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England and Wales currently have nine HMCTS probate registries, with Edinburgh handling Scottish confirmations and Belfast handling Northern Ireland grants under separate systems — 11 in total. As of Q4 2025, Edinburgh (Scotland — confirmation) is the fastest at ~6.5 weeks, with London the slowest at ~9 weeks. You can't pick a registry — online applications are allocated automatically by HMCTS and paper applications go by location. Submitting a complete application matters far more than which registry receives it.
The figures below are approximate quarterly averages derived from the Ministry of Justice's Family Court Statistics Quarterly release. They represent the time from application submission to grant issue — the window many executors anxiously refresh GOV.UK for. Times exclude application preparation (typically 4–8 weeks), IHT400 review by HMRC where applicable (additional 3–8 weeks before probate can complete), and post-grant estate administration (months, depending on complexity).
| Registry | Jurisdiction | Wait time | Band | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | Scotland | ~6.5 weeks | Fast | Handles Scottish confirmation, which is the equivalent of probate. Separate fee structure (£0 / £288 / £579 by estate value). |
| Manchester | England & Wales | ~6.8 weeks | Fast | Among the fastest E&W registries. Handles applications from across the North West. |
| Newcastle | England & Wales | ~7 weeks | Fast | Steady throughput; covers North East and parts of Yorkshire. |
| Cardiff | England & Wales | ~7.5 weeks | Average | The principal probate registry for Wales; processes Welsh-language applications. |
| Leeds | England & Wales | ~7.5 weeks | Average | High-volume registry serving Yorkshire and the East Midlands. |
| Oxford | England & Wales | ~7.5 weeks | Average | Covers Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties. |
| Brighton | England & Wales | ~7.5 weeks | Average | Sussex, Surrey, Kent. |
| Bristol | England & Wales | ~7.5 weeks | Average | South West England. |
| Birmingham | England & Wales | ~8 weeks | Average | West Midlands. Larger volumes can extend wait by 1–2 weeks during peak quarters. |
| Liverpool | England & Wales | ~8 weeks | Average | Merseyside and parts of Cheshire. |
| London | England & Wales | ~9 weeks | Slower | Highest-volume registry in the UK. Handles complex international and high-value estates as well as routine cases. |
| Belfast | Northern Ireland | ~7 weeks | Average | Operates under the separate NI grant of probate system; standard fee £261. |
The full spread between the fastest and slowest registry is around ~2–3 weeks — meaningful, but small enough that the difference rarely changes downstream planning. By contrast, a queried application can add 7–10 weeks regardless of which registry handles it. See our full probate waiting times guide for the breakdown by application type.
No — and this surprises a lot of executors. HMCTS has consolidated the way probate applications are routed:
The pre-2019 system, where you could nominate your local registry, ended when the Probate Service centralised digital applications. The trade-off is that workloads are now smoothed nationally — no single registry can fall dramatically behind the others.
The visible spread between Manchester (~6.8 weeks) and London (~9 weeks) reflects three structural factors:
What this means in practice: if your application is straightforward and complete, you'll likely beat the "average" for whichever registry receives it. If it's flagged for review, all bets are off — query handling adds 7–15 weeks regardless of location.
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Probate in England and Wales is one of three UK jurisdictions, and the registries listed above only partially apply elsewhere:
| Jurisdiction | Equivalent of probate | Where you apply | Standard fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| England & Wales | Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration | HMCTS Probate Service (online or via 9 registries) | £300 (estates > £5,000) |
| Scotland | Confirmation | Sheriff Court (commissary office) — Edinburgh handles most | £0 / £288 / £579 (by estate value) |
| Northern Ireland | Grant of Probate / Letters of Administration | Probate Office, Belfast (Royal Courts of Justice) | £261 |
Which jurisdiction applies depends on where the deceased was domiciled — usually their permanent home — not where assets are held. A person domiciled in Glasgow but with a holiday home in Cornwall is administered through the Scottish confirmation system. For more on cross-border cases, see our guide to applying for UK probate from abroad.
You won't be told upfront. Three ways to find out once your application is in the system:
If your application has been waiting beyond the typical wait time for any registry (currently ~9 weeks+ at the slowest), it's worth chasing — usually the cause is a query the registry sent that didn't reach you.
11 in total: nine HMCTS-operated registries serving England and Wales (London, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Oxford), plus Edinburgh handling Scottish confirmation and Belfast handling Northern Ireland grants under separate systems.
Edinburgh (Scotland — confirmation) is currently the fastest at ~6.5 weeks, followed by Manchester (~6.8 weeks) and Newcastle (~7 weeks). However, you cannot choose your registry — applications are allocated automatically. The full spread between fastest and slowest is only ~2–3 weeks.
No. HMCTS allocates online probate applications automatically based on workload balancing. Paper applications are routed centrally via the Newcastle Probate Hub before being distributed. The pre-2019 system of nominating a local registry ended when probate digital services were centralised. Submitting a complete application matters far more than which registry receives it.
Sign in to your GOV.UK probate account — once a registry is allocated, the tracking page will display the handling registry. Any letter you receive from the Probate Service also shows the registry name and return address. If neither is available, call the Probate Service helpline on 0300 303 0648 with your application reference number.
On the latest MoJ figures (Q4 2025), yes — the London Principal Registry averages around 9 weeks compared to ~6.8–7 weeks at Manchester and Newcastle. The difference reflects higher case volume and more complex international and high-value estates routing there. The gap has narrowed since 2023, when it exceeded 4 weeks.
No. Scotland uses confirmation rather than probate, processed by Sheriff Courts (Edinburgh handles the bulk). Northern Ireland has its own Probate Office at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast. Fees, forms and timelines differ from the England & Wales system. Which jurisdiction applies depends on where the deceased was domiciled, not where their assets sit.
Sources
1 in 3 probate applications are sent back — adding months to an already difficult process.
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