How to find a will after someone dies

Where should you look for a will first?

Look for the original, signed will, because probate needs the original. GOV.UK says the original must be sent with a probate application and a photocopy cannot be used. Work through these places in order.

1. The person’s home and papers. Check safes, desks, filing boxes and folders with deeds, insurance or bank papers. Look for codicils (formal additions to a will) as well, and for letters, invoices or certificates from a solicitor, will writer or storage company, which may show where the original is kept.
2. Their solicitor or will-writing firm. Ask the firm that drafted the will, and any firm that handled a house purchase or power of attorney. Solicitors must keep clients’ affairs confidential (SRA Code of Conduct, paragraph 6.3), so expect to be asked for a death certificate and proof that you are the executor.
3. Their bank and accountant. GOV.UK lists a bank as one of the places people store wills, alongside solicitors and will storage companies.
4. HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). People can deposit a will at the Newcastle District Probate Registry. See how to check HMCTS will storage below.
5. A closed law firm. If the firm has shut down, the Solicitors Regulation Authority explains what to do when a firm has closed, and its process for claiming papers from firms it has closed includes a section for wills.
6. A will register search. See the National Will Register below.
7. The probate records. If someone else may already have obtained a grant, search the probate records.

Did they store the will with HMCTS?

HMCTS still runs a will storage service. On 24 September 2026, GOV.UK’s guidance how to store a will with HMCTS says a will or codicil is posted to the Newcastle District Probate Registry for a one-off fee of £24. That fee applies from 13 July 2026; it was £23 before (SI 2026/642, article 3). The person who deposits a will receives a lodgement certificate, so look for one in their papers.

After a death, an executor asks for the will back on form PA7A, with an official copy of the death certificate and, if there are other executors, their consent on form PA7B. Someone who is not the executor needs a letter of authority. There is no charge, and GOV.UK says it takes around four weeks. The details are on how to withdraw a will stored with HMCTS, and queries go to safecustodywillsenquiries@justice.gov.uk.

What is the National Will Register?

It is a private, paid service, not a government register. Its website names OneAdvanced Business Software and Solutions Ltd in its contact details and says more than 10.5 million wills are in its system. Registration records that a will exists and where it is kept. Mentioning it here is not an endorsement.

On 24 September 2026 its search page offered a Will Register Search of registered wills for £65 including VAT, taking up to 48 hours, and a Will Search Combined for £140 including VAT, taking up to 28 days, which adds enquiries to law firms and will writers in targeted areas and a missing will notice. The same page says will registration is not compulsory, so not all wills are on the register. A search that finds nothing does not prove there is no will.

How do you search the probate records?

Use the GOV.UK service search probate records for documents and wills. It covers England and Wales for people who died after 1857 and lets you check whether a grant has been issued, what type it is, and order a copy of the grant and the will.

1. Search using the person’s name and year of death. For records from 1858 to 1996, GOV.UK says to check the years after the death too, because they are filed under the year the grant was issued.
2. Allow time: a new record appears online about 14 days after the grant is issued.
3. Check the grant type. “Probate” and “Admon with Will” grants contain a will; an “Administration” grant does not.
4. Order a copy online for £16. Form PA1S says online orders arrive within 10 working days.
5. If the person died in the last six months, a standing search for £4 sends you a copy of the grant and any will if a grant is issued in the next six months.

A postal search takes up to four weeks. For an urgent search, the PA1S guidance page explains how to book an appointment at a probate registry. More on what becomes public is in is a will a public document?

Is the will you found the latest one?

Check the date, look for any codicils and keep looking for a later will, because a later will or codicil can revoke an earlier will in whole or in part (Wills Act 1837, section 20). GOV.UK says that if there is more than one will you should send in the most recent, and not destroy earlier wills until probate has been granted. Marriage or a civil partnership after the will was made can also revoke it; see does marriage revoke a will? Keep the original exactly as you found it and do not write on it.

What if you only find a copy?

A copy can sometimes be admitted to probate, but only with evidence and the registry’s agreement.

• The presumption of revocation. If the original was last in the testator’s own possession and cannot be found after their death, the law presumes they destroyed it intending to revoke it. The presumption can be rebutted on the balance of probabilities. In Jones v Tracey [2023] EWHC 2242 (Ch) (paragraph 19) the court set out that approach; there, evidence of the testator’s disorganised papers and unchanged intentions rebutted the presumption, and probate was granted on copies.
• Applying with a copy. GOV.UK’s guidance on reporting a lost will says an executor applying without a solicitor can use form PA13, for example if they have only a photocopy, a courier lost the original or a solicitor mislaid it, as long as the will was not revoked. They send a copy of the will and swear an affidavit about what it said. Probate practitioners instead apply for an order under rule 54 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, which requires evidence that the will existed after the death or of facts that rebut the presumption of revocation.

If the application is not accepted, GOV.UK says you will need to apply for probate as if there is no will. Where family members disagree about a missing will, take legal advice; see contesting a will.

What happens if no will can be found?

The estate is dealt with under the intestacy rules, which set a fixed order of relatives who inherit. The closest entitled relative, normally a spouse or civil partner and then adult children, applies for letters of administration instead of probate, and an unmarried partner cannot apply (GOV.UK: if there is not a will). An unmarried partner or dependant left without provision may have an Inheritance Act claim. The intestacy flowchart shows who inherits.

If a will turns up after letters of administration have been granted, get advice promptly. A grant can be revoked (CPR 57.1), and the estate would then need to be dealt with under the will. For the wider checklist, see what to do when someone dies and the executor checklist.

How can you make sure your own will is found?

Tell your executors exactly where the signed original is, and keep a note with your important papers. Compare the options in where to store a will. SwiftWill does not store your original; you keep it. If you have not made a will yet, you can make one online for a straightforward England and Wales estate, or see a solicitor if your affairs are complex.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Search probate records for documents and wills
• HMCTS: Find a will or probate document, form PA1S (July 2026 edition)
• GOV.UK: Applying for probate if there is a will and if there is not a will
• GOV.UK: Making a will, keep your will safe
• HMCTS: How to store a will and how to withdraw a stored will
• HMCTS: How to report a lost will (form PA13)
• Court and Tribunal Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2026, article 3, in force 13 July 2026 under SI 2026/665
• Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, rule 54
• Wills Act 1837, section 20
• Jones v Tracey [2023] EWHC 2242 (Ch)
• Civil Procedure Rules Part 57
• Solicitors Regulation Authority: What to do if a firm has closed, Claim your papers from us and Code of Conduct for Solicitors
• The National Will Register: search options and prices (provider’s own page)

Sources checked 24 September 2026.