Scottish Probate: How Confirmation Works in Scotland

Confirmation is the authority issued by a Scottish sheriff court that lets an executor collect and administer the estate listed in the inventory.

The deceased's domicile, not simply the place of death, determines the main Scottish application route. A person domiciled in Scotland will normally be dealt with through the sheriff court district for that domicile. The Edinburgh Commissary Office handles the cases identified in the current C1 guidance, including some estates with no UK domicile.

This guide is an overview. For the form itself, use our current C1 field-by-field guide. For asset descriptions and continuation sheets, see the C1 inventory guide.

What confirmation does

Confirmation gives the executor title to ingather the assets covered by the grant. Institutions can have their own release limits, so a low-value asset may sometimes be released without it, but that does not change the court rules or remove the executor's duty to identify the full estate.

The C1 inventory is central to the grant. It lists the estate by jurisdiction and records both the value for confirmation and the information needed to decide whether an IHT400 account is required.

Who can apply

An executor-nominate is appointed by a will or other testamentary writing. The C1 declaration identifies the document and all executors. If there is no effective appointment, an interested person normally needs a sheriff court decree appointing them as executor-dative before confirmation can be sought.

A bond of caution may be required in an intestate estate. Do not buy one on the assumption that every dative appointment needs it: Scottish Courts lists circumstances in which no bond is required, and the correct position depends on the appointment and procedure.

Small and large estates

Scottish Courts currently defines a small estate as one where the deceased's gross money and property is £36,000 or less. Debts are not deducted when testing that limit. A sheriff clerk can help prepare the C1 for a small estate by appointment.

For a large estate, Scottish Courts says it cannot prepare the application and strongly recommends legal advice. A house or other land can make valuation, title and destination issues more complex, so obtain Scottish legal advice where needed. Both routes use C1. For deaths on or after 1 January 2022, C5 and C5(SE) are not required.

Prior rights and legal rights

Prior rights arise from the part of the estate that is intestate. They can therefore apply where there is no effective will and where a will leaves part of the estate undisposed of. A surviving spouse or civil partner can take the deceased's interest in the home where the survivor lived up to £473,000, furniture up to £29,000, and a cash sum of £50,000 where there are descendants or £89,000 where there are none. These are statutory caps, not extra cash automatically paid in every estate. The current amounts are set out in the Scottish Government prior-rights guidance.

Legal rights can apply whether or not there is a will. They are claims against the net moveable estate, not land or buildings. A surviving spouse or civil partner is entitled to one third where there are descendants and one half where there are none. Children collectively are entitled to one third where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner and one half where there is none. If a child died before the deceased, that child’s descendants can take the legal-rights share the child would have received. This is called representation (section 11).

Legal-rights choices can interact with a legacy in the will and with IHT exemptions. Obtain Scottish advice before asking anyone to discharge or claim rights. A payment to a child is not automatically an IHT deduction merely because it satisfies legitim; the tax treatment follows the beneficiary and the applicable exemption rules.

The current intestacy order

After debts, prior rights and legal rights, section 2 of the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 controls the residue. Since section 77 of the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 came into force on 30 April 2024, children and their descendants rank first; if there are none, the surviving spouse or civil partner now ranks before parents and siblings. Section 77 does not apply to deaths before 30 April 2024, so earlier intestacies follow the previous order.

A cohabitant does not have the same automatic rights as a spouse or civil partner. A possible court claim under section 29 of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006 remains time-sensitive. Current Scottish Government material states that the existing six-month limit still applies; a provision to extend it has not yet commenced.

The application route

1. Confirm the executor's title and the deceased's domicile.
2. Identify and value the full estate at open-market value on the date of death.
3. Use C1(2022) for a death on or after 1 January 2022 and C2 continuation sheets where needed.
4. Complete the IHT400 route first if the estate is not excepted or tax is due; HMRC handles the C1 before it goes to court.
5. For an excepted estate, send C1 directly to the appropriate sheriff clerk or Commissary Office with the documents and fee required by that office.

Scottish Courts currently asks a personal large-estate applicant for the original death certificate, the original will or an official extract where applicable, identity evidence and the fee. Postal applications require additional identity evidence. Check with the receiving office before sending originals.

Inheritance Tax in Scotland

IHT is UK-wide, but the Scottish grant route is different. For an excepted estate, the C1 contains the relevant declarations and is not sent to HMRC. For a non-excepted estate, send a copy of C1 with IHT400 to HMRC; after HMRC confirms the tax position, lodge the original C1 and HMRC evidence with the court.

Do not use IHT205, IHT421 or C5(SE) for a recent Scottish death. IHT421 is the Northern Ireland probate summary. The current Scottish forms are C1/C2, with C4(S) used for qualifying corrections or an eik after confirmation.

Estates spanning Scotland and elsewhere

C1's inventory can include estate in Scotland, England and Wales, Northern Ireland and elsewhere. The value for confirmation is not identical to every IHT value, and special destinations, joint ownership, foreign land and domicile can change which grant or local authority is needed.

A Scottish confirmation may give title to UK moveable assets listed in it, but land is governed by the place where it is situated. Do not assume that a Scottish grant can simply be “resealed” in England and Wales for English land; cross-border land and foreign assets require case-specific advice.

Common questions