Following concerns last year about delays in processing probate applications, recent figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service show that waiting times for grants of probate are continuing to improve.

The average time from submission of a probate application to probate being granted fell to 11.3 weeks in March 2024, a decrease from 13.7 weeks in February and 13.8 weeks in January. This is the lowest figure since March 2023, when the average was 10.8 weeks. The longest waiting time since then was in November, at 15.8 weeks: that month, the Justice Committee launched an inquiry into probate, following concerns over the time being taken to process applications.

A total of 24,215 applications for a grant of probate were made in March and 28,271 grants were issued, the seventh consecutive month that the number of grants exceeded the number of applications. There were 20,187 digital applications, making up more than 83 per cent of the total. The waiting time for digital applications was 8.8 weeks, compared with 11.2 weeks in February.