How to Complain about the Probate Registry

Before chasing a probate application, check who the Probate Service can speak to and whether an enquiry through a professional could generate charges: if you are not the executor, a probate professional is unlikely to be allowed to speak to you without their client’s authority (more time, more costs).

This guide covers England and Wales. The Probate Department is an independent information website, not HMCTS or the Probate Registry. We cannot access applications or investigate complaints.

On this page

• Who can discuss a probate application?
• Speaking to a solicitor or other practitioner
• The possible cost of repeated enquiries
• Checking progress before complaining
• Making a formal HMCTS complaint
• Escalating an unresolved complaint
• Errors, professional complaints and inheritance disputes

Who can discuss a probate application?

Knowing the deceased or expecting an inheritance does not automatically entitle you to information about a pending application.

HMCTS explains that it can discuss a case with:

• An applicant named on the case.
• An executor holding power reserved. This means they have not joined the application but have retained their right to apply later.
• A solicitor or attorney representing the applicant, subject to the necessary authority and checks.

Have the application reference available, if known, and be ready to answer security questions.

Can a relative or friend help with the call?

Yes. HMCTS says the applicant can be present, answer the security questions and verbally authorise the person helping them to speak.

The applicant must do this each time. Permission given during one call should not be treated as continuing authority for later calls.

A beneficiary, relative or friend calling independently should not expect access simply because of their relationship to the deceased.

Read HMCTS’s explanation of who can discuss an application.

What if a professional submitted the application?

Ask the professional to confirm the application reference, submission date, current position and any outstanding requests.

If you are an applicant or an executor with power reserved, explain your position when contacting HMCTS. Access remains subject to its identity and authority checks. Do not assume that you can access the professional’s online account.

Who can speak to the solicitor or other probate practitioner?

First establish whether the professional is acting as an executor or acting for executors or administrators. These are different roles.

A solicitor instructed by the executors or administrators

The solicitor normally acts for the people who instructed them. A beneficiary is not automatically their client and cannot simply give instructions about the administration.

The solicitor may need their clients’ authority before sharing confidential information or discussing particular matters with another person.

Where several executors are clients, agreeing one contact for routine communication can help, but it does not remove the other executors’ responsibilities or rights as clients. But it can save a lot of money.

A professional acting as executor

A professional executor administers the estate and owes duties to its beneficiaries. Beneficiaries do not become clients merely because they inherit.

That does not mean beneficiaries have no rights to information. Residuary beneficiaries—those entitled to what remains after debts, expenses and other gifts—are entitled to estate accounts when the administration is complete. Appropriate progress and cost information can also help prevent misunderstandings (but while good practice, it is not a duty).

At outset, ask the professional to explain their role, how updates will be provided and how enquiries are charged.

If a family member is also an executor

Establish whether they are participating, have power reserved or have renounced.

A participating co-executor can discuss an agreed division of work with the professional. An executor holding power reserved can also contact HMCTS, subject to its checks.

Do not renounce or change your involvement simply to simplify communication without understanding the consequences.

Repeated enquiries can increase estate costs

If a professional charges for time spent, an enquiry can involve reading messages, reviewing the file, contacting HMCTS and reporting back.

For illustration: half an hour at £300 an hour costs £150, or £180 with VAT at 20%. Five such rounds would total £900. This is an example, not a statement of typical charges.

Properly incurred administration charges may be paid from the estate, reducing the amount available to inherit. Fixed-fee arrangements may include routine updates, so check the terms.

A beneficiary does not automatically become personally liable for a bill merely by asking a question. If a professional proposes to charge you personally for separate advice or work, establish the terms before agreeing.

Reducing avoidable communication costs

• Agree how often routine updates will be provided.
• Where practical, nominate one person to collect family questions and circulate answers.
• Combine related questions into one concise message.
• Ask whether routine updates and progress enquiries are included in the fee.
• Ask the executors or professional for an explanation of significant additional charges.

These steps should reduce duplication, not discourage legitimate questions or complaints. Poor communication should not be excused simply by warning that enquiries cost money.

Do you need an update or a formal complaint?

A progress enquiry asks what is happening. A complaint identifies something that has gone wrong with the service.

If you applied online, sign in to the Probate Service to check progress.

GOV.UK currently says grants are usually received within 12 weeks of submitting the application. It can take longer if further information is required.

For postal applications, GOV.UK says you should receive a letter or email within 12 weeks. Contact the service if you have not.

Before chasing, check:

• When the application was actually submitted.
• Whether the required supporting documents were sent.
• Whether HMCTS requested further information.
• Whether the applicant or practitioner has answered that request.
• Whether a recent update already explains the next step.

The date someone died, or the date a solicitor was instructed, is not necessarily the date the probate application was submitted.

Probate Service contact details

• Email: co************@*********ov.uk
• Telephone: 0300 303 0648
• Telephone hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm, excluding bank holidays.
• Webchat and current guidance: GOV.UK: after you have applied.

You do not have to wait for the usual processing period to expire before raising a specific service failure, such as lost documents or incorrect information.

Making a formal complaint about HMCTS

The HMCTS complaints process concerns how its staff handled the case. Possible issues include:

• Unexplained delays or unanswered correspondence.
• Lost or mishandled documents.
• Incorrect or conflicting information.
• Administrative errors.
• Poor treatment or communication.

A service complaint cannot overturn a judicial decision or determine a dispute about a Will or inheritance.

You can raise concerns about service you personally experienced, but making a complaint does not automatically give you access to confidential application information.

Step 1: submit the complaint

Use the HMCTS complaints page, which links to its online complaints form.

You can also complain by email, telephone or in writing to the service handling the application.

Clearly state that this is a formal complaint. Include:

• Your name, contact details and relationship to the application.
• The deceased’s full name and application reference, if known.
• The relevant submission and correspondence dates.
• A short explanation of what went wrong.
• Previous attempts to resolve the problem.
• Copies of relevant evidence.
• The practical or financial impact.
• What you would like done to put matters right.

Keep copies and retain the complaint reference.

HMCTS aims to respond within 10 working days. This is a complaint-response target, not a promise to issue the grant within that period.

Escalating an unresolved complaint

Step 2: ask for a senior-manager review

If the response does not resolve your complaint, ask a senior manager at the office concerned to review it.

Explain what remains unresolved and identify any evidence or questions the response missed.

The manager aims to respond within 10 working days.

Step 3: appeal to the User Investigations Team

If you remain dissatisfied after the review, ask for the complaint to be considered by the HMCTS User Investigations Team.

The reviewing manager should provide their contact details. Explain why you consider the previous response inadequate.

The team aims to respond within 15 working days.

This is an escalation within the complaints process, not a legal appeal against a court decision.

Step 4: ask your MP about an Ombudsman referral

After completing the HMCTS complaints process, you can ask your MP to refer the unresolved complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

• Find your MP.
• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

You can also ask your MP for assistance with an unresolved service problem before this stage. An MP cannot overturn a judicial decision or guarantee that a grant will be issued.

Other problems need different routes

An error on the grant

GOV.UK says to return an incorrect probate document to the district probate registry listed on it. Contact that registry for instructions before sending documents, and retain copies and proof of posting.

A complaint about the solicitor or probate practitioner

Concerns about a professional’s charges, communication or handling of the estate are separate from a complaint about HMCTS.

Ask for the firm’s complaints procedure and explain your concerns in writing. Request a clear progress report, an explanation of disputed charges and a proposed next step.

If unresolved, check the appropriate independent complaints route and whether you are eligible to use it. The route depends on the provider, your relationship to the matter and the nature of the complaint.

Do not assume a professional’s failure to progress the work is necessarily a Probate Registry delay.

A court decision, disputed Will or inheritance claim

The HMCTS service complaints process cannot change a judicial decision or resolve an inheritance dispute.

Seek appropriate independent legal advice promptly. Time limits may apply, and a service complaint does not suspend them.

Read more about Will and inheritance disputes.

Official sources

• HMCTS: probate questions, including who can discuss an application.
• GOV.UK: tracking applications and correcting grants.
• HMCTS complaints procedure.
• SRA: probate administration, communication and costs.

Information checked: 14 October 2026. General guidance for England and Wales, not advice about a particular estate. Procedures, contact details and published timescales may change.