PA1P vs PA1A: Which Probate Application Form You Need (With Decision Examples)
The form you need turns on one question: did the person who died leave a valid will? If yes, you use PA1P to apply for a grant of probate. If no — they died intestate — you use PA1A to apply for letters of administration. Everything else (who can sign, what documents you attach, who is first in line) flows from that single fork.
People mix these up constantly, and it is an easy mistake to make. Both are paper forms used to apply to the Probate Registry in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate systems), both ask for the deceased's details and an estate value, and the names look almost identical. But sending the wrong one means a rejection and a delay of weeks at exactly the point when you need the grant to release bank accounts, sell a property, or pay an inheritance tax bill. Below I walk through the decision with two real-world worked examples, show you exactly what each form asks for, and explain the one number — the £322,000 statutory legacy — that quietly decides who is even allowed to apply on a PA1A.
The one-line rule (and the names behind it)
Strip away the jargon and it is simple:
| Situation | Form | What you get | You are the… |
|---|---|---|---|
| There is a valid will | PA1P | Grant of probate | Executor (named in the will) |
| There is no will (intestacy) | PA1A | Letters of administration | Administrator (next of kin, by legal priority) |
The official titles tell you the same thing. According to GOV.UK, PA1P is the form to "Apply for probate by post if there is a will", and PA1A is to "Apply for probate by post if there is not a will." The word "probate" gets used loosely to cover both routes, but technically a grant of probate only exists where there is a will. Where there isn't one, the equivalent document is called letters of administration — same legal effect (it proves your authority to deal with the estate), different name and a different applicant.
"I have a will but I'm not the executor" does not automatically push you onto PA1A. If a valid will exists but every named executor has died, renounced, or cannot act, a beneficiary may apply — but you still use PA1P (this is technically called "letters of administration with the will annexed"). PA1A is strictly for estates with no valid will at all. Source: GOV.UK — Form PA1P.
Worked example 1 — A widow with no will uses PA1A
Margaret, 71, lives in Leeds. Her husband David dies suddenly. They were married for 40 years and have two adult children, Sarah and Tom. David never made a will. His estate: the family home (in his sole name) worth £310,000, £48,000 in savings, and a car — £365,000 total, no debts.
Which form? No will means intestacy, so Margaret cannot be an "executor" (there's no will to name one). She is the surviving spouse and therefore first in priority to administer the estate under the intestacy rules. She applies on form PA1A for letters of administration.
Who inherits (the part that decides whether Margaret can apply alone)? Because there are children, David's estate is split under the statutory legacy rule:
- Margaret takes all the personal chattels (car, furniture, possessions).
- Margaret takes the first £322,000 — the statutory legacy.
- The remainder is £365,000 − £322,000 = £43,000 (the chattels aside). Margaret gets half → £21,500. The children share the other half → £21,500 between Sarah and Tom (£10,750 each).
Margaret is the sole person entitled to apply (she has the highest priority as spouse), so she signs PA1A as the single administrator. The children's interest is a beneficial one; it doesn't give them a competing right to apply ahead of her.
The intestacy split above is the rule for England and Wales when there is a surviving spouse and children. Source: GOV.UK — Inheritance when someone dies without a will and Citizens Advice — rules of intestacy.
Worked example 2 — A named executor with a will uses PA1P
James dies in Bristol leaving a valid, signed and witnessed will from 2019. The will names his daughter Priya as the sole executor and divides the estate between Priya and her brother. The estate is worth £420,000.
Which form? A valid will exists and Priya is the named executor — this is the textbook PA1P case. She applies on form PA1P for a grant of probate.
What she sends with it: the original will (not a photocopy — the registry keeps it), the official death certificate (or interim certificate), the relevant inheritance tax confirmation from HMRC, and the application fee.
Fee: because the estate is over £5,000, the probate application fee is £300. Priya orders 4 extra copies of the grant at £16 each = £64, so she can send sealed copies to the bank, the building society, the pension provider and the conveyancer at the same time. Total: £364.
The fee figures are current: GOV.UK states the application fee is £300 if the estate is over £5,000 (no fee at £5,000 or below), and extra copies of the grant cost £16 each. Source: GOV.UK — Probate application fees.
How the £322,000 statutory legacy decides who can apply on a PA1A
This is the bit that trips people up, because it links a money rule to a who-signs-the-form rule. On a PA1A there is no will telling the registry who's in charge, so the law imposes an order of priority. That order follows the intestacy entitlement — broadly, the person (or people) who inherit the most are first in line to administer.
The statutory legacy — officially the "fixed net sum" payable to a surviving spouse or civil partner — is currently £322,000, a figure that took effect on 26 July 2023 (it rose from the previous £270,000). It works like this when there is a spouse and children:
| Estate net value | What the spouse takes | What passes to children |
|---|---|---|
| £322,000 or less | The whole estate | Nothing — estate is exhausted |
| Over £322,000 | Chattels + first £322,000 + half the remainder | The other half of the remainder (split equally) |
Why this matters for the form:
- If the estate is £322,000 or less and there are children, the surviving spouse inherits everything. She is the only person with a beneficial interest, so she is clearly first in priority and applies alone on PA1A — just as in Margaret's case above (where she was still first even with a slightly larger estate, because spouse priority outranks the children's smaller share).
- If there is no surviving spouse, the children inherit the whole estate and become first in priority — one or more of them applies on PA1A as administrator(s).
- Where the people first in line decline, priority drops to the next category (grandchildren, then parents, then siblings, and so on). The PA1A asks you to confirm your relationship to the deceased precisely because the registry uses it to check you sit at the top of that order.
The £322,000 cliff in practice. Suppose David's estate (Example 1) had been worth exactly £300,000 instead of £365,000. Because that is below £322,000, Margaret would inherit the entire estate — the children get nothing under intestacy. She remains the sole applicant on PA1A. Now suppose the estate were £700,000: Margaret takes chattels + £322,000 + half of (£700,000 − £322,000 = £378,000) = an extra £189,000, so £511,000 in total; the children share the remaining £189,000. Either way Margaret, as spouse, is first to apply — the figure changes the inheritance, not her priority to administer.
Source for the £322,000 fixed net sum and the spouse-plus-children split: Citizens Advice — rules of intestacy and the underlying Administration of Estates Act 1925 (Fixed Net Sum) Order 2023.
What each form asks — and which documents go with it
Both forms cover the same ground at the top — the deceased's full name, date of death, address, your details, and an estate value — then diverge on the will and the applicant.
| Item | PA1P (with a will) | PA1A (no will) |
|---|---|---|
| Confirms a will exists | Yes — will details, date, any codicils | No — declares there is no will |
| Who is applying | Executor(s) named in the will | Next of kin by intestacy priority |
| Relationship to deceased | Less central (will names you) | Critical — sets your right to apply |
| Original will | Required (registry retains it) | Not applicable |
| Official death certificate | Required | Required |
| Inheritance tax position | Required (HMRC code / forms) | Required (HMRC code / forms) |
| Application fee | £300 if estate > £5,000 | £300 if estate > £5,000 |
On both routes you must sort out the inheritance tax position before the registry will issue the grant. For most estates you complete the HMRC reporting (a full IHT400 where tax is due, or the streamlined "excepted estate" process where it isn't) and, where tax is payable, you obtain a reference and start paying it first. You then send the probate form, the death certificate, the original will (PA1P only) and the fee. Source: GOV.UK — Apply for probate.
You can usually apply online instead of by paper for both routes, and many estates qualify. The PA1P/PA1A paper forms remain the fallback — and are required — for more complex cases (for example, a damaged or unusual will, or certain intestacy situations). When in doubt, the paper form with the original documents posted to the registry is always accepted.
- Will → PA1P; no will → PA1A. That single question decides the form.
- PA1P gives you a grant of probate (you're the executor). PA1A gives you letters of administration (you're the administrator / next of kin).
- A valid will but no able executor is still PA1P ("with the will annexed") — PA1A is only for estates with no will at all.
- On a PA1A, the £322,000 statutory legacy (effective 26 July 2023) shapes who inherits and therefore who is first in priority to apply.
- The probate fee is £300 for estates over £5,000 (free at or below £5,000), plus £16 per extra sealed copy.
- Sort the inheritance tax position with HMRC before the registry issues either grant.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between PA1P and PA1A in one sentence?
PA1P is the probate application form you use when the person who died left a valid will (you apply for a grant of probate as the executor); PA1A is the form you use when there is no will at all (you apply for letters of administration as the next of kin under the intestacy rules).
I'm a beneficiary but the will's executor has died. Do I use PA1A?
No. Because a valid will still exists, you stay on PA1P. When every named executor has died, renounced or cannot act, a beneficiary can apply for "letters of administration with the will annexed" — but that is processed through PA1P, not PA1A. PA1A is reserved for estates with no valid will.
Why does the £322,000 figure matter when there's no will?
On an intestacy there is no will to name who's in charge, so the law sets a priority order that tracks who inherits. The £322,000 statutory legacy (the fixed net sum a surviving spouse takes first) determines whether the spouse inherits everything or shares with the children — and that entitlement is what puts the right person at the top of the queue to apply on PA1A.
How much does it cost to apply for probate or administration?
In England and Wales the application fee is £300 if the estate is valued over £5,000, and there is no fee if the estate is £5,000 or less. Extra sealed copies of the grant cost £16 each. The fee is the same whether you file PA1P or PA1A. Source: GOV.UK, Probate application fees.
What documents must I send with PA1P or PA1A?
For PA1P: the original will (the registry keeps it), the official death certificate, your inheritance tax confirmation from HMRC, and the fee. For PA1A: the official death certificate, your inheritance tax confirmation, and the fee — there is no will to enclose. Settle the inheritance tax position with HMRC before the registry issues the grant.
Do PA1P and PA1A apply across the whole UK?
No. PA1P and PA1A are the forms for England and Wales. Scotland uses a separate "confirmation" process through the Sheriff Court, and Northern Ireland has its own probate system. If the deceased lived in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you'll need that jurisdiction's procedure instead.
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Official sources used in this guide: GOV.UK — Apply for probate; GOV.UK — Probate fees; GOV.UK — Form PA1P; GOV.UK — Form PA1A; GOV.UK — If someone dies without a will; Citizens Advice — rules of intestacy. Figures verified current as at 3 June 2026.