Online Probate Applications: The Statistics

Online probate applications now account for the large majority of grants in England and Wales. In the July to September 2025 quarter, 93% of the 60,132 probate applications were submitted digitally, up from 86% two years earlier (Family Court Statistics Quarterly, HMCTS, Jul-Sep 2025).

This page pulls together the published official figures on how the digital probate service is used, how long grants take, and how the picture has changed since the service opened to the public. The data comes from the Ministry of Justice, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the ONS. Every figure below carries its source and reference period inline. Figures are official statistics and are subject to revision. For the underlying process itself, see our guide to What Is Probate?

How many probate applications are made online?

In July to September 2025, 93% of probate applications in England and Wales were made through the digital service, and 93% of grants issued in that quarter came from digital applications, out of 60,132 applications and 59,572 grants issued (Family Court Statistics Quarterly, HMCTS, Jul-Sep 2025). That was a rise from 92% in the same quarter of 2024.

The digital service was introduced in stages. It was first rolled out to some unrepresented (personal) applicants in July 2018, opened to legal professionals in October 2019, and from November 2020 professionals were required to use it for the majority of cases (Ministry of Justice, Reform Evaluation Data Summary: Probate, 2026). Because professional filing is largely mandated, most of the remaining paper applications come from personal applicants and from more complex cases not eligible for the digital route.

Key figures at a glance

The most recent quarter of published data, July to September 2025, recorded 60,132 probate applications and 59,572 grants issued, with a mean time from submission to grant of about five weeks (median two weeks). Each row below carries its own source and reference period. All are official statistics and subject to revision.

All figures are official statistics published by HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice and are subject to revision. Reference periods as shown; data as at July 2026.

What the numbers mean

Digital filing is now the default rather than the exception, and the timeliness data suggests the backlog that built up in 2023 and early 2024 has eased. Average case length for cases received rose from 67 days for those submitted around mid-2019 to 104 days by late 2023, then fell to about 22 days for applications submitted in the January to March 2025 quarter (MoJ Reform Evaluation Data Summary: Probate, 2026). In our reading, that improvement appears to be driven largely by newer, simpler cases clearing quickly rather than by every case getting faster.

A gap sits underneath the headline. The Ministry of Justice notes that the proportion of open cases waiting a year or more nearly doubled between January 2024 and January 2025, from 5% to 9%, even as newer cases were processed more quickly (MoJ Reform Evaluation, 2026). More complex or stopped cases, which are more likely to be on paper, can therefore take considerably longer than the mean suggests. Families whose estate is straightforward may find the process quick, while those with complications may not, so a single average can be misleading for any one estate.

Who applies online, and who still uses paper

Uptake differs by who is applying. Among unrepresented (personal) applicants, 81% applied digitally in the April to June 2025 quarter, while almost all grant-of-probate applications from legal representatives (95%) were digital, reflecting the professional filing mandate (MoJ Reform Evaluation, 2026). Paper is used mainly by people who prefer it and by cases not eligible for the digital route.

That split matters because personal applicants carry more of the process themselves. If you are weighing up whether to handle an application yourself or instruct a professional, our comparison of who applies for probate sets out the trade-offs. Probate is also only one part of settling an estate, which sits within wider estate planning during a person's lifetime. Anyone unsure of their position can discuss it with a qualified professional.

Sources and methodology

The figures on this page come from named official statistics. HMCTS quarterly probate volumes, digital shares and timeliness are drawn from the Family Court Statistics Quarterly series; longer-run analysis of digital uptake, case durations and applicant characteristics is drawn from the Ministry of Justice reform evaluation. All are official statistics and are subject to revision, so later releases may restate earlier figures.

• Family Court Statistics Quarterly, Jul-Sep 2025 (HMCTS / Ministry of Justice): applications, grants issued, digital share, timeliness. gov.uk
• Family Court Statistics Quarterly, Jul-Sep 2023 (HMCTS / Ministry of Justice): comparison-period volumes, digital share and timeliness. gov.uk
• Reform Evaluation Data Summary: Probate, 2026 (Ministry of Justice): rollout timeline, digital uptake by applicant type, case durations and open caseload. gov.uk (PDF)
• Probate waiting times, HMCTS news, February 2025 (context on caseload reduction and waiting times). gov.uk

Data reflects England and Wales. Scotland uses confirmation and Northern Ireland has a separate system, so these figures do not describe them. Data as at July 2026 and subject to revision.

Frequently asked questions