Are Wills Public Record in the UK?

Yes — wills are public record in England and Wales, but only after a grant of probate has been issued. Until that point, a will is a private document. Once probate is granted, anyone can search the Probate Registry and order a certified copy for £1.50 — no proof of relationship required. Here is exactly how it works, when wills stay private, and how to use probate records for family history research.

Photo by T6 Adventures / Pexels

When Does a Will Become a Public Document?

The trigger is the grant of probate. When an executor applies to the Probate Registry to administer an estate, the court reviews the will and — assuming everything is in order — issues a grant. From that moment, the will is filed as a public record. It stays on the public register permanently, long after the estate has been wound up.

Before probate is granted, a will is strictly private. The named executors are entitled to see it, as are beneficiaries once the testator has died — but no-one else has an automatic right to access it. A solicitor who holds the original in storage cannot release it without the executor's authority.

When Do Wills Stay Private?

Two situations keep a will out of the public record for good.

First, small estates. If the estate falls below the threshold where a grant of probate is required — roughly assets under £5,000 or where there are no property assets to transfer — the executors can wind it up without applying to the Probate Registry at all. In that case, the will never enters the public record.

Second, sealed wills. A High Court judge can order a will to be sealed from public inspection if it is deemed “undesirable or otherwise inappropriate” to publish. The most famous recent example is the will of HRH Prince Philip, sealed for 90 years. This route is reserved for exceptional circumstances — it will not be available to most people, regardless of what their will contains.

How to Get a Copy of a Will

Search the government's probate records at probatesearch.service.gov.uk. The search is free and takes seconds. If a grant has been issued, you can order a copy of the will for £1.50 — delivered digitally or by post. You do not need to explain why you want it or prove any connection to the deceased.

For a full step-by-step guide to ordering copies, see our post on how to get a copy of a will in the UK. If you are not sure whether probate has been granted yet, you can check the probate status online — it is free and takes a few minutes.

Photo by KoolShooters / Pexels

Using Probate Records for Genealogy Research

Probate records are a goldmine for anyone researching family history. Wills name relatives, set out the distribution of property, and reveal social connections that rarely appear in birth or marriage records. Because they are permanently public once filed, you can search wills going back centuries.

For deaths before 1858, wills were proved in the ecclesiastical courts rather than a central registry. These records are held at the National Archives and on partner databases such as Ancestry and FindMyPast. From 1858 onwards, all proved wills in England and Wales were centralised at the Principal Probate Registry — now fully searchable at probatesearch.service.gov.uk for recent decades, with older records available via the National Archives.

A will can confirm an ancestor's exact date of death, the names of children and grandchildren, property held at the time, and even the relationships between cousins and more distant kin. If you are trying to build a family tree and are hitting dead ends in birth records, checking whether a relevant ancestor left a probate will is well worth the effort.

What If There Was No Will?

When someone dies without a will — known as dying intestate — the estate passes according to the intestacy rules. The hierarchy runs from spouse or civil partner through children, parents, siblings, and eventually more distant relatives. If no qualifying relative can be found, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantiaand is listed on the Government's unclaimed estates register.

This matters for genealogical researchers because a name on the bona vacantia list often means a distant relative — perhaps a cousin or half-sibling the deceased had lost touch with — has a valid claim they do not know about. Distant relatives have up to 30 years to come forward. Use the intestacy entitlement checker to see whether a family connection could give you a legal right to claim, then search the unclaimed estates list directly on FindMyLegacy.

Photo by Raymond Petrik / Pexels

Can I Keep My Will Private After Death?

Not reliably — if probate is required, the will becomes public. That said, there are a couple of legitimate ways to limit what is visible.

• Letter of wishes — a private document that accompanies the will and gives your executors guidance on how to exercise any discretion. It never enters the public record because it is not the will itself.
• Discretionary trust — if your estate is held in a trust rather than passed directly to beneficiaries, the trust document (a separate deed) is not filed at probate and remains private for at least two years before it must be registered on the UK Trust Register (which is not publicly accessible).

Both options require specialist legal advice. If privacy is a genuine concern, speak to a solicitor who specialises in estate planning — they can structure your affairs to minimise what ends up on the public record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are all UK wills public record?

Only wills that have been through probate in England and Wales. Wills for small estates that did not require probate remain private, as do wills from Scotland (held by the National Records of Scotland) and Northern Ireland (held by the Probate and Matrimonial Office in Belfast). Wills sealed by court order are also withheld from public inspection.

How do I search for someone's will online?

Go to probatesearch.service.gov.uk— it is free, takes a few seconds, and anyone can use it. If a grant of probate has been issued, the record will show the deceased's name, date of grant, and executor details. You can then order a copy of the will for £1.50. For deaths before 1996, some records require an in-person or postal application to the National Archives.

How long are wills kept on the public record?

Indefinitely. Once a will has been filed at the Probate Registry it remains permanently accessible. Wills proved in England and Wales since 1858 are held centrally. Some records from the nineteenth century are now digitised; older ones can be viewed in person or via specialist archives.

Can I see a will before probate is granted?

No — not through the public register. Before probate, the will is a private document. If you are an executor, you are entitled to see it. If you are a named beneficiary, the executor may show it to you, but they are not legally obliged to do so until after the grant is issued. If you believe a grant is imminent, you can apply for a standing search (form PA1S, currently £3 by post) — the Probate Registry will notify you automatically once probate is granted.

What if the deceased died without a will?

There will be no will to search for. The estate is administered under the intestacy rules, which follow a fixed order of relatives. If no qualifying relative comes forward, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia. Distant relatives — cousins, half-siblings, great-nieces and nephews — can still make a claim for up to 30 years. Start by searching the unclaimed estates list at FindMyLegacy.