Executor guide › Probate or letters of administration · England & Wales

grants of authority · estate administration

Probate or letters of administration —
which do you need?

One question decides it: did the person leave a valid will? Will present → grant of probate.

No will → letters of administration. The cost and timeline are the same for both.

Verified against GOV.UK on 22 Aug 2026

§1The decision

Was there a valid will? That is the only question.

Both grants give identical legal authority — the difference is who holds it and how they were chosen. A grant of probate names the executor the deceased chose. Letters of administration names a family member the law chooses. Both allow the holder to close bank accounts, transfer property, pay debts, and distribute the estate.

Grant of Probate

Will exists

SituationValid will left by the deceased

Who appliesExecutor named in the will

FormPA1P

CourtHMCTS Probate Registry

Fee£526

The executor proves the will and receives the grant. They then have legal authority to close accounts, transfer property, and distribute the estate according to the will's terms.

Letters of Administration

No will

SituationNo valid will (intestate)

Who appliesFamily member — NCPR r.22 order

FormPA1A

CourtHMCTS Probate Registry

Fee£526

An eligible family member is granted authority as administrator. They close accounts, transfer property, and distribute the estate under the intestacy rules — not any stated wishes.

§2What is the same

The process, cost, and timeline are identical.

Once you know which grant applies, the practical steps are the same. Both applications go to the HMCTS Probate Registry. Both cost £526 for estates over £5,000. Both typically issue in 4–12 weeks from a complete application.

Edge cases

Will exists but executor won't act

The executor must either renounce (form PA15) or be passed over by the court under s.50 AJA 1985. The grant then becomes letters of administration with the will annexed — the will controls who inherits, but authority goes to someone else. See executor refusing to act.

Will is found to be invalid

If the will was not properly witnessed, the deceased lacked capacity, or undue influence is proved, the estate becomes intestate. Any probate grant issued must be revoked. Standard letters of administration then applies.

Will discovered after letters of administration issued

The letters of administration grant must be revoked. A fresh grant of probate is taken out on the will. Take legal advice before any distribution if this situation arises.

§3Common questions

Probate vs letters of administration, answered.

Grant of probate issues when there is a valid will, naming the executor from that will. Letters of administration issues when there is no will — it grants authority to a family member in the priority order set by NCPR 1987 r.22.

The cost, timeline, and legal outcome are identical. Both grants are issued by the HMCTS Probate Registry.

No — you apply for letters of administration instead. 'Probate' is sometimes used loosely to mean the whole grant-of-authority process, but the correct term when there is no will is letters of administration.

You use form PA1A (not PA1P) and apply to the same HMCTS Probate Registry.

If the executor won't act and won't renounce, a beneficiary can apply for letters of administration with the will annexed — an intermediate form of grant that uses the will for the distribution rules but grants authority to someone other than the named executor. This requires either the executor's renunciation (form PA15) or a court order passing them over under s.50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985.

If a will is found to be invalid — for example, it was not properly witnessed, or the deceased lacked capacity — the estate is treated as if no will existed.

Any grant of probate already issued must be revoked. The estate then passes under the intestacy rules, and the correct grant becomes letters of administration.

Executor's First Hour · £179

Whether the estate has a will or not, the first hours matter. A Valoren specialist confirms which grant applies to your situation, lists every form and document you need, and tells you which steps can run in parallel.

Get your executor's brief

If this estate needs more than a guide

Where the boundary is reached, Valoren refers.

Which grant applies is usually answerable from the sections above. The two 'take legal advice' moments on this page — a will in doubt, a will found late — are different: they need a person — there are two routes to one, and we are straightforward about which is ours.

Signum · Valoren's own specialist desk

Have Signum look at it

Signum is part of Valoren — our own service, and we say so plainly. Signum reads the estate's actual position — which grant, which forms, what a found or doubted will changes — and where revocation or a validity question takes the matter into genuinely contentious territory, that needs its own litigation solicitor, and we will say that too. It starts with a free intake, and if we are not the right fit for your estate, we will tell you so and point you at the directories below.

valoren.uk/services →↗

Prefer an independent adviser?

The Law Society · Public directory

Find a Solicitor

The Law Society of England & Wales — regulated solicitors. Searchable by postcode and area of practice. Best fit for full-service estate administration where IHT400 submission, cross-border assets, or contested points are involved.

solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk →↗

STEP · Public directory

Find a Trust and Estate Practitioner

Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners — the professional body for trust and estate work in the UK. Members hold the TEP credential after rigorous examination. Best fit when trusts, cross-border estates, or complex succession structures are involved.

step.org →↗

CIOT · Public directory

Find a Chartered Tax Adviser

Chartered Institute of Taxation — the leading professional body for UK tax. Members hold the CTA credential after the most demanding tax qualification in the UK. Best fit when APR/BPR, business succession, lifetime gift planning, or HMRC dispute resolution are in play.

tax.org.uk →↗

Signum is Valoren's own desk — instructing it means instructing us, disclosed plainly. None of the three directories pays Valoren a referral fee; they are listed so the independent route is always one click away.

Informational, not legal advice. Verified against GOV.UK on 22 Aug 2026. England and Wales only.

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grants of authority · estate administration

Probate or letters of administration —
which do you need?

Was there a valid will? That is the only question.

The process, cost, and timeline are identical.

Probate vs letters of administration, answered.

Where the boundary is reached, Valoren refers.

If this was useful, you might also need —

Letters of administration

Do I need probate at all?

Probate fees

Executor's Companion

grants of authority · estate administration

Probate or letters of administration —which do you need?

Was there a valid will? That is the only question.

The process, cost, and timeline are identical.

Probate vs letters of administration, answered.

Where the boundary is reached, Valoren refers.

If this was useful, you might also need —

Letters of administration

Do I need probate at all?

Probate fees

Executor's Companion

Probate or letters of administration —
which do you need?