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A standing search is a request to the Probate Registry to send you a copy of any grant for a named person that issued in the twelve months before you applied or issues in the six months after. It costs £4 per six-month period, including the copy, and is made on form PA1S. It can be extended by applying in the last month of each period. It only reports a grant; it does not stop one. To stop a grant, the tool is a caveat.
When someone dies, it can be hard to know whether — or when — anyone has applied for the legal authority to deal with their estate. A standing search is the Probate Registry's way of telling you: it sends you a copy of the grant if one is issued. This guide explains what it covers, what it costs, how to apply and how it differs from a caveat. It covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems.
A "grant" here means a grant of probate (where there is a will naming executors) or letters of administration (where there is not, or where no executor is acting). The grant is the document that gives someone the legal right to deal with the estate.
Rule 43 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 sets out what a standing search does. A person who has entered one "will be sent an office copy of any grant" matching the details they gave, which:
So a standing search looks both ways: back over the previous twelve months, and forward over the next six. GOV.UK puts it simply: you can "ask to be sent a copy of a probate if it's granted in the next 6 months."
The copy you receive is of the grant and, where there is one, the will. Form PA1S says the copy sent under a standing search "will not be sealed" — it is for information, not an official copy for dealing with the estate.
It does not stop a grant. A standing search only reports a grant that has issued. If the aim is to stop the Probate Registry issuing a grant while a question about the will is looked into, the tool is a caveat — see our guide on how to enter a caveat.
It does not start any time limit. A claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 must be made within six months of the date the grant is "first taken out", unless the court gives permission for a later claim (section 4). It is the grant, not the standing search, that starts that period. Section 4 also allows a claim to be made before any grant has been taken out. See our guide to time limits for contesting a will.
GOV.UK directs people to form PA1S, the form for postal searches of probate records, and to tick the "standing search" option. The form asks for your details and the details of the person who has died, including their name, any other names they were known by, their date of death and their last address.
The form is sent with the fee to:
The Postal Copies and Searches Department, District Probate Registry, York House, 31 York Place, Leeds LS1 2BA.
Payment is by cheque, postal order or international money order payable to "HMCTS", with the name of the person who has died written on the back. The form says the registry will send a letter confirming the date the standing search was entered.
The fee is £4. GOV.UK states it, form PA1S states it, and it is fee 5 in Schedule 1 to the Non-Contentious Probate Fees Order 2004: "for each period of six months including the issue of a copy grant and will, if any (irrespective of the number of pages)". GOV.UK's page for form PA1S records that the standing search fee was updated on 13 July 2026, so sources quoting an older amount are out of date.
A standing search runs for six months from the date it is entered. Rule 43(3) allows it to be extended:
If it is not extended in time, it expires. After that, a new standing search would be needed.
GOV.UK's probate records search lets anyone check whether a grant has been issued. GOV.UK says a new record appears online "approximately 14 days after probate has been issued". Form PA1S suggests checking the online service regularly, and describes the standing search as the route for people who are unable to search online.
| Standing search | Caveat | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Sends you a copy of any grant issued | Stops a grant being issued while it is in force |
| Fee | £4 per six-month period, including the copy | £4 to enter (GOV.UK) |
| How long | Six months; extendable in the last month of each period | Six months; extendable in the last month of the period |
| Form | PA1S, by post | Online, or form PA8A by post |
| Can be challenged? | No — it does not affect anyone else's application | Yes, by a warning; the caveator then has 14 days to respond |
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