Committee publication · Correspondence · 14 July 2026
Correspondence to Sarah Sackman KC MP, Minister for Courts and Legal Services, dated 14 July 2026: Probate fees
From: Justice Committee
Summary
The Justice Committee writes to the Minister for Courts and Legal Services expressing concerns about a £226 increase to probate application fees to £526, without a corresponding review of the £5,000 non-payment threshold (unchanged since 1999). The Committee argues the threshold should rise to £20,000 and requests detailed justification of the £526 cost estimate underlying the fee.
Key findings
- The £5,000 non-payment threshold has not been reviewed since 1999 when the probate application fee was £50; only 5.2% of applications now fall below this threshold.
- At the new £526 fee, estates valued just above £5,000 would pay a fee representing more than 10% of total estate value.
- The Committee requests explanation of the Department's costing model, noting the proposed fee is set only £10 below the estimated cost of £526, which has implications under Section 180(1) of the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
- The Committee suggests increasing the non-payment threshold to £20,000 to ensure fees remain proportionate to estate values.
Tone
CriticalTopics
courts-and-legal-servicesprobatecourt-feespublic-finance
Key actors
Sarah Sackman KC MP, Andy Slaughter MP, Justice Committee, Lord Chancellor
Notable line
“… estates worth just over the £5,000 threshold will be required to pay an application fee that represents a significant proportion of the estate's total value, potentially greater than 10%.”
Key Quotes
“At that time, the fee for an application for a grant of probate was £50. Recent data shows that only 5.2% of applications are now below this £5,000 threshold, so the vast majority of estates must pay the fee.”
“… if the probate application fee is to be increased by this amount, the threshold for non-payment should be increased significantly. We suggest a reasonable threshold could be £20,000 .”
“Given the narrow margin between the fee and the underlying cost, it is important that the Committee is able to scrutinise the basis of that cost estimate.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗