The UK will writing industry sits at the meeting point of three sets of official numbers: how many estates pass through probate each year, how many of those estates pay inheritance tax, and how much of the market is handled by providers who are not formally regulated. Read together, they describe a large, growing and only partly regulated sector.
This piece gathers the headline figures from named official sources, each linked at its point of use, and adds some hedged analysis of what they may indicate. It describes the position in England and Wales by default, with notes where Scotland and Northern Ireland differ. All figures are current as at July 2026 and are subject to change. For a plain-English starting point, see our estate planning guide.
Key figures at a glance
The table below brings together the main verified statistics on wills, probate and the will writing industry in the UK. Each row carries its source and reference period. Because different bodies publish on different timetables, the reference years vary, and the most recent detailed inheritance tax data currently relates to the 2022 to 2023 tax year.
| Statistic | Figure | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| Grants of representation issued | 328,460 (up 18% on 2023, a series high) | HMCTS/MoJ, 2024 |
| Share that were grants of probate (a valid will left) | About 81% | HMCTS/MoJ, 2024 |
| Estates with an inheritance tax liability | 31,500 | HMRC, 2022 to 2023 |
| UK deaths resulting in an inheritance tax charge | 4.62% (of 683,000 deaths) | HMRC, 2022 to 2023 |
| Total inheritance tax liabilities created | £6.70 billion | HMRC, 2022 to 2023 |
| Inheritance tax receipts (forecast) | £8.7 billion | OBR, 2025 to 2026 forecast |
| Unregulated share of total legal market turnover | About 6% to 8% | SRA research, 2023 |
| Will writing as a reserved (regulated) legal activity | Not reserved | CMA / gov.uk, 2024 |
| Nil-rate band / residence nil-rate band | £325,000 / up to £175,000 | gov.uk, as at July 2026 |
Figures as at July 2026 and subject to change. Reference periods differ by source; see the sources and methodology section below.
How many estates pass through probate each year?
A record number of estates are being formally administered. In 2024 the Probate Service issued 328,460 grants of representation across England and Wales, up 18% on the previous year and the highest in the published series, according to HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice (Family Court Statistics Quarterly, 2024), figures as at July 2026 and subject to change.
A grant of representation is the legal authority to deal with someone's estate. It comes in two broad forms, and the split is a useful proxy for how many people left a valid will:
| Type of grant | Meaning | Share of 2024 grants |
|---|---|---|
| Grant of probate | The person left a valid will naming executors | About 81% |
| Letters of administration and similar | No valid will, or none naming an available executor | The remaining share (roughly one in five) |
Source: HMCTS/MoJ, Family Court Statistics Quarterly, 2024. Not every death needs a grant; small or jointly owned estates often pass without one. As at July 2026, subject to change.
The 18% year-on-year rise partly reflects processing catching up after earlier delays rather than a matching jump in deaths, so the annual totals can move sharply. Grants also cover only estates that need one, so they understate the true number of people who die each year with or without a will. For survey-based estimates of will ownership, see our companion piece on how many people have a will.
Inheritance tax: how many estates actually pay?
Only a minority of estates pay inheritance tax, though the share is rising. In the 2022 to 2023 tax year, 31,500 estates had an inheritance tax liability, equal to 4.62% of the 683,000 UK deaths that year, per HMRC Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics, figures as at July 2026 and subject to change.
| Inheritance tax measure | Figure | Reference period |
|---|---|---|
| Estates with an IHT liability | 31,500 | 2022 to 2023 |
| Share of UK deaths with an IHT charge | 4.62% | 2022 to 2023 |
| Total IHT liabilities created | £6.70 billion | 2022 to 2023 |
| IHT receipts (official forecast) | £8.7 billion | 2025 to 2026 |
Estate figures: HMRC, 2022 to 2023. Receipts forecast: Office for Budget Responsibility, 2025 to 2026. As at July 2026, subject to change.
The context is a set of frozen thresholds. The nil-rate band stands at £325,000 per person and the residence nil-rate band at up to £175,000, and both are held at those levels until the end of the 2030-31 tax year (5 April 2031) (gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change). As asset values change while thresholds stay fixed, more estates may come within the charge over time, which is one reason some people choose to review their arrangements. Any planning of this kind can be worth discussing with a qualified professional.
Is will writing a regulated industry?
Will writing itself is not a reserved legal activity in England and Wales, so it can be carried out by unregulated businesses as well as by solicitors. Only certain "reserved legal activities" are restricted to regulated professionals, and will writing is not among them, as the Competition and Markets Authority set out in October 2024 (gov.uk), position as at July 2026 and subject to change.
Research for the Solicitors Regulation Authority estimated that unregulated providers account for roughly 6% to 8% of total legal market turnover, and that about a quarter of unregulated providers concentrate on will writing and estate administration work (SRA, Understanding the unreserved market, 2023, as at July 2026, subject to change). In practice that means a consumer choosing a will writer may be dealing with a regulated firm or an unregulated one, and the protections can differ.
Will writing is one of the few areas where the same service may be delivered either inside or outside formal regulation, so who prepares the document can matter as much as the document itself.
Regulation here has a long back story. In 2013 the Legal Services Board recommended that will writing be made a reserved activity, but the then Lord Chancellor decided not to accept that recommendation, and the position has remained broadly unchanged since. Anyone comparing providers may find it worth checking what regulator, insurance and complaints route sits behind a given firm. If you are preparing a will yourself, our guide on How to Write a Will explains the formal requirements.
What the numbers mean
Taken together, the figures suggest a sector that is busy, tax-light for most estates, and lightly regulated at the point of drafting. Record grant volumes sit alongside an inheritance tax charge that still touches fewer than one estate in twenty, and a will writing market where a meaningful share of providers operate outside formal regulation. None of these figures points to a single conclusion, and each carries caveats.
- Volumes are high but volatile. The 18% rise in grants in 2024 partly reflects processing catching up, so a single year's change may overstate any underlying trend (HMCTS/MoJ, 2024, as at July 2026, subject to change).
- Inheritance tax remains a minority event. At 4.62% of deaths in 2022 to 2023, an IHT charge is uncommon, though frozen thresholds mean the share has been edging up (HMRC, 2022 to 2023, as at July 2026, subject to change).
- Regulation varies by provider. Because will writing is not reserved, the consumer protections attached to a will can depend on who prepared it (CMA / gov.uk, 2024, as at July 2026, subject to change).
In our view, the more useful takeaway is not any one headline number but the gap between them: many estates are administered each year, relatively few pay tax, and the rules on who can prepare a will are looser than many people assume. What any of this means for a particular family depends on their circumstances, and it can be worth discussing with a qualified professional before acting.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Most of the statistics above describe England and Wales. The other UK nations run separate systems and publish separately. Scotland uses "confirmation" rather than a grant of probate and has its own succession law, including legal rights that can give a spouse and children a fixed share of an estate. Northern Ireland has its own probate process, broadly similar to England and Wales. Inheritance tax, by contrast, is a UK-wide tax and the thresholds cited here apply across the UK (gov.uk, as at July 2026, subject to change).
Sources and methodology
Every statistic on this page comes from a named official source and was checked against the live publication. Where bodies report on different cycles, the most recent settled figures are used, so reference years differ between rows. Nothing here has been estimated or rounded beyond what the source states.
- Probate and grant volumes. HMCTS and Ministry of Justice, Family Court Statistics Quarterly (calendar year 2024).
- Inheritance tax estates and liabilities. HMRC, Inheritance Tax liabilities statistics: commentary (2022 to 2023).
- Inheritance tax receipts forecast. Office for Budget Responsibility, inheritance tax (2025 to 2026 forecast).
- Regulation of will writing. Competition and Markets Authority / gov.uk (2024).
- Unregulated market share. Solicitors Regulation Authority, Understanding the unreserved market (2023).
- Inheritance tax thresholds. gov.uk, Inheritance Tax and the nil-rate band publication.
Figures are current as at July 2026 and are subject to change as new statistics are published.
Frequently asked questions
How many grants of probate are issued in the UK each year?
In 2024 the Probate Service issued 328,460 grants of representation across England and Wales, up 18% on the previous year and a series high, with about 81% being grants of probate where a valid will was left (HMCTS/MoJ, 2024). Scotland and Northern Ireland report separately. Figures as at July 2026, subject to change.
Is will writing a regulated activity in the UK?
Generally no. Will writing is not a reserved legal activity in England and Wales, so it can be carried out by unregulated businesses as well as by solicitors, as the Competition and Markets Authority set out in 2024 (gov.uk). The protections attached to a will can therefore depend on who prepared it. Position as at July 2026, subject to change.
How many estates pay inheritance tax in the UK?
Relatively few. In the 2022 to 2023 tax year, 31,500 estates had an inheritance tax liability, equal to 4.62% of UK deaths, with total liabilities of £6.70 billion (HMRC, 2022 to 2023). The share has generally been rising as thresholds stay frozen. Figures as at July 2026, subject to change.
How big is the UK will writing market?
There is no single official market-size figure, but research for the Solicitors Regulation Authority estimated that unregulated providers account for about 6% to 8% of total legal market turnover, with roughly a quarter of them concentrated in will writing and estate administration (SRA, 2023). Figures as at July 2026, subject to change.
Does a rise in probate grants mean more people are dying?
Not necessarily. The 18% rise in grants during 2024 partly reflects the Probate Service catching up on processing rather than a matching change in deaths, so annual totals can move sharply (HMCTS/MoJ, 2024). Grants also cover only estates that need one. Figures as at July 2026, subject to change.
Do these figures apply across the whole UK?
Only in part. Probate and grant statistics here relate to England and Wales; Scotland uses confirmation and Northern Ireland has its own process, both reported separately. Inheritance tax is UK-wide, so the thresholds apply across the UK (gov.uk). It can be worth taking advice in each relevant jurisdiction. Figures as at July 2026, subject to change.