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Accessibility statement for the ‘Apply for probate’ service

This accessibility statement applies to Apply for probate - GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)

This service allows users to apply for a grant of representation (also known as probate) online.

This website is run by HM Courts and Tribunals (HMCTS). We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website, so we have designed it to be accessible. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We have also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet (opens in a new tab) has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • The address lookup tool’s results do not magnify on some tablets - This a constraint within some browsers.
  • There are outstanding accessibility issues outside of this service, in the government payments service GOV.UK Pay, which may result in accessible technology users having difficulties using this area.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read or braille, contact:

We will consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

  • Contact us:
    Phone: 0300 303 0648
    Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 1:00pm (closed bank holidays)

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us using the phone number above.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 working days.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) (opens in a new tab).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

HMCTS is committed to making its websites accessible in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance Status

The website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard (opens in a new tab) due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons. We have not been able to verify that we are fully compliant in the following areas, due to constraints with our internal testing tools:

  • 1.1.1: Non-text Content (Level A):
    • There are images in a PDF with no alternative text.
  • 2.4.3: Focus Order (Level A):
    • The focus order in some PDFs is incorrect.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

PDFs, documents and attachments to email notifications published before 23 September 2018 may not meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be structured so they are accessible to a screen reader.

Third party content that is under someone else’s control

Pages and websites that are linked to and from the probate service may not be fully accessible. These include:

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We continually run automated accessibility testing as part of our development practices and resolve issues before websites and new functionality is released. We use Pa11y and Axe with our quality assurance processes.

This website is continually tested using accessibility software. Any new features which are introduced will also be tested internally or with the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC).

Preparation of this Accessibility Statement

This statement was prepared in March 2025. It was last updated on 7 April 2025

The ‘Apply for probate’ service was last tested by the internal Accessibility Testing Centre of Excellence (ATCoE) team in September 2024.