Farra is a death administration assistant for UK families. Get step-by-step guidance for registering a death, applying for probate, notifying banks, and managing bereavement admin. From essential documents to practical checklists, Farra simplifies estate paperwork and funeral-related tasks so you can focus on what matters.
This guide has not been checked against its sources
We re-checked our most-read guides against GOV.UK and the other official sources in September 2026. This one was not among them, so nobody has confirmed its figures, deadlines or process steps since it was written. Treat it as a starting point and confirm anything that matters on GOV.UK before you act on it.
There is no single probate threshold in England and Wales. Instead, each bank and financial institution sets its own limit for releasing money without a grant of probate — and most of the big high street banks do not publish one at all, deciding case by case instead. If the estate includes property in the deceased's sole name, you will almost always need probate regardless of value. Joint assets held as joint tenants pass to the survivor without probate. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own processes, covered below.
| Asset or Bank | Published limit | Probate Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Property (sole name) | Any value | Almost always required |
| Santander accounts | Over £50,000 in sole accounts | Required above the limit |
| Barclays accounts | Over £50,000 in sole accounts | Required above the limit |
| HSBC accounts | None published | Decided case by case |
| NatWest accounts | None published | Decided case by case |
| Nationwide accounts | None published | Decided case by case |
| Lloyds accounts | None published | Decided case by case |
| TSB accounts | None published | Decided case by case |
| Smaller banks and building societies | Varies; most publish nothing | Ask the bereavement team |
| Joint bank accounts | Any value | Not required |
Checked against each institution's own bereavement pages in September 2026. Where a bank publishes no figure, we do not invent one — its bereavement team will tell you what it needs.
If you have seen the figure £325,000 mentioned as "the threshold", that number is about tax, not probate. It is the inheritance tax nil-rate band, the amount an estate can be worth before any inheritance tax is due. It has nothing to do with whether you need a grant of probate.
The legal authority to deal with someone's estate. There is no statutory threshold in England and Wales. Whether you need it depends on what the estate contains and on each institution's own release limits.
A tax on estates above £325,000 (more if the residence nil-rate band or spouse exemption applies). An estate can owe no inheritance tax and still need probate, and vice versa. See our inheritance tax guide for 2026-27.
An estate can owe inheritance tax without needing probate, and can need probate without owing any inheritance tax. A £60,000 estate with a solely owned flat needs probate but owes no tax, while a £400,000 estate held entirely in joint names may owe inheritance tax but need no probate at all.
Before you begin the probate process, you'll need to register the death and gather important documents. Understanding whether probate is required helps you plan the estate administration process. For coverage of all stages, see our complete UK probate guide.
If probate is required, you'll need to value the entire estate accurately before applying.
A house or flat owned solely by the deceased, or a share held as tenants in common, needs probate regardless of value. That includes cases where you plan to sell the property as part of the estate.
Shares, funds and investment accounts in the deceased's sole name usually need probate, although platforms set their own limits for small holdings, so check with each one.
Sole accounts holding more than the bank's own release limit. Santander and Barclays publish £50,000; most other high street banks publish no figure and decide case by case.
Disputed wills, trusts, or institutions that simply insist on seeing a grant before releasing anything.
Limits apply per institution, not to the estate as a whole, and they apply to the total the deceased held with that one institution rather than to a single account. Two modest balances at two different banks may each fall under their bank's limit even though the estate as a whole is larger.
For a fuller list of situations where no grant is needed, see when you don't need probate.
Only some banks publish a figure. Where one does, it is shown below with the date it was checked; where one does not, this page says so rather than guessing. Banks review these policies, and some look at the wider estate too, so always confirm with the bereavement team.
Needs a grant once sole accounts total more than £50,000. See our Barclays threshold guide
Publishes no fixed limit; decides case by case. See our HSBC threshold guide
Publishes no fixed limit for personal accounts. See our Lloyds threshold guide
Needs a grant once sole accounts total more than £50,000, and always where there is a sole or tenants-in-common mortgage. See our Santander threshold guide
Publishes no fixed limit; says it depends on the size and type of the estate. See our Nationwide threshold guide
Publishes no fixed limit; tells you in the condolence letter. See our NatWest threshold guide
Publishes no fixed limit; asks you to contact its bereavement team. See our TSB threshold guide
Building societies and smaller banks set their own limits and most do not publish them, so ask directly before assuming.
Limits change and vary by institution. Contact each one directly to confirm its current requirements before assuming you don't need probate. For official guidance, see GOV.UK's probate guidance.
Because the question is "what does the estate contain?" rather than "what is it worth in total?", the practical first step is a simple list.
Ask each bank for the balance at the date of death, then compare it with the bank's own no-probate limit above. Banks will usually tell you directly whether they need a grant.
If any single institution's limit is exceeded, or the estate includes solely owned property, you will need probate.
If everything is joint, nominated, in trust, or below each institution's limit, you probably won't.
Result: possibly no probate needed at all, but the shareholding is the item to confirm.
If you're unsure whether you need probate, see our detailed guide to whether you need probate. Most institutions will also give you a definitive answer when you contact them with estate details. It's better to check than assume.
Banks operate across the UK, but the legal process does not. If the estate is in Scotland you apply for "confirmation" at the sheriff court rather than probate. In Northern Ireland the grant is still called probate, but it is issued by the Probate Office of the High Court in Belfast under its own rules and fees — the £526 fee and the timescales on this page are for England and Wales only.
The probate process involves several stages from application to distribution. For guidance on each stage, see our complete guide to probate in the UK.
Apply online at GOV.UK, or use form PA1P (with a will) or PA1A (without) for paper applications. Read our step-by-step guide to applying for probate.
£526 in England and Wales, plus £2 for each official copy of the grant ordered with it. There is no fee if the estate is £5,000 or less.
GOV.UK says you will usually get probate within 12 weeks of submitting the application. The published mean for England and Wales was 5 weeks in January to March 2026, and around 2 weeks for digital applications that were not stopped. Queries from HMCTS take longer.
Use the grant to close accounts, sell property and distribute the estate.
If you answered "yes" to questions 1-3, you likely need probate.
If only question 4 is "yes", you may not need probate, but confirm with each institution.
It depends on the bank, because each one sets its own limit and there is no rule that binds them. Santander publishes a figure — it needs a grant once the sole accounts it holds total more than £50,000 — and Barclays publishes the same figure. HSBC, NatWest, Nationwide, Lloyds and TSB do not publish a fixed limit on their bereavement pages: they decide case by case and tell you what they need. So the only reliable answer is the one the bank's own bereavement team gives you.
No. £325,000 is the inheritance tax nil-rate band, which decides whether tax is due, not whether you need probate. There is no statutory probate threshold in England and Wales. Whether you need probate depends on what the estate contains and on each institution's own limits, so an estate can need probate well below £325,000, or avoid it well above.
Usually yes. In England and Wales, if the deceased owned property in their sole name, or held a share as tenants in common, you will normally need probate whatever the property is worth, because the Land Registry needs the grant to register the change of ownership. Property owned as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner without probate.
No. Money in a joint account passes to the surviving account holder by survivorship. The bank updates the account once it sees the death certificate, and the balance never goes through probate. The deceased's share can still count for inheritance tax purposes, which is a separate question.
The application fee is £526 in England and Wales, and there is no fee if the estate is £5,000 or less. Extra official copies cost £2 each when ordered with the application (£16 afterwards), so order one for each institution you will deal with.
Exemptions and small estate procedures explained
Step-by-step guide to the probate application process
The full checklist of documents for a probate application
Where to search and what to do if you can't find it
The £325,000 nil-rate band and other IHT allowances explained
How frozen thresholds pull more estates into IHT
How to contact banks and access estate funds
Comprehensive overview of the entire probate process
How to accurately value assets including property, investments and personal possessions
What to do first if you are named as an executor