Reference ยท Service times
Probate grant processing times in England and Wales, April to June 2026
The Ministry of Justice reported a mean of about five weeks from submission to probate grant in April to June 2026. Grants that had been stopped averaged 14 weeks, compared with two weeks for grants that had proceeded without a stop. Letters of administration had separate figures.
Sources checked
The overall probate mean and the stopped and unstopped subsets describe different groups within the same reporting quarter.
The published mean looks at grants issued in the quarter
The five-week figure summarizes probate grants that were issued from April to June 2026, using elapsed time from application submission. The ministry counted 61,941 probate applications and 57,698 grants issued that quarter. The applications and grants can belong to different cohorts. Source 1
A stop can arise when the service needs to resolve an issue
The ministry lists disputes about who can apply, issues with a will or an application error requiring further information as examples. Stopped grants averaged 14 weeks and unstopped grants averaged two weeks. These are group means for issued grants. Source 1
The starting event affects the number
The publication also measures time from document receipt, when payment and supporting papers are ready for examination. For probate grants that clock was about a week shorter on average than the submission-to-grant clock. Use the same starting event when comparing figures. Source 1
Keep the statistics and applicant guidance in view
GOV.UK says a grant or letters of administration usually arrive within 12 weeks of application and can take longer if more information is needed. The quarterly 22-week and 10-week means for letters of administration relate to their own issued grant types. Source 1 Source 2