Do you need a valuation before you can get probate?

Yes, the valuation always comes first

You cannot apply for probate in England and Wales until the estate has been valued. GOV.UK's guidance on valuing an estate says plainly that you must do this before applying for probate, and the application itself asks for the estate's gross and net values. Where inheritance tax is due, HMRC needs the full figures on form IHT400 before the probate application can move at all.

The nuance behind the question is different: a valuation is not the same thing as a professional valuation. Whether you need a surveyor and formal paperwork, or a careful set of estimates from bank statements and property portals, depends almost entirely on how close the estate sits to the £325,000 inheritance tax threshold. This page gives you the quick answer; treat it as general information rather than legal or financial advice, because borderline estates genuinely turn on their specific facts. For the full step-by-step process, our companion guide on how to value an estate for probate walks through every asset type in detail.

Estimate or formal valuation: the £325,000 test

GOV.UK's estimating guidance allows a practical, layered approach. For bank accounts, ISAs and pensions, ask each organisation for the exact figure at the date of death. For items such as cars, jewellery and paintings, work out what they would have sold for, using online marketplaces as a benchmark. For the home, free estate agent appraisals are a common starting point.

Those estimates are usually sufficient where the estate is comfortably below the threshold, because no tax turns on the precision of the numbers. Once the estate approaches or exceeds £325,000 (or the higher combined figures available where a late spouse's unused allowance transfers, or the residence nil-rate band applies), accurate valuations are needed, since every pound over the available allowances is taxed at 40%. That is the point at which many executors commission a chartered surveyor for the property; our separate answer on whether you need a professional RICS valuation for probate covers when that step is worth it, and valuing personal possessions for probate deals with contents, collections and other chattels.

Where the figures actually go

For most estates that owe no inheritance tax (excepted estates, for deaths on or after 1 January 2022), there is no separate tax form: the old IHT205 was abolished, and the estate's gross and net values go straight onto the probate application, PA1P where there is a will or PA1A where there is not. GOV.UK's page on checking the type of estate explains which estates qualify.

For taxable estates, the sequence is stricter. Full details go to HMRC on form IHT400 first, and inheritance tax must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the person died to avoid interest. Only then can the probate application proceed. Either way, the application fee in England and Wales is £526 where the estate is worth over £5,000, and nothing where it is £5,000 or less, with extra copies of the grant at £2 each when ordered with the application, per GOV.UK's probate fees page. Our probate cost calculator puts the fee alongside the other likely costs so you can see the full picture in one place.

Who makes the call, and why it matters

The decision about how formal to be rests with the person applying: the executor named in the will, or the administrator under the intestacy rules. They sign a statement of truth on the application and are responsible to HMRC for the accuracy of the figures. Undervalue carelessly and HMRC can charge interest and penalties on the shortfall; overvalue and the estate may pay tax it never owed, or set an inflated base for capital gains later. The safe habit is simple: estimate freely when the total is nowhere near the threshold, and buy certainty with formal valuations the moment it is. Keep the paperwork behind every figure, statements, appraisal emails, marketplace screenshots, because HMRC can ask how a value was reached years after the grant is issued.

Valuation is only one gate on the road to the grant. If you have not yet confirmed the estate needs probate at all, start with whether you need probate, and our probate pillar guide maps the whole journey from death certificate to distribution. If the estate you are handling sits near the tax line, or holds property, business interests or lifetime gifts, a probate specialist can pin down the valuation approach before you sign anything, which is exactly the moment their input is worth most.