Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how long the average wait time was for probate to be granted in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

The average wait for all grant types to be granted in 2021 was 6.9 weeks and 7.1 weeks for July to September 2022.

The longest wait time for Probate to be granted in 2021 was 87.3 weeks and 38.3 weeks in 2022. Cases can be delayed where more information is needed from the applicant, a caveat is in place or where cases are complex.

The shortest wait time for Probate to be granted is 0 days in 2021 and 2022 (i.e. applied for and granted in the same day).

Data provided are for grants issued up to the end of September as is published in the Family Court Statistics Quarterly National Statistics bulletin. This will be updated on 30 March 2022 with data to the end of 2022.