Preparing the papers on which a grant of probate or letters of administration is founded is a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007, so an accountant may only do it for a fee if they and their firm are authorised by an approved legal regulator. For accountants the main route is ICAEW accreditation, which requires a qualified authorised individual, a firm application and specific professional indemnity cover. ACCA members now use a separate route through CILEX Regulation, because ACCA withdrew from probate regulation at the end of 2021.

What exactly is reserved?

Section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007 lists the reserved legal activities, and probate activities are one of them. Schedule 2, paragraph 6 defines probate activities as preparing any probate papers for the purposes of the law of England and Wales, where probate papers means papers on which to found or oppose a grant of probate or a grant of letters of administration. The reservation applies in England and Wales only.

Under section 13 a person may carry on a reserved activity only if they are an authorised person or an exempt person. Section 14 makes it an offence to do so without entitlement, punishable on indictment by up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine or both, although it is a defence to show the person did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that the offence was being committed.

Estate administration itself, such as collecting assets, paying debts and distributing the estate, is not a reserved activity. Nor is preparing the inheritance tax figures. The line falls at preparing and submitting the papers that found the grant.

When can an unlicensed accountant still help?

Schedule 3, paragraph 4 contains two exemptions. An individual is exempt if they carry on probate activities otherwise than for, or in expectation of, any fee, gain or reward. An individual employee is also exempt when working under the direction and supervision of an employer or colleague who is entitled to carry on the activity.

ICAEW’s regulatory advice on when to seek a licence for probate sets out its expectations of members. Its overarching principle is that where a member engages in estate administration, as executor or acting for the executor, and also undertakes probate related activities managed as a process with a fee involved, the member should be licensed. “Managed” is judged by whether significant decisions are made without recourse to the executor. The advice says an unlicensed firm appointed as executor cannot perform the probate work if it intends to charge for the estate administration or other work on the estate, even where the will contains a charging clause; it should outsource the probate element to a licensed practitioner. If no fee is proposed for any part of the executorship, the firm can rely on the statutory exemption. ICAEW treats operating outside this framework as a disciplinary matter. Our page on accountants acting as executors and trustees covers the wider issues.

How does ICAEW accreditation work?

ICAEW was designated as an approved regulator and licensing authority for probate in 2014. It accredits firms to offer non contentious probate and, from 1 October 2025, its accredited firms are also authorised to administer oaths. Contentious probate is outside the accreditation and must go to someone licensed for it, such as a solicitor.

A firm can be accredited in one of two forms:

  • Authorised firm: all principals and owners are individually authorised to carry out probate work. ICAEW also says non authorised persons must not control 10% or more of the voting rights.
  • Licensed firm (alternative business structure): not every principal is authorised, but at least one must be. The firm appoints a Head of Legal Practice and a Head of Finance and Administration, who carry special compliance responsibilities, and any non authorised person holding a material interest must be approved by ICAEW before acquiring it.

All accredited firms must be within ICAEW’s Practice Assurance scheme and comply with its professional indemnity insurance arrangements and diversity monitoring requirements. ICAEW’s guidance gives a lead time of 8 to 12 weeks for applications.

How does an individual qualify?

Each person who conducts or controls probate work must be appointed as an authorised individual. ICAEW’s qualification guidance sets out routes under its Legal Services Regulations:

  • Regulation 4.1a: ICAEW members, or members of another accountancy body as defined in the regulations, who attend a short course and pass an assessment, the Mercia UK Certificate in Probate and Estate Administration.
  • Regulation 4.1b: people holding a qualification issued or recognised by another approved regulator that entitles them to undertake probate work, such as solicitors.
  • Regulation 4.1c: others who can evidence a course and assessment covering ICAEW’s qualification criteria, including holders of specified STEP qualifications. Applicants under this route must also supply a basic disclosure.

ICAEW’s FAQs add that only principals and employees can be authorised individuals; it will not license subcontractors or consultants. Authorised individuals must also meet CPD requirements for probate.

What professional indemnity cover is required?

ICAEW requires accredited probate firms to hold a minimum limit of indemnity of at least £500,000 for any one claim for authorised work, which it defines as probate and estate administration. Some firms already meet this; others raise their overall limit or arrange an extension for probate and estate administration claims. It is worth checking the policy wording with your broker, because estate administration errors, such as distributing before debts or tax are settled, can produce large claims. Our guide to professional indemnity insurance for accountants explains the general rules.

What about ACCA members?

ACCA withdrew from probate regulation on 31 December 2021. ACCA members and firms seeking probate authorisation now register with CILEX Regulation as a CILEX Practitioner (ACCA Probate), with the firm regulated as a CILEX ACCA Probate Entity. ACCA’s guidance on professional indemnity says firms regulated by CILEX must maintain cover under the CILEX rules, with a minimum of £2 million for any one claim, excluding defence costs.

How might this work in practice?

Illustration only. A two partner ICAEW firm is regularly asked by bereaved clients to “sort out probate”. It currently prepares the inheritance tax figures and then sends the family to a solicitor for the grant.

  • One partner completes the Mercia certificate and applies as an authorised individual under regulation 4.1a. The other partner does the same, so the firm can apply as an authorised firm rather than a licensed firm.
  • The firm checks that its professional indemnity limit is at least £500,000 for any one claim for probate and estate administration and notifies its insurer of the new work.
  • Once accredited, the firm can prepare and submit the probate application as well as the tax work, but still refers any dispute over the will to a solicitor.
  • If the firm later appoints a director who is not authorised, it must tell ICAEW within 10 business days and check whether it now needs to become a licensed firm.

Clients may also need help with paying inheritance tax before probate and valuing property for probate.

What mistakes come up most often?

  • Charging for estate administration while preparing the probate papers without accreditation.
  • Assuming a practising certificate or general legal knowledge covers probate. It does not; see practising certificates.
  • Appointing a consultant or subcontractor as the authorised individual.
  • Restructuring or bringing in an investor without first checking accreditation eligibility.
  • Drifting into contentious disputes that the accreditation does not cover.

Solar Protect runs fee protection schemes for accountancy and bookkeeping practices. See how our accountant schemes work or read fee protection schemes for accountants.

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Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.