Applications for grants of probate up 4% year-on-year in 2022, data reveals

New data released by the Ministry of Justice has revealed both applications for grants of probate and grants of probate issued increased in 2022 compared with 2021.

Specifically, there were 234,711 applications for probate grants and 221,820 probate grants issued in 2022, up 4% and 1% respectively from 2021.

The proportion of applications being made digitally is also increasing, up from 83% of applications in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 87% in the same period in 2022.

With regards to timeliness, probate grants were issued more quickly than other grants of representation in Q4 2022, the Ministry of Justice said.

Specifically, probate grants – which made up 82% of all applications for a grant of representation – took approximately eight weeks to be issued after the application was submitted during October to December 2022. Letters of administration with a will and without a will took around 22 and 16 weeks respectively.

As to who is making these applications, in Q4 2022 62% of the grants issued were applied for by legal professionals and 38% were personal applications.

During 2022, there were 291,941 applications made for grants of representation, up 3% on 2021. There was a total of 269,767 grants of representation issued, down 1% on 2021.

Average (mean) time for grants of representation issued from application submission by the Probate Service, July to September 2019 to October to December 2022. Source: Ministry of Justice

Read more stories

Join over 6,000 wills and probate practitioners – Check back daily for all the latest news, views, insights and best practice and sign up to our e-newsletter to receive our weekly round up every Friday morning. 

You’ll receive the latest updates, analysis, and best practice straight to your inbox.

Features