When someone close to us dies, paperwork and cost are the last things on anyone’s mind. But alongside the emotional weight of a bereavement comes the responsibility of administering their estate, and from 13 July 2026, that’s about to become considerably more expensive for families across England and Wales.
The Ministry of Justice has confirmed a 75% increase to the standard probate application fee, rising from £300 to £526, subject to parliamentary approval. Whether you’re currently acting as an executor or simply planning ahead, here’s what the change means and what I’d genuinely recommend doing about it.
Standard probate application fee: rising from £300 to £526 (an increase of £226, around 75%)
Effective date:. 13 July 2026, subject to parliamentary approval
Extra official copies ordered with the application: falling from £16 to £2 each
Estates valued at £5,000 or less: remain exempt from the application fee, unchanged
Source: Ministry of Justice and GOV.UK, Court and tribunal fees updates from July 2026
At present, applying for a Grant of Probate costs £300 for estates valued at more than £5,000. Under the confirmed changes, that rises to £526, an increase of £226 per application. Estates valued at £5,000 or less remain exempt, that part hasn’t changed.
The Ministry of Justice says the increase is intended to recover the cost of running and modernising the courts and tribunal service. I understand the reasoning. I also know it lands as an unwelcome extra cost for families who are already managing rising living costs on top of a bereavement. You can check whether probate is likely to be needed for a specific estate using our free probate checker before any of this becomes relevant.
There’s one change that actually helps. When you apply for probate, you’ll usually need several official copies of the Grant, one for each bank, investment provider, pension company or other organisation you’re dealing with. The cost of ordering these alongside your application is falling from £16 to just £2 each.
It won’t come close to offsetting a £226 increase on the main fee. But if an estate needs six or seven copies, that’s a genuine saving worth planning for rather than an afterthought.
If the estate’s information is gathered and the application is genuinely ready, submitting before 13 July could save £226. The new fee applies based on when the application is submitted, not when the Grant is eventually issued, so timing matters here.
Make a list of every organisation that will need to see the Grant, banks, pension providers, share registrars, and order enough copies with the application itself. At £2 each, it’s far cheaper than going back for more later at £16 a copy.
Probate fees are usually paid before the estate’s assets can be accessed, so it’s worth checking there’s enough readily available cash, separate from the estate itself, to cover the higher fee when the time comes.
It’s tempting to push an application through purely to catch the old fee. I’d urge some caution here. If there’s any inheritance tax to report, HMRC generally needs that position confirmed, and in some cases tax paid or arranged, before the probate application can properly proceed. An estate I’ve seen described as “straightforward” on the surface can turn up a lifetime gift or a jointly held account nobody remembered, and that changes the tax position entirely.
Submitting an incomplete or inaccurate application to save £226 can end up costing far more in delays if the Probate Registry queries it. The saving is real. It’s just not worth chasing at the expense of getting the application right the first time.
Whichever route makes sense for your estate, you don’t have to work through this alone. Our DIY Probate Portal was built by a practising solicitor, at £199, to guide you through every stage of the application in the right order, including working out how many copies of the Grant you’re likely to need before the new £2 fee applies. Or use our free probate checker to confirm whether probate is needed at all before you go any further.
The new £526 fee is due to come into force on 13 July 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. Until then, the current £300 fee applies to estates valued at more than £5,000. If approved, the change will apply to applications submitted on or after that date, not applied retrospectively to applications already in progress.
The fee is rising from £300 to £526, an increase of £226, or roughly 75%. This follows an earlier increase in May 2024, when the fee rose from £273 to £300, meaning the cost has nearly doubled in a little over two years.
Yes, provided your application is submitted before 13 July 2026. If your estate’s information is ready and probate is confirmed as needed, submitting promptly could save £226. It’s not worth rushing an incomplete application just to hit the deadline, particularly where inheritance tax needs resolving first.
No. Estates valued at £5,000 or less remain exempt from the probate application fee entirely, and that threshold is not changing as part of these reforms.
The fee for ordering additional official copies at the same time as your application is falling from £16 to £2 each. Copies ordered separately after the original application are expected to remain considerably more expensive, so it’s worth ordering everything you’ll need upfront.
It’s confirmed by the Ministry of Justice as planned for 13 July 2026, but remains subject to parliamentary approval, which is standard for court fee changes of this kind. We’ll update this guide if anything changes before then.
