To find a lost will in England and Wales, begin with a thorough search of the person's home and personal papers, then contact any solicitor or will writer they may have used. If those steps do not turn one up, search the National Will Register and, where the person has died and probate has already been granted, order a copy through the government Find a Will service.
A will can be misplaced for all sorts of reasons: it was tucked away for safekeeping, left with a firm that has since closed, or simply never mentioned to the family. This guide sets out where wills are commonly held, which registers and services can help, and what each step costs. Figures are current as at August 2026 and are subject to change.
Start with a careful search at home
Most wills are still held on paper, and the majority are found close to home. Before turning to registers and fees, work methodically through the places people tend to keep important documents. It is worth being patient here, as a single original document can be easy to overlook.
- Personal filing. Desk drawers, document folders, box files and any home safe or lockable cabinet.
- With other key papers. Wills are often stored alongside property deeds, insurance policies, premium bonds and bank statements.
- Bank or building society. Ask whether the person held a safe deposit box or lodged documents for safekeeping.
- Correspondence. Letters or emails from a solicitor or will writer can point to who drafted or is holding the will.
- Address books and contacts. A note of a solicitor, accountant or adviser is a useful lead to follow.
If you find a copy but not the signed original, keep looking. For probate the original signed will is normally required, and a copy alone can raise questions about whether the will was later revoked.
Ask the professionals who may hold it
Many people leave their original will with the firm that prepared it. If home searches point to a particular solicitor or will writer, contact them directly. Where a firm has closed or merged, the will is not necessarily lost.
Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and when a firm ceases trading or merges, wills held for clients are generally transferred to another regulated firm so they remain retrievable (The Gazette, on storing a will, accessed August 2026). If you cannot trace where a former firm's files went, the Solicitors Regulation Authority can often say who took over its records. It is also worth asking the person's accountant, financial adviser or bank, as any of them may hold a copy or know where the original sits.
Search the National Will Register
If the will still has not surfaced, a will search can check whether one was ever registered or trace an unregistered document. The National Will Register, operated by Certainty, is endorsed by the Law Society of England and Wales and is widely used by solicitors to register and locate wills (The Law Society, on Certainty the National Will Register, accessed August 2026).
Two search types are commonly used. A register search checks the documents recorded on the register itself, while a combined search also looks beyond it, contacting firms in the area and posting a notice to help trace an unregistered will.
| Search | Fee (Aug 2026) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Will Register Search | £65 (inc VAT) | Checks whether a will is recorded on the register |
| Will Search Combined | £140 (inc VAT) | Register check plus a wider search for an unregistered will |
Source: The National Will Register, fees as at August 2026, subject to change. There is no single, complete central register of wills in England and Wales and registration is not compulsory, so a nil result does not prove that no will exists.
Check the probate records if the person has died
Once someone has died and a grant of probate has been issued, their will becomes a public document. You can search for it and order a copy through the government Find a Will service, which covers grants of representation issued in England and Wales since 1858. A new record usually appears online around 14 days after probate is granted, and each copy costs £16 (gov.uk, Search probate records, as at August 2026, subject to change).
If you think probate may be applied for soon but has not yet been granted, you can lodge a standing search using form PA1S. This costs £4 and asks the Probate Registry to send you a copy of the grant and will if one is issued within the following six months (gov.uk, Search probate records, as at August 2026, subject to change).
Where wills are commonly kept
Knowing the usual storage options can shorten the search. The table below sets out the main places a will may be held and how to approach each.
| Where | How to check | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| At home | Search files, safes and papers | None |
| Solicitor or will writer | Contact the firm, or its successor if it has closed | Usually none to retrieve |
| Bank safe deposit | Ask the bank about a box or lodged documents | Varies by bank |
| HMCTS will storage | Personal representatives can withdraw a deposited will after death | Free to withdraw |
| National Will Register | Commission a will search | From £65 (inc VAT) |
| Probate record (after a grant) | Find a Will service | £16 per copy |
Sources: gov.uk, Store a will with the probate service and gov.uk, Search probate records, as at August 2026, subject to change. Individuals can also deposit a will with the probate service for a one-off fee of £24, where it is held at the Principal Registry of the Family Division (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). Retrieving a stored will is free.
What if no will can be found
If a full search finds nothing, the estate may be treated as intestate, meaning the person is regarded as having died without a valid will. In that case the rules of intestacy decide who inherits, and those rules do not always match what the family expected. The person applying to administer the estate can keep a clear record of the searches made, which helps show that reasonable steps were taken before proceeding.
Where a later will is found after an earlier one has already been used, it can change who inherits, which is one reason a thorough search matters before a grant is obtained. Our overview of what probate involves sets out how a grant is applied for and why the original will is central to it. If you are planning your own affairs, our guide on how to write a will covers safe storage and telling your executors where to find it, which is the simplest way to prevent a will from being lost in the first place.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
This guide describes the position in England and Wales. Scotland has its own succession system and uses confirmation rather than a grant of probate, and its public records are held separately, including through National Records of Scotland. Northern Ireland has a separate but broadly similar probate system, with records held by the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service. If an estate touches more than one UK nation, it can be worth checking the records in each.