Probate Search: How to Find a Grant of Probate or a Will
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You can search for a grant of probate or a will in England or Wales for a death from 1858 onwards, using GOV.UK's free online search. A copy of the record costs £16, and Scotland and Northern Ireland use different services covering different date ranges. None of them let you search for a living person's will.
Key points
✓GOV.UK's probate search covers England and Wales from 1858 onwards. Checking whether probate was granted is free; a copy of the record, including the will if there is one, costs £16.
✓Records are filed by the year the grant was issued, not the year of death, so check later years too, especially for deaths from the early 1990s onwards.
✓If the person died in the last 6 months and probate hasn't been granted yet, you can pay £4 for a 'standing search' (form PA1S) that sends you the record once it's granted, extendable after 6 months.
✓Scotland's equivalent document is 'confirmation'. Wills and testaments from 1513 to 1925 are searchable on ScotlandsPeople; a will registered in the Books of Council and Session can be searched through Registers of Scotland from 1993 onwards, for £25 plus VAT.
✓Northern Ireland's PRONI Will Calendar Application searches wills from 1858 to 1965 for free. For probate records held since 1 January 1986, the courts service's online search costs £33.
What a probate search shows
In England and Wales, GOV.UK's probate search lets you:
✓Yes: search for a probate record for a death in 1858 or later
✓Yes: check whether probate has been issued
✓Yes: check the type of grant issued
✓Yes: order a copy of the probate record, including the will, if there is one
Not every probate record includes a will. 'Probate' or 'Grant and Will', and 'Admon with Will', mean a will is included. 'Administration (Admon)' or 'Grant' on its own means there wasn't one, so the person died without a valid will.
How to search in England and Wales
1
Go to GOV.UK's probate search service
Start at gov.uk/search-will-probate and choose 'Start now'.
2
Search by surname and year of death
Enter the person's surname and the year they died. A new probate record appears online about 14 days after probate is issued.
3
Check the result
See whether probate was issued and which type of grant it was, so you know whether it includes a will.
4
Order a copy
Order a copy of the probate record online for £16, including the will if there is one.
Probate records are stored under the year the grant was issued, not the year of death. If you can't find the record, check the years after the death. To find the will of someone who died in the early 1990s, you may need to check the records that cover 1996 onwards.
You can also search by post: download and fill in form PA1S and send it to the address on the form. This also costs £16, which includes a copy of the probate record and will (if there is one), and you should get a response within 4 weeks.
If probate hasn't been granted yet: a standing search
If the person died in the last 6 months, probate may not have been granted yet, so there's nothing to find. You can still use form PA1S to ask to be sent a copy of the probate record as soon as it's granted in the next 6 months. This is called a 'standing search' and costs £4. You can extend the standing search after 6 months if the grant still hasn't been issued.
Scotland: searching for a will or confirmation
Scotland's equivalent of a grant of probate is called 'confirmation', issued by the sheriff court for the area where the person lived. There's no single online search covering every period the way GOV.UK's service does for England and Wales. Where you search depends on when the person died and whether their will was registered.
✓Yes: Wills and testaments from 1513 to 1925: search the index on ScotlandsPeople. You need to register an account to search the records. Viewing or downloading a will or testament costs 10 credits (£2.50).
✓Yes: A will registered in the Books of Council and Session (registration is voluntary, so not every will is there): search through Registers of Scotland. It can search deeds from 15 March 1993 onwards, and supply copies of deeds registered from 1 September 2006 onwards. For earlier deeds, contact National Records of Scotland instead.
Registers of Scotland charges £25 plus VAT per name search, even if the search finds nothing, and that fee doesn't include a copy of the will itself, which you order separately once you have the deed number.
For a specific grant of confirmation, or for a will from between 1926 and the present that isn't registered with Registers of Scotland, contact the sheriff court for the area the person lived in, or National Records of Scotland.
Northern Ireland: searching for a will or grant of probate
✓Yes: Wills from 1858 to 1965: search the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland's (PRONI) Will Calendar Application free of charge, for the district probate registries of Armagh, Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. Digitised copy wills are available for Armagh (1858 to 1918), Belfast (1858 to 1909) and Londonderry (1858 to 1899).
✓Yes: Probate records held since 1 January 1986: use the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service's ICOS Public Search Service, which costs £33 per search. You'll need to register for an account to use it.
For a probate record between 1966 and 1985, or if you can't find what you need through either search, contact the Probate Office in Belfast directly.
Frequently asked questions
What does a probate search show?
In England and Wales, it shows whether probate has been issued for a death from 1858 onwards, and the type of grant issued. You can then order a copy of the probate record, including the will, if there is one, for £16.
How do I search for probate records?
In England and Wales, go to GOV.UK's probate search service, search by surname and year of death, and check the result. Records are filed by the year probate was granted, not the year of death, so check later years if you can't find what you're looking for. Scotland and Northern Ireland use separate services covering different date ranges.
Can I search probate records online?
Yes in England and Wales, where GOV.UK's search is free to use and a copy costs £16. In Scotland, wills and testaments from 1513 to 1925 can be searched on ScotlandsPeople, and wills registered in the Books of Council and Session can be searched through Registers of Scotland. In Northern Ireland, wills from 1858 to 1965 can be searched free through PRONI, and probate records held since 1 January 1986 can be searched through the courts service for £33.
What is a standing search in probate?
If someone died in the last 6 months and probate hasn't been granted yet, you can use form PA1S to ask to be sent a copy of the probate record as soon as it's issued in the next 6 months. It costs £4, and you can extend it after 6 months if the grant still hasn't been issued.
How much does a probate search cost?
In England and Wales, checking whether probate was granted is free, and ordering a copy costs £16 (online or by post). A standing search before probate is granted costs £4. In Scotland, a will or testament from 1513 to 1925 costs £2.50 to view on ScotlandsPeople, and a name search with Registers of Scotland costs £25 plus VAT. In Northern Ireland, PRONI's search is free for 1858 to 1965, and the courts service charges £33 per search for records held since 1 January 1986.
How do I search for a will or confirmation in Scotland?
There's no single online search covering every period. Wills and testaments from 1513 to 1925 are searchable on ScotlandsPeople. A will registered in the Books of Council and Session can be searched through Registers of Scotland, which covers deeds from 15 March 1993 onwards. For anything earlier, or a specific grant of confirmation, contact National Records of Scotland or the sheriff court for the area the person lived in.
Know Your Rights UK. "Probate Search: How to Find a Grant of Probate or a Will." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/wills/probate/search