Probate or letters of administration?
They do the same job. The difference is where the authority comes from.
| Grant of probate | Letters of administration | |
|---|---|---|
| When | There is a valid Will | There is no Will, or none that can be proved |
| Who gets the authority | The executor the Will names | An administrator — whichever entitled relative applies |
| Who chose them | The person who died | A statute from 1955 |
| Form | NIPF1 | NIPF2 |
| Court fee | Identical — see below | |
The powers over the estate end up much the same. What differs is who holds them, and whether that was anyone's choice.
Who the law lets apply
There is an order of entitlement, and it runs:
- spouse or civil partner;
- children;
- grandchildren, where a child has died;
- parents;
- brothers and sisters;
- grandparents;
- aunts and uncles.
Somebody lower down can normally only apply once everyone above them has died or has confirmed they do not want to act. This is the part families find hardest, because it takes no account of who actually looked after the person, who lives nearest, who is best with paperwork, or who the deceased would have chosen. A daughter who cared for her mother for a decade ranks below a husband she had been separated from for twenty years, unless they were divorced.
A Will settles this in one line. Naming an executor means the person you trust applies, immediately, without needing anyone else's renunciation — and they get a grant of probate rather than having to establish their place in a statutory queue.
What it costs
The same non-contentious probate fees apply, from the schedule in force since 1 April 2026:
| What you are paying for | Fee |
|---|---|
| Estate valued at £10,000 or less | No fee |
| Application for a grant, estate over £10,000 | £326 |
| …plus, if you apply in person rather than through a solicitor | £81 |
| Certified or sealed copy of the grant | £17 |
| Second, subsequent or duplicate grant | £244 |
So £407 in court fees for a personal application. Our guide to probate in Northern Ireland sets out the full fee schedule, how it compares with England and Wales, and the documents the Probate Office needs.
How to apply
Personal applicants can use the Probate Portal at apply-for-probate.nidirect.gov.uk, or apply on paper using form NIPF2 — the no-Will version. Either way you will need the death certificate, the Inheritance Tax form or an NIPF7 estate summary, identity verification for the lead applicant, and the fee. Applications go to the Probate Office in Belfast or Londonderry.
You do not need a solicitor for a first grant; the £81 supplement is what the Probate Office charges for handling a personal application. For a second or subsequent grant in the same estate it will not offer its personal appointment service, and says a solicitor in this jurisdiction must be instructed.
What the administrator then has to do — and the one-year rule
Section 41 of the Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955 puts it in statutory terms. The personal representative must distribute the estate
“as soon after his death as is reasonably practicable having regard to the nature of that estate, the manner in which it is required to be distributed and all other relevant circumstances”
— but proceedings against them for failing to distribute cannot be brought without the court's leave until a year has passed from the date of death. This is what people mean by the “executor's year”. It is a shield, not a deadline: it protects a personal representative who is working through a complicated estate from being sued for slowness in the first twelve months. It does not protect them from creditors, who can still pursue a claim inside that year.
Who actually inherits
Getting the grant decides who administers the estate. It does not decide who receives it. That is section 7 of the same 1955 Act, and it is where most of the surprises are: the statutory legacy is £250,000 rather than the £322,000 people read about in English guides, a spouse takes one half of the remainder with one child but only one third with more than one, and a spouse with no children does not automatically inherit everything. Our guide to the intestacy rules in Northern Ireland works through each case.
If no relative survives
If nobody within the statutory order is alive, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia, handled in Northern Ireland through the Crown Solicitor's Office. That is the real end point of dying intestate with no surviving family: the estate goes to the state. A close friend, a neighbour who did the shopping, a carer, a church, a charity — the intestacy rules recognise none of them. Only a Will can.
The six-month clock
Anyone who believes the estate fails to make reasonable financial provision for them must claim within six months of the date of the grant, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979. That window matters most to unmarried partners, because the intestacy rules give them nothing at all however long they lived together — a court claim against the people who did inherit is their only route, and it closes six months after the grant issues.
None of this needs to happen
A Will names your executor, decides who inherits, and takes the 1955 Act out of it entirely. Drafted for Northern Ireland under the 1994 Order, from £69.
Make your Will — from £69 →Sources
- nidirect — What to do if there is no will — letters of administration, the order of entitlement, bona vacantia through the Crown Solicitor's Office, and the six-month claim window.
- Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955, section 41 — time allowed for distribution, quoted above.
- Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955, section 7 — who inherits on intestacy.
- Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979 — claims for reasonable financial provision.
- Court of Judicature (Non-Contentious Probate) Fee Schedule, effective 1 April 2026 — every fee on this page.
- nidirect — Apply for probate — the portal, and forms NIPF2 and NIPF7.
Frequently asked questions
What are letters of administration in Northern Ireland?
A grant of letters of administration is the court's authority to deal with the estate of someone who died without a valid Will. It does the same job as a grant of probate, but because no Will appointed an executor, the court appoints an administrator instead — and the law, not the family, decides who that may be. Until the grant issues, nobody has authority to release the money or sell the property.
Who can apply for letters of administration in Northern Ireland?
The law sets an order of entitlement: spouse or civil partner first, then children, then grandchildren where a child has died, then parents, then brothers and sisters, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles. A person lower in the order can normally only apply if everyone above them has died or is unwilling to act. It is not a matter of who was closest to the deceased or who is most capable.
How much do letters of administration cost in Northern Ireland?
The same court fees as a grant of probate: nothing where the estate is £10,000 or less, £326 above that, and a further £81 if you apply in person rather than through a solicitor — £407 in total for a personal application. These are the fees in the Court of Judicature (Non-Contentious Probate) Fee Schedule effective 1 April 2026.
What is the difference between probate and letters of administration?
A grant of probate is issued where there is a valid Will, to the executor that Will appoints. Letters of administration are issued where there is no Will, or none that can be proved, to whichever entitled relative applies. The powers over the estate are much the same; what differs is who gets them and who chose them — the deceased, or a statute.
How long does an administrator have to distribute the estate?
Section 41 of the Administration of Estates Act (Northern Ireland) 1955 requires distribution as soon after the death as is reasonably practicable, but protects the personal representative from proceedings for failing to distribute until one year has passed from the date of death, unless the court gives leave. That protection does not extend to creditors, who can still pursue a claim within the year.
What happens if nobody is entitled to inherit in Northern Ireland?
If no relative within the statutory order survives, the estate passes to the Crown as bona vacantia, dealt with in Northern Ireland through the Crown Solicitor's Office. That is the end point of dying intestate with no surviving family — the estate goes to the state rather than to a friend, a carer or a charity, none of whom the intestacy rules recognise.
Is there a deadline to challenge the distribution of an intestate estate?
Yes, and it is short. A claim that the estate does not make reasonable financial provision must be brought within six months of the date of the grant of letters of administration, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) (Northern Ireland) Order 1979. This is the route an unmarried partner has to use, because the intestacy rules give them nothing.
Can I be refused?
Not for being unsuitable, as such, but you can be passed over if someone ahead of you in the order is alive and willing to act. That is why applications by a person lower in the order usually need the people above them to renounce first.
Does making a Will avoid all of this?
It avoids the letters-of-administration route entirely and replaces the statutory order of who inherits with your own. It does not remove the need for a grant — your executor will still normally apply for probate, on the same fees.