PA1P or PA1A: Which Probate Form Do You Need?

Use PA1P if the person left a will. Use PA1A if they did not. PA1P leads to a grant of probate; PA1A leads to letters of administration. Both are free HM Courts & Tribunals Service forms, both are for applying by post in England and Wales, and the online probate service replaces both if you apply that way instead.

That really is the whole decision. This guide covers what sits behind it: what each form asks, who is entitled to sign, and the handful of situations where the obvious answer is not the right one. Where there is no will, entitlement to apply is set by the intestacy rules rather than by choice, and our guide to who can apply for probate if there is no will sets out that order of priority.

This guide covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different forms and processes.

That is the whole of the PA1P-or-PA1A question. It is not, though, the whole of what an estate needs: whether Inheritance Tax forms go with it is a separate question with its own answer. Both are set out here.

The one-question decision

	PA1P	PA1A
Use when	There is a will	There is no will
Official title	Apply for probate by post if there is a will	Apply for probate by post if there is not a will
You receive	Grant of probate	Letters of administration
Who applies	Executors named in the will	The closest living relative
You send with it	Original will and codicils, plus death certificate	Death certificate
Applicant is called	Executor	Administrator

Both forms are published by HMCTS and both are free to download from GOV.UK. Each comes in two versions: "citizen applicants" and "probate practitioners". If you are doing this yourself, you want the citizen version. A large-print version of PA1P is also available, and HMCTS will supply accessible formats on request.

Grant of probate or letters of administration

The two documents do the same job: they prove to a bank, a registrar or a buyer that you have legal authority to deal with the estate. The difference is where your authority comes from.

With a grant of probate, your authority comes from the will. The person chose you. Technically your authority exists from the moment of death and the grant simply confirms it.

With letters of administration, nobody was chosen, so the law decides who is entitled to apply, in a fixed order of priority, and your authority comes from the court's appointment.

The umbrella term for either is a grant of representation. You will see all three phrases used, sometimes in the same letter from the same bank.

The awkward middle case: a will, but no executor applying

Here is the one that genuinely trips people up, and where the intuitive answer is wrong.

Say there is a valid will, but the named executor has died, or is too unwell, or simply does not want to do it. Instinct says "no executor, so use PA1A". That is incorrect.

You still use PA1P. HMCTS's own guidance for PA1P says the form can be used by "a 'beneficiary' where there's a will but none of the executors are applying", and also where no executors are named in the will at all.

The logic is that PA1A is for intestacy, meaning no valid will exists. If there is a will, the estate is not intestate no matter who ends up applying, and the will must still go to the court. What changes is the grant you receive: instead of a grant of probate, you get letters of administration with the will annexed. The estate is still distributed according to the will.

An executor who does not want to act has two routes, and the difference matters:

• Power reserved. They step back for now but keep the right to apply later. Nothing extra to file beyond noting it on the application.
• Renunciation. They give up the right permanently, on form PA15 (executor) or PA16 (administrator). This is final.

If an executor is merely busy or lives abroad, power reserved is usually the better answer. Renunciation is for someone certain they never want to be involved.

What the forms ask

Both forms cover the same ground:

1. About the person who died. Full name, any other names they were known by, address, date of birth, date of death, and domicile.
2. About the will (PA1P only). Its date, any codicils, and the executors named in it.
3. About you. Name, address, and your relationship to the person who died. For PA1A, your relationship is what establishes your entitlement.
4. The estate values. The gross and net value, and the net qualifying value for excepted-estate purposes.
5. The Inheritance Tax position. Whether the estate is excepted, or whether an IHT400 was submitted and an HMRC code received.
6. How many sealed copies you want.
7. The legal statement. A statement of truth that everyone applying signs.

There is also a voluntary equality and diversity questionnaire. It is optional and has no bearing on the application.

Names deserve particular care. If the person appears in the will as "Margaret Jane Smith", on the death certificate as "Margaret J Smith", and on the deeds as "Peggy Smith", declare the alternative names on the form. Unexplained name differences between the documents are one of the most common causes of a registry query.

This is the part of the form people get wrong most often, because it depends on a test applied to the estate's own figures rather than on anything you can decide. Which of the four situations this estate is in explains how that test works and what follows from each answer.

The Inheritance Tax questions

Both forms ask about Inheritance Tax before you can complete them, because the route differs:

• Excepted estate: you self-certify the values on the probate form itself. There is nothing to send HMRC first. This has been the position for deaths on or after 1 January 2022; the old IHT205 short form was abolished.
• Not an excepted estate: you must submit an IHT400 to HMRC, start paying any tax due, and wait for HMRC to send you a unique code. Only then can you apply. GOV.UK is explicit that you cannot apply for probate until you have reported the value.

Our guide to excepted estates covers which side of that line an estate falls.

Note that for deaths on or before 31 December 2021 a different section of the form applies, with the older rules and thresholds. The rules follow the date of death, not today's date.

Where to send it

Per HMCTS's current guidance, citizen applicants send the completed form and supporting documents to:

HMCTS Probate PO Box 12625 Harlow CM20 9QE

Probate practitioners use the Newcastle District Probate Registry instead.

Payment is by cheque payable to "HM Courts and Tribunals Service", sent with the documents.

Send it tracked or signed-for. The original will cannot be replaced, and for a few pounds you get proof it arrived.

Should you use the paper form at all?

Probably not, if you have the choice.

HMCTS states directly that "it takes longer to process paper applications than online applications" and advises applying online if you can. GOV.UK gives the usual timescale as 12 weeks from submission, and HMCTS's postal guidance says the same for paper "if there's no delay in receiving your documents".

The paper forms remain the right answer when:

• you are not comfortable applying online, or do not have reliable internet access
• the application has a feature the online service does not handle
• you simply prefer paper, which is a legitimate preference

If you are not online, HMCTS funds a support service, We Are Group, on 03300 160 051, for people who cannot use or do not feel confident using the internet.

The fee, whichever form you use

	Cost
PA1P or PA1A form	Free
Application, estate over £5,000	£526
Application, estate £5,000 or less	No fee
Extra sealed copies with the application	£2 each
Extra sealed copies later	£16 each

Order the copies with the application. Eight copies costs £16 up front, or £128 later.

Supporting forms you may also need

The one-form assumption is usually right, but not always. HMCTS publishes a set of supporting forms:

Form	When you need it
PA11	Power of attorney, where there is a will
PA12	Power of attorney, where there is no will
PA13	Reporting that a will has been lost
PA14	Medical certificate, where capacity is in question
PA15	An executor giving up their rights
PA16	An administrator giving up their rights
PA8A	Applying to stop a grant, known as entering a caveat

If you think you need PA13 or PA14, the circumstances are unusual enough that a conversation with a solicitor is worth the money.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between PA1P and PA1A?

PA1P is the HMCTS form used to apply for probate when the person left a will, and it leads to a grant of probate. PA1A is used when there is no will, and it leads to letters of administration. Both are free postal application forms for England and Wales.

Which form do I use if there is a will but no executor can act?

You still use PA1P. HMCTS guidance confirms that a beneficiary named in the will can apply using PA1P where none of the executors is applying, or where no executors are named. The grant issued is letters of administration with the will annexed rather than a grant of probate.

Do I need PA1P or PA1A if I apply online?

Neither. If you apply online you do not submit a paper application at all. The online service asks whether there is a will and builds the right application for you. HMCTS states paper applications take longer to process, so apply online if you can.

Where do I send a completed PA1P or PA1A?

Citizen applicants send the completed form and supporting documents to HMCTS Probate, PO Box 12625, Harlow, CM20 9QE. Probate practitioners use the Newcastle District Probate Registry instead. Payment is by cheque payable to HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

Is there a fee for PA1P or PA1A?

The forms themselves are free to download. The court application fee is £526 where the estate is over £5,000, and there is no fee at or below £5,000. Extra sealed copies cost £2 each when ordered with the application.

What documents go with the form?

With PA1P you send the original will and any codicils plus the official death certificate. With PA1A you send the official death certificate. HMCTS does not accept photocopies of either, and the original will is retained by the court as a public record.

Can more than one person apply on the same form?

Yes. Up to four people can apply for the same grant, and each of them must sign the legal statement on the form. Other executors named in a will can have power reserved to them, meaning they do not act now but could apply later if needed.

What if the will has been lost or damaged?

A lost will is reported to the registry using form PA13, which supports the application. Damage, marks or staple holes on a will often prompt the registry to ask what was attached and why. Both situations add delay, and a lost or contested will is a good reason to take advice.

Knowing which form you need is the easy half, and you now have it in full. The hard half is the form itself: hundreds of boxes, completed once, with a non-refundable fee riding on getting them right. Here is what this estate needs, and what help completing your own forms would cost.

Sources

Checked 17 September 2026:

• HMCTS, Apply for probate by post if there is a will: Form PA1P — form versions, who may apply
• HMCTS, How to apply for probate by post if there is a will — postal address, documents, 12 weeks, payment by cheque
• HMCTS, Apply for probate by post if there is not a will: Form PA1A — letters of administration
• GOV.UK, Probate forms and guidance — the supporting forms PA11 to PA19
• GOV.UK, Applying for probate: Apply for probate — online versus postal, support contacts
• GOV.UK, Applying for probate: Fees — fees and copy costs

Always download the form directly from GOV.UK so you get the current version.

Related guides

• IHT205 or IHT400? Which Inheritance Tax form you actually need
• How to apply for probate without a solicitor
• What is an excepted estate?
• Do you actually need probate?
• How to value an estate for probate