Apply for probate

You can apply for probate online. Applications depend on whether the deceased left a Will and on other factors. You must be aged 18 years of age or over to apply.

Before you start

You’ll need to:

report the value of the estate of the person who died to HMRC

and

pay any inheritance tax due

Check if you need to pay inheritance tax before applying for probate.

You’ll need to complete either form IHT205 if you do not need to pay inheritance tax, or form IHT400 if tax is due.

What you need to apply

There are documents you will need to apply. The specific documents you need will depend on the particular circumstances of the application.

A list of acceptable forms of photographic identification and who can certify them can be found in the 'Proving your identification in probate applications' section below.

In most cases, the following documents are required:

death certificate or coroner's certificate
if applicable, the original Will and/ or original codicil or codicil including any original lists/ maps referred to in the Will - all executors who are applying will have to initial the original Will before applying
Inheritance Tax Form – completed and signed
a certified copy of your photographic ID (personal applications only)
if applying by post, a completed application form
the court fee

As well as these documents, you will also need to know:

details of the assets of the person who died – for example what name is on the title deeds of a house, or does the person who died have any assets outside of Northern Ireland
the marital status of the person who has died
if the person who has died had any Wills that were made outside of Northern Ireland
if all executors named in the Will wish to apply - executors may wish to renounce their power or reserve their power (if one or more of the executors have died, you will have the opportunity to tell the court of this through the application process)
if all executors named in the Will are mentally capable of being involved in the application Enduring Power of Attorney or Controllership
the names, addresses and occupation of all executors/ administrators who will be applying for probate
if applying online, the mobile phone number and email addresses of all executors/ administrators who are applying

The following documents may be needed, depending on your particular application:

Reserve power and/ or renounce power forms
certified copy of Foreign Grant and certified copy of Foreign Will
registered Enduring Power of Attorney
certified copy of Controllership Order
completed Power of Attorney form
any court order made in relation to the matter - for example a court order deeming a copy of a Will as an original or a court order appointing an administrator

Privacy notice

You can find out how any personal information you send to the Probate Office when using this service will be handled by viewing its privacy notice.

Continue with or review your probate application

If you have started a probate application and want to finish it, or if you have submitted your application and want to view it, log in to your probate account at this link: NIDA landing page (nidirect.gov.uk)

Members of the legal profession should login at this link: NIDA account login -for members of the legal profession

Apply for probate

Additional information