Grants of probate are being turned around quicker than 12 months ago with the move to digital seeing grants returned in under half the time paper applications take.
The latest HM Courts and Tribunals data for the month of July shows there were 27,494 total applications in the month. 81% of those were submitted digitally with an average turnaround time of five weeks; down from seven and a half weeks 12 months ago. In contrast, paper applications took 13 weeks, down from 17 weeks 12 months ago.
26, 748 grants were issued in the month with both applications and grants issued the highest since March of this year.
In an indication of progress on turnaround times and delays, the total open caseload at the Probate Registry has reduced by 17,500 cases, to 39,037 over the last year, but progress has plateaued in recent months. There is a slow, but steady fall of cases over 24 months old from 1282 at the start of 2025, to 1027 by July. A similar reduction in cases between 12 and 24 months has seen outstanding numbers fall from 2319 in January, to 2060 in July.
Source: HMCTS
Meanwhile in response to a written Parliamentary question on the steps the Ministry of Justice is taking to reduce the time it takes to register a Lasting Power of Attorney, Secretary of State for Justice Sarah Sackman said the current aim with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) was ‘within eight weeks’; which includes the four-week notice period for objections. The minister acknowledged the backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic adding by March of this year OPG consistently met the 40-day registration target, having cleared the COVID backlogs by the end of 2024.
Since March ‘sustained increases in demand and an isolated and local power outage’ have caused registration times to lengthen, although the organisation says it is recruiting, offering overtime, and investing in scanning systems to improve efficiency
“Plans to modernise LPAs will allow LPAs to be fully made and registered online for the first time, with paper option retained. Digitisation will improve accessibility, reduce errors, and shorten processing times.”
