How to fill in the probate application form correctly

Which form, and why most people no longer use one

To fill in the probate application correctly, first pick the right route: most people in England and Wales now apply through the online Apply for Probate service on GOV.UK, and the paper forms exist for cases the online service cannot take. If you do apply by post, form PA1P is for estates where the person left a will, and form PA1A is for estates where they did not (you will receive letters of administration rather than a grant of probate). The questions are essentially the same online and on paper, so the mistakes are the same too. What follows is general information about the process, not legal or financial advice for your particular estate.

Not sure whether your case is a PA1P or a PA1A one, or whether you can use the online service at all? Our companion guide, which probate form do you need, PA1P or PA1A, settles that first question in detail. This page assumes you know which route you are on and focuses on completing it without triggering a stop.

Do the valuation work before you open the form

The application asks for figures you cannot produce on the spot. GOV.UK's before-you-apply guidance requires you to estimate the estate first and have five numbers ready: the gross estate value for inheritance tax, the net estate value for inheritance tax, the net qualifying value, and then two separate figures for probate, a gross value that strips out joint assets, foreign assets, trust assets and gifts made in the seven years before death, and a net value after debts and funeral costs.

Entering the inheritance tax figures where the probate figures belong, or vice versa, is one of the most frequent reasons registries query applications. The two sets measure different things and will rarely match. Work them out on paper first, keep a note of how you reached each one, and see our guide to valuing an estate for probate for the mechanics.

The six mistakes that stop applications

1. Wrong form or wrong route. A PA1A submitted where a valid will exists (or the reverse) fails at the first hurdle. So does a paper form for a case the registry expects online, or an online attempt for a case that needs paper.
2. Applying before HMRC's code arrives. If the estate is not an excepted estate you must send form IHT400 to HMRC, start paying any inheritance tax due, and wait for the unique code HMRC issues. The probate application asks for that code; without it the application cannot proceed.
3. Mismatched estate values. As above, the IHT values and the probate values are different calculations. Registries cross-check them against the inheritance tax position.
4. Names that do not match the documents. Enter the deceased's name exactly as it appears on the death certificate and note any other names assets are held in. Applicant and executor names should match the will, including middle names.
5. Executors unaccounted for. Every executor named in the will must be dealt with: applying, reserving power, renouncing, or noted as having died. Leaving one unexplained is a routine cause of stops on PA1P.
6. Sending a copy of the will. The registry needs the original will (plus any codicils). Do not staple, unbind or mark it, and never send a photocopy in its place.

Fees, copies and what happens next

The application fee in England and Wales is £526 where the estate is worth more than £5,000, and nothing where it is £5,000 or less, per GOV.UK's probate fees page (the fee rose from £300 in July 2026). Order extra sealed copies of the grant with your application at £2 each: banks, insurers and the Land Registry often want their own copy, and copies requested after the grant has issued cost £16 each. One copy per major institution is a sensible starting point.

A correct application usually produces the grant within 12 weeks; errors add to that, because the registry stops the clock while it writes to you and waits for a response, and paper applications take longer than online ones to begin with. To see how the pieces fit around your own estate, run the probate timeline estimator, and for the stage-by-stage picture after the grant see how long probate takes. Our probate pillar guide covers the whole process end to end.

If the estate involves an IHT400, business or agricultural property, foreign assets, or executors who disagree about who should apply, the form is the easy part and the underlying decisions are where paid help earns its place. A probate specialist can prepare or check the application before it goes in, which is almost always cheaper than untangling a stopped one.