The Probate Registry in England & Wales

What the registry actually does

• Checks that the person applying is legally entitled to the grant
• Checks the will is valid on its face and correctly executed
• Confirms with HMRC that Inheritance Tax reporting is complete where it applies
• Issues the grant and any sealed copies you have ordered
• Keeps the original will, which becomes a public document once the grant issues

The registry does not value the estate, chase banks, advise on tax or check that your figures are right. Those are the executor's responsibility, and errors in them are the executor's liability.

Local registries and the central service

Applications used to be made to a local district probate registry. Since the service was centralised, applications — online and paper — are processed by a national team, and documents go to the central HMCTS address printed on your cover sheet. Local offices no longer offer a walk-in service for applications, so use the online tracker or the helpline rather than turning up in person.

Tracking an application

1. Note the reference the service gives you when you submit.
2. Allow the registry time to receive the posted will before expecting movement — send it tracked.
3. Check the online service for status changes before calling.
4. Contact the helpline if nothing has moved for more than eight weeks after the will was received.

Requisitions: the most common delay

A requisition is the registry writing to say something is missing, inconsistent or unclear. Common triggers are a name spelled differently on the will and the death certificate, a missing codicil, an unexplained gap between the IHT figures and the application, or a will that appears to have had something attached to it. Every requisition adds weeks, and almost all of them are avoidable by checking the application against the documents before submitting.