Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average processing time of probate applications (a) digitally and (b) on paper was in the latest period for which data are available.

Despite record level of receipts in 2022, the average median length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, during October to December 2022 is:

1. Digitally 4 weeks

2. Paper 17 weeks

HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.

Average waiting times for probate grants, are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to December 2022.