What Probate Actually Costs in 2026

Ask what probate costs and you will hear everything from "three hundred quid" to "they took five per cent of Mum's estate". Both are real answers. The difference is who does the work — and it is a decision the executor controls.

The fixed bit: the court fee

The application fee for a grant of probate in England and Wales is £300 for estates over £5,000, and nothing below that. Extra official copies of the grant cost £1.50 each — order several; banks and insurers all want to see one. That is the entire compulsory cost of probate. Everything else is optional professional help.

What professionals charge

• Solicitors (hourly or fixed fee). Full administration of a straightforward estate commonly lands between £2,000 and £6,000 plus VAT; complex estates more. Many firms now offer fixed-fee "grant only" services — they obtain the grant, you do the rest — for roughly £500–£1,500.
• Percentage-fee providers. Some solicitors and, notoriously, some banks charge a percentage of the estate — historically 1–4%. On a £400,000 estate, 3% is £12,000 for work that is largely the same as on a £200,000 estate. If a will names a bank as executor, the family can often persuade it to renounce in favour of family members; it is always worth asking before accepting percentage pricing.
• Fixed-fee probate companies. A middle market has grown up offering full administration at fixed prices, often £1,500–£4,000. Quality varies; check who actually does the work and what "full" excludes (property sale conveyancing, tax returns and contested matters are common extras).

The costs people forget

Beyond fees: property costs while the estate holds an empty house (insurance for unoccupied property costs more, plus utilities and council tax after any exempt period), valuation fees for property and contents, statutory notices protecting executors from unknown creditors (~£200–£300), and any inheritance tax — which is a liability of the estate rather than a cost of probate, but dominates the cash-flow planning because much of it falls due before the grant is issued.

When DIY probate is genuinely fine

Executors handle probate themselves all the time. The honest checklist for a safe DIY: no inheritance tax to pay (most estates passing to a spouse, or under the thresholds), a valid uncontested will, UK assets only, no business or agricultural property, solvent estate, and a family not at war. Tick all of those and the process is form-filling plus patience — our guides on what probate involves and how long it takes map the steps. Any inheritance tax complexity, insolvency risk, or whiff of dispute, and paying a professional protects the executor personally — remember, executors are personally liable for mistakes.

Keeping professional costs down

Get two or three quotes and ask each the same questions: fixed fee or hourly, what is excluded, who does the day-to-day work. Consider the hybrid route — pay for "grant only" and do the collection and distribution yourself. And provide clean information: a well-organised file of assets, debts and paperwork measurably reduces hourly-billed costs, which is a good argument for keeping your own affairs listed somewhere your executors will find.

This is general information about the law in England and Wales, not personalised legal advice. Rules, thresholds and processes change, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules in places — for anything that depends on your own circumstances, it is worth speaking to a solicitor (ideally one accredited by STEP or Solicitors for the Elderly) or checking GOV.UK and Citizens Advice for current detail.