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Is a Will a Public Document in the UK?

· 15 min

Note: The following scenario is fictional and used for illustration.

Emma thought her will would stay private. At 52, she'd carefully written out her wishes—leaving her £420,000 estate to her children equally, with a brief note explaining why she wasn't leaving anything to her estranged brother. She assumed only her family would ever see it.

Three months after her death, her brother ordered a copy of her will online for £16. He read her private explanation for excluding him. The situation escalated into a bitter family dispute that could have been avoided with better privacy planning.

Many people don't realize that wills become public documents after probate is granted. In 2023, 219,842 probate grants were issued in England and Wales—each one making a will accessible to anyone with internet access and £16.

This article explains exactly when your will becomes public, who can access it, how to search for someone else's will, and most importantly—how to protect sensitive information from becoming part of the public record.

Table of Contents

When Does a Will Become a Public Document in the UK?

Your will becomes a public document when probate is granted. This is the threshold moment when privacy ends and public access begins.

Before you die, your will remains completely private. You're under no obligation to show it to anyone, including your beneficiaries or family members. After you die but before probate is granted, only your named executors have the legal right to see your will.

The crucial change happens when your executors submit your will to the Probate Registry. Once probate is granted, your will is uploaded to a searchable online database. According to government statistics, a new probate record becomes searchable online approximately 14 days after probate has been issued.

When David died in February 2024, his executor Sarah held his will privately for three months while gathering estate information. Once she submitted the probate application in May 2024, David's will was uploaded to the Probate Registry database. By mid-June 2024, anyone could search for and download David's will online.

The scale of this public access is significant. In 2023 alone, 219,842 probate grants were issued in England and Wales. Each one represents a will that became a permanent public record.

Your will isn't just public temporarily—it remains accessible indefinitely. The Probate Registry stores records for deaths from 1858 onwards, making historical wills available to genealogists, researchers, and the general public more than 150 years later.

Who Can Access Your Will After Probate?

After probate is granted, literally anyone can access your will. There's no relationship requirement, no need to explain why you want it, and no restriction on who can search.

Family members, beneficiaries, creditors, journalists, researchers, curious neighbors—all have equal access. You can search the Probate Registry online at probatesearch.service.gov.uk, accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The process is straightforward. Anyone with internet access can search by name, pay the fee, and download a complete copy of your will within minutes. For those who prefer postal searches, Form PA1S allows searches by post, though these take longer to process.

The cost is minimal. As of 2025, it costs £16 to search the Probate Registry online or by post—increased from just £1.50 in previous years. This fee includes a copy of the probate record and the will if one exists. For those monitoring whether probate has been granted yet, a 'standing search' costs just £3 and alerts you if probate is granted within the next 6 months.

Sarah's estranged cousin, whom she hadn't spoken to in 15 years, wanted to know if Sarah had left him anything. He searched the Probate Registry online, paid £16, and within minutes had a complete copy of Sarah's will showing she'd excluded him entirely. There was no way for Sarah's family to prevent this access—probate records are public by law.

Probate records are explicitly exempt from data protection restrictions. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) doesn't apply to these documents because they're established in law as public legal records. Once your will goes through probate, there's no right to request removal, no privacy protection, and no way to restrict access.

How to Search for Someone's Will in the UK

If you need to find someone's will, you have three main options: online search, postal search, or standing search.

Online search is the fastest method. Visit probatesearch.service.gov.uk and search by the deceased person's name, date of death, or probate grant date. Results show immediately if probate has been granted. You can then download a copy for £16.

One important detail: you search by the year probate was granted, not necessarily the year of death. These dates can differ by months or even years if executors delayed applying for probate.

James died in December 2022. His executor didn't apply for probate until October 2023, and the grant was issued in February 2024. Anyone searching the 2022 or 2023 records wouldn't find James's will—they'd need to search 2024, the year probate was granted.

Postal search uses Form PA1S, downloadable from gov.uk. The same £16 fee applies, and the response arrives within 4 weeks. This method works well if you're unsure of exact dates or prefer not to search online.

Standing search costs £3 and is useful if probate hasn't been granted yet. The Probate Registry monitors for 6 months and automatically sends you a copy if probate is granted for the person you've named. This prevents you from repeatedly checking whether probate has been issued.

You'll need specific information to search effectively:

  • Full name of deceased (including maiden name if applicable)
  • Approximate date of death or probate year
  • Last known address (helpful but not always required)

Common search pitfalls include searching too soon before probate is granted, searching the wrong year, using misspelled names or name variations, and assuming probate was needed when smaller estates may not have required it.

Historical searches are possible for deaths back to 1858, when the Principal Probate Registry was established. Records before 1858 require a different process through local ecclesiastical courts.

When a Will Stays Private: Exceptions to Public Access

Not every will becomes public. The biggest exception is when probate isn't needed—if your estate is small (some institutions accept estates under £5,000 without probate) or consists of jointly-owned assets that pass by survivorship.

Assets with nominated beneficiaries also avoid probate. Life insurance and pensions typically pay directly to the named beneficiary without going through your estate or appearing in public probate records.

Will validity challenges can delay or prevent public access. If someone contests your will before probate is granted, the will may remain private during litigation.

Sealed wills represent the rarest exception. These are extraordinarily uncommon and require a court order. In practice, only senior Royal Family members have successfully had wills sealed.

Prince Philip's will was sealed for 90 years by court order in 2021. The court maintains more than 30 sealed royal wills since 1910. For ordinary citizens, applications to seal wills are almost always denied. Courts prioritize transparency in estate administration.

What Information Becomes Public When Your Will Is Probated

Once probate is granted, every word of your will becomes accessible. The full text is published—every clause, provision, and statement. The gross and net value of your estate becomes public.

All beneficiaries are named with what they receive. Your executors' names and addresses appear in the probate record. Guardian appointments, specific bequests, and any personal statements you included all become public.

Robert's will included: "I leave nothing to my brother Michael due to his repeated financial manipulation of our elderly mother." This deeply personal conflict became permanently accessible to anyone who searched for Robert's probate record.

What doesn't become public? Information never in your will. Letters of Wishes—separate documents that accompany your will—remain private and aren't submitted to the Probate Registry.

Privacy-exposing scenarios:

  • "I leave nothing to my son because he abandoned me" → public
  • "My estate goes to my partner, not my spouse, due to our separation" → public
  • Estate value £2.4 million → public, potentially attracting unwanted attention

How to Keep Sensitive Information Private: Letter of Wishes

A Letter of Wishes is your most powerful tool for protecting privacy. This separate document accompanies your will but remains private—it's never submitted to the Probate Registry.

Unlike your will, it's not legally binding. Your executors should follow the guidance, but they're not legally required to do so. Because Letters of Wishes aren't submitted for probate, they remain private between your executors and beneficiaries.

What to include:

  • Reasons for excluding beneficiaries
  • Personal messages to loved ones
  • Detailed funeral and burial preferences
  • Guidance for executors' discretionary distributions
  • Sentimental item allocation ("Emma gets my grandmother's ring")
  • Charitable giving motivations
  • Care instructions for pets

Eleanor wanted to explain why she was excluding her estranged fourth child. Instead of writing this in her will, she wrote a detailed Letter of Wishes explaining the family history. Her executors shared it privately with her three beneficiaries. It never entered the public record.

In Schmidt v Rosewood [2003] UKPC 26, courts established that beneficiaries don't have an automatic right to see Letters of Wishes.

Letters of Wishes cannot contradict your will's legal provisions. If you want to change distributions, update your will. You can update your Letter of Wishes anytime without legal formalities or fees.

Other Privacy Protection Strategies

For complex estates or serious privacy concerns, additional strategies can protect sensitive information.

Discretionary trusts offer sophisticated privacy protection. Instead of naming specific beneficiaries in your will, you name a trustee who uses your Letter of Wishes (private) to guide distributions. Trust provisions become public, but the Letter of Wishes explaining distributions remains private. This works well for blended families or situations where beneficiaries' needs may change. Discretionary trusts require professional legal and tax advice.

Lifetime gifting removes assets from your estate entirely. Assets given away don't appear in your will, reducing the estate value in public records. The inheritance tax seven-year rule means gifts made more than seven years before death fall outside your taxable estate. Lifetime gifting requires careful tax planning.

Joint ownership allows assets to pass by survivorship rather than through your will. Property and bank accounts owned jointly transfer automatically to the surviving owner, bypassing probate and public records. This works well for spouses but requires careful consideration as the other person has access during your lifetime.

Nominated beneficiaries on pensions and life insurance bypass your will entirely. Most pension schemes allow expression of wishes forms nominating beneficiaries. Neither of these nominations appears in your will or becomes public.

Corporate structures can protect privacy for business owners. Shares can be handled via shareholder agreements rather than detailed in your will, keeping commercial details private. These advanced strategies require professional guidance from estate planning solicitors and tax advisors.

The requirement that wills become public serves important legal purposes with historical roots dating to 1858.

Probate records have been public since the Probate Act 1857 established the Principal Probate Registry. The Public Records Act 1958 reinforced that court documents including probate records are part of the public record.

Transparency prevents fraud and secret dealings. Public access allows beneficiaries and creditors to verify the right will is being used and hasn't been forged.

Creditor protection is fundamental to probate law. Creditors need to identify estates they have claims against before assets are distributed.

Dispute resolution depends on public access. Beneficiaries need to see the will to determine whether they have grounds to challenge it. In 2023, there were 122 contested probate cases, up from 116 in 2022. Caveat applications reached record highs in 2023—formal warnings that someone intends to challenge a will.

Historical research relies on probate records. Genealogists trace family histories, property researchers establish ownership chains, and historians study social patterns.

Public accountability for executors encourages proper administration and discourages misappropriation.

Courts recognize privacy concerns but consistently prioritize fraud prevention and estate transparency. Sealed wills remain extraordinarily rare, limited to exceptional circumstances like senior Royal Family members.

What to Do If You're Concerned About Will Privacy

Privacy concerns are legitimate and manageable. Start by assessing your risk:

  • Estranged family members likely to search for your will?
  • Controversial decisions like excluding beneficiaries?
  • Public figure or high-net-worth individual attracting attention?
  • Business interests that competitors could exploit?

Before writing your will, identify sensitive information to exclude. Plan to use a Letter of Wishes for private explanations. Consider discretionary trusts if appropriate. Review jointly-owned assets and nominated beneficiaries that bypass your will.

When writing your will, keep provisions factual and neutral. "I leave my estate equally to my three children" is appropriate. "I leave nothing to my fourth child because he abandoned the family" belongs in your Letter of Wishes, not your public will.

After writing your will, create a separate Letter of Wishes with sensitive details. Store it with your will so executors find them together. Review and update your Letter of Wishes as circumstances change—no formalities or costs required.

Inform your executors about privacy concerns. Trustworthy executors can share your Letter of Wishes appropriately while respecting your privacy intentions.

Most wills don't attract significant public attention. Probate searches require knowing the deceased's name and approximate death or probate date. Strategic planning protects genuinely sensitive information. For most estates, a well-drafted will combined with a Letter of Wishes provides adequate privacy protection.

Conclusion

Key takeaways:

  • Your will becomes a public document only if probate is granted—if your estate is small or consists mainly of jointly-owned assets, it may remain private.
  • Anyone can search the Probate Registry and access your will for £16 once probate is granted, approximately 14 days after the grant.
  • Use a Letter of Wishes to keep sensitive information private—it stays with your executors and beneficiaries, never entering public records.
  • Plan strategically: keep your will factual and neutral, saving explanations and personal messages for your separate Letter of Wishes.
  • For complex estates or serious privacy concerns, consider discretionary trusts or professional legal advice to protect confidential information.

Understanding when and how your will becomes public gives you control over your privacy. While you can't prevent probate records from being public, you can protect sensitive information by planning strategically. The key is knowing what stays private and using tools like Letters of Wishes to keep personal matters out of the public domain.

Need Help with Your Will?

Understanding when your will becomes public helps you plan strategically. The key is creating a legally valid will now while using tools like Letters of Wishes to protect sensitive information from public records.

Create your will with confidence using WUHLD's guided platform. For just £99.99, you'll get your complete will (legally binding when properly executed and witnessed) plus three expert guides. Preview your will free before paying anything—no credit card required.

Legal Disclaimer:

This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. WUHLD is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Laws and guidance change and their application depends on your circumstances. For advice about your situation, consult a qualified solicitor or regulated professional. Unless stated otherwise, information relates to England and Wales.

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