

Where possible, back this up. A letter from the solicitor confirming they held the original after signing — and whether their safe-custody records show anyone collecting it later — strengthens the application considerably.

Enquiries made to trace it (Q7)

List what you've actually done — contacted the solicitor named on the will, asked the bank if it was in a deposit box, checked with family members who might have collected it.

A blank or one-line answer here reads as 'we didn't look very hard.'

Lost in the post? (Q8)

If you believe the will was lost in transit, say so — and if possible, provide evidence of posting (a certificate of posting, tracking reference) and details of any enquiries made with the postal service to trace it.

If this doesn't apply, answer 'No' and move on.

This is the custody chain — who had the original, where it went, and what happened to it. HMCTS wants a paper trail, not a best guess.

HMCTS Probate Registry · PA13
Section 5

The copy you're relying on, and other searches made (Q9–Q10)

How and when you obtained the copy (Q9)

Explain the source — a photocopy kept by a family member, a scan sent by a solicitor, a copy retained by whoever drafted it — and roughly when you obtained it relative to the death.

Other searches made (Q10)

Describe a thorough search of the deceased's home and anywhere else they kept important papers — a filing cabinet, a safe, a solicitor's storage, a bank's document safekeeping service.

The more specific this is, the more it supports 'lost' over 'deliberately destroyed.'

HMCTS Probate Registry · PA13
Section 6

Witnesses, other interested parties, and the declaration (Q11–16)

The final stretch covers who else can speak to the will's validity, whether anyone is disadvantaged by it being proved, and the formal declaration.

Witnesses (Q11) and other people present at signing (Q12)

State whether the witnesses to the will are available to give evidence if HMCTS asks for it, and name anyone else who was present when it was signed.

Available, cooperative witnesses are some of the strongest evidence you can offer that a valid will existed.

Other written wishes or earlier wills (Q13)

If the deceased left any other documents expressing their wishes, or an earlier will, attach copies. This isn't optional if such documents exist — omitting them, even if you think they're superseded, can look like concealment later.

Anyone prejudiced by the copy being proved (Q14)

This means anyone who would inherit more, or inherit at all, if the deceased had died without a valid will (intestate) instead of under the terms of this copy.

Name them and their relationship to the deceased. HMCTS may need to give them notice, or get their consent, before proceeding — factor this into your timeline.

Dates of the will and any codicils (Q15), extra space (Q16)

Give the date on the will itself, and separately the date of any codicils (later amendments) that are also lost.

Use Q16 for anything relevant that didn't fit elsewhere — HMCTS reads this; it isn't decorative.

The declaration and signature

Signing confirms the information is correct to the best of your knowledge, and that it will be stored as a public record.

The form is explicit that proceedings for contempt of court can follow if the evidence given is found to be deliberately untruthful or dishonest — treat every answer accordingly.

The final stretch covers who else can speak to the will's validity, whether anyone is disadvantaged by it being proved, and the formal declaration.

HMCTS Probate Registry · PA13

Many people file PA13 themselves — that is what this walkthrough is for. If the situation behind it has stopped being simple — beyond what a careful person can safely do alone — Signum, Valoren’s own specialist desk, can take it on, and we say so plainly: it starts with a free intake, and if you do not need us, we will tell you. Prefer an independent adviser? STEP and the Chartered Institute of Taxation both keep public member directories, and neither pays Valoren a referral fee.

FAQ

PA13 questions, answered.

01What is PA13 used for?›
PA13 is the HMCTS questionnaire you complete, alongside your own probate application, when you can't produce the original will and only have a copy — it gives the Probate Registry the evidence needed to prove the copy instead of the original.
02Who can use form PA13?›
Only someone applying for probate themselves, without a solicitor (a 'litigant in person').

If a probate practitioner is acting for the estate, they file an affidavit or statement of truth with exhibits instead of PA13.
03Why does losing a will create a legal problem, not just a paperwork one?›
Because the law presumes that a will known to have been in the deceased's possession, and not found after death, was destroyed by them deliberately — which counts as revoking it.

PA13 exists to let you provide evidence against that presumption.
04Is there a fee to submit PA13?›
No. There's no separate fee for PA13 itself — it's filed alongside your main probate application (PA1P or PA1A), which carries its own fee: £526 for estates over £5,000, free below that, plus £2 per additional sealed copy of the grant.
05What evidence should I gather before completing PA13?›
Anything showing where the will was kept and what happened to it: a letter from the solicitor who held it, evidence of a thorough search of the deceased's home, details of enquiries made with banks or the postal service, and confirmation that witnesses to the will are available if needed.
06What happens after I submit PA13?›
The Probate Registry reviews it alongside your probate application.

In complex cases, or where someone would be disadvantaged by the copy being proved, they may ask for further evidence or require notice to be given to that person before deciding.
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Where this fits

PA13 is one form. The file behind it is the rest.

PA13 asks you to reconstruct exactly what the Legal Instruments and Designated Places records are built to hold — where the will was kept, who else had a copy, which solicitor last held the original. Building that record while the answers are still easy to get is what makes this questionnaire quick instead of a scramble.

HMCTS Probate Registry34 fieldsNo separate fee — rides on the probate application fee (£526 for estates over £5,000, free under £5,000; £2 per additional sealed copy of the grant).45 minutes–1 hour (with Designated Places and Legal Instruments already recording where the will was kept and who witnessed it) with Valoren

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