Probate Registry Directory and Contact Details: England and Wales

Official contact details checked: 7 October 2026.

Looking for the Probate Registry phone number, an update on an application or your nearest probate office? Start with the national Probate Service contacts below. This directory covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have different arrangements.

1. Probate Service phone, email and online help

Digital support helps you use the service; it does not replace legal or tax advice. Check GOV.UK for changes to these services.

2. Probate Registry directory and appointments

The official court directory currently lists the seven district registries below, plus the Probate Service Centre. Each link gives the official address, contact arrangements and accessibility information. Use the national contacts above for routine enquiries; do not assume the nearest office is handling your application.

Do not travel without confirming an appointment and its purpose. The district registry listings say that requests for an in-person appointment to enter a caveat must be made by email. Follow the current official listing rather than an old local email address.

A caveat is not a general remedy for slow administration. If you are considering challenging an application, get guidance on whether it is appropriate before taking action.

Check the complete official probate office directory.

3. Where to send forms and original documents

Use the address on your current application form, online submission instructions or HMCTS letter. A registry’s visiting address is not necessarily the address for your application.

• Personal paper applications: the current PA1P guidance directs applicants without a practitioner to HMCTS Probate, PO Box 12625, Harlow, CM20 9QE.
• Practitioner paper applications: the same guidance gives Newcastle District Probate Registry, 2nd Floor, Kings Court, Earl Grey Way, North Shields, NE29 6AR.
• Supporting documents for an online application: follow the instructions generated for your case and include its reference.

Address check: the official Probate Service Centre listing currently shows a different Harlow postcode, CM20 9QF. Because the official pages differ, check your form or case instructions before posting; ask HMCTS if they are unclear.

Download the latest PA1P form and instructions where there is a will, or PA1A where there is no will. The official PA1P postal guidance currently requires a cheque payable to HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Follow the payment instructions for your application route.

Keep a complete copy of what you send and proof of posting. Preserve the original will and codicils intact: do not remove bindings or attach extra papers to them. Follow the document checklist and identify your case clearly in accompanying correspondence. Delivery tracking does not confirm that HMCTS has processed the documents.

4. Inheritance Tax contacts and forms

HMRC deals with Inheritance Tax; HMCTS deals with the probate application. For tax enquiries call 0300 123 1072, Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm, excluding bank holidays. From outside the UK: +44 300 123 1072.

Where you must submit IHT400, report the estate to HMRC, start paying any tax due and wait for HMRC’s probate code before applying. A fixed instruction to “wait four weeks” is not a substitute for receiving that code.

Use the official HMRC contact page for tax forms and postal instructions, and the official probate forms collection for probate forms. Do not assume an old form applies to a recent death.

5. Probate application fees

The following HMCTS fees were checked on 7 October 2026. They are separate from any professional fees.

Check the official fee page before paying. Help with the application fee may be available if you qualify.

6. How to check progress and chase delays

GOV.UK says grants usually arrive within 12 weeks of submitting an application, although requests for further information can extend this. This is an indication, not a guaranteed completion date. For a postal application, contact HMCTS if no letter or email has arrived within 12 weeks.

1. Check the online case, emails, junk folder and any requests for documents or clarification.
2. Have the case reference, deceased person’s name and date of death, application date and relevant correspondence ready.
3. Ask whether the required documents and payment have been matched to the case, whether anything is outstanding and what the next step is.
4. Keep a dated record of replies and follow any agreed follow-up date.

If you need help completing the application, have a technical problem or need to answer an HMCTS request, use the appropriate contact route without waiting for the routine progress period to expire.

For information about a particular case, expect HMCTS to check your identity and authority. Being a beneficiary does not automatically give you access to application information. If a professional submitted the application, ask them how enquiries should be handled. It would be misleading to say that HMCTS can “only ever speak to executors”: administrators and authorised representatives may also be involved.

7. Professional executors and the cost of chasing

Repeated calls and emails to a professional executor can add to an estate’s costs where the charging arrangements permit payment for that work. Reading messages, checking the file and preparing replies may all take chargeable time. A fixed fee may cover some enquiries, so check the terms rather than assuming every contact attracts an extra charge.

As a practical way to control avoidable correspondence, ask for a written update schedule, a named contact and an explanation of what is included in the fee. Agree one family contact to collect questions and circulate replies. Ask for a current cost estimate and an explanation of any significant increase.

If a family member is also an executor: first establish whether they are acting in the application, have power reserved or have renounced. An acting co-executor can agree with the professional who handles routine enquiries and how information is shared with the family. Confirm any authority required by HMCTS; being named in the will alone does not establish access to every case record.

This arrangement can reduce duplicated work, but it cannot guarantee free replies or remove an executor’s responsibilities. If there are concerns about fees, conduct or failure to account, use the firm’s complaints procedure and obtain independent advice where needed.

8. Complaints about the Probate Service

If the problem concerns HMCTS service, set out the case reference, a short dated history, what went wrong and the outcome you want. Use the official HMCTS complaints procedure, which explains the review and escalation stages.

The service complaints process cannot overturn a judicial decision. A complaint about a professional executor or solicitor must follow the appropriate separate route.

See our guide to complaining about the Probate Registry for help organising your complaint.

9. Copies of grants and wills

You can use the official probate records search to check whether a grant has been issued and order the record, including a will where available. A new record normally appears approximately 14 days after the grant is issued. This is different from tracking an application still in progress.

10. Local information and professional help

Probate registries do not register deaths. For death registration, funeral arrangements and information specific to your area, start with our local information pages. Our free guides can also help you organise the next steps.

If you need professional help, we use our experience of the market to suggest suitable firms. This may range from support with part of the process to handling the estate. Contact us by phone or use our enquiry form.

We earn our living from a share of the marketing budget of some firms we introduce to. The Professional Will Writer is an associated business, operated separately. Our information is general guidance and should not be confused with professional advice.

Reviewed by Steve Pett CmpnSWW, AffSTEP, DMS. Official details checked on 7 October 2026. Contact arrangements, addresses and fees can change; use the linked official instructions for your application.