How long does it take to issue a grant of representation?

The time between application and issue for a grant of representation has been found to vary across the UK.

In response to a Freedom of Information Request, figures from the Ministry of Justice have revealed the time taken by the main Probate Registries for grants of representation to be issued.

A grant of representation is usually applied for following a person’s death. It provides the legal authority to deal with a person’s money, possessions or property and is often required as confirmation by financial institutions.

Where a will has been written and Executor appointed, the grant will take the form of probate. However, if no will has been left or the Executor does not wish to carry out the role, letters of administration may be applied for instead. This can be done through a personal application or with the assistance of a professional.

After an application has been lodged, there will be a processing time before the grant is issued.

Within England and Wales, there is a principal Registry office in Central London and 11 further District Probate Registries in Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Ipswich, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, and Winchester. All grants are issued through these main District Registries.

Although the majority of solicitors had been issued with a grant within 7 days of receipt, in some areas, the issuing took slightly longer.

Measured following a week of the application being received, 96.3% of solicitors who’d applied to the Ipswich Registry had their grant issued. Just behind this were Birmingham and Oxford, at 97.1% and 97.4% respectively. 99.8% of solicitors who’d lodged an application at the Newcastle Registry were issued within a week, whilst in Leeds, this figure was 99.9%. 100% of solicitors had been issued with a grant from all registries after 10 days of receipt.

The regions with longer timescales were similarly affected in relation to the grants applied for by personal applicants. For Ipswich, 97.4% of personal applications were issued within a 28 day period after receipt. Slightly ahead was Winchester at 98.4%, followed by Leeds and Oxford – both at 98.5%. The percentage of personal applications issued by the Newcastle registry after 28 days was 99.3%. A key difference was Brighton Registry, who had issued 100% of grants in 7 days where solicitors were concerned. For personal applicants, however, they had issued 99.3% in the 28 day period. Birmingham had issued 99.9% in the same timescale. Within 8 weeks, 100% of personal applications had been issued after receipt.

Although the MoJ does not have an average time for applications to be issued, they do measure against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

For applications lodged by solicitors, the KPI to be issued by the Registry is 95% within 7 days of receipt, with the remainder to be completed within 10 days. 85% of grants applied for by a personal applicant should be issued within 28 days with the remainder to be completed within the 8-week time frame.

Therefore, although some regions are taking longer than others, when we compare the 2016 figures with these KPI’s, the majority of District Probate Registries are performing well within these timescales.