How long does Confirmation take in Scotland?

Confirmation is the court document that gives an executor authority to collect in the estate of someone who has died. It is the Scottish equivalent of probate. Until you have it, banks will not release larger balances and a house in the person's sole name cannot be sold. So it is natural to want to know how long it will take. The answer depends much more on the preparation than on the court.

How long each stage takes

Some of these stages overlap, and many estates skip the second half of the table altogether. A small, simple estate with a will can sometimes be confirmed within a couple of months. A complex estate can take a year or more.

Why the preparation takes longest

To apply for Confirmation, the executor must list everything the person owned at the date of death, with a value for each item, on the inventory form C1. That means writing to every bank, building society, pension provider, insurer and investment company, and waiting for each to reply with a date of death balance.

Some organisations answer within days. Others take weeks, and a few need reminders. A house also needs a market valuation, and a formal description of the property taken from the title. The inventory cannot be finished until the last value is in, so one slow reply holds up the whole application.

Waiting times at the sheriff court

Confirmation is granted by the sheriff court for the area where the person was living when they died, or by the Commissary Office at Edinburgh Sheriff Court if they had no fixed home or lived outside Scotland. You cannot choose a different court to save time. Our guide to which sheriff court deals with Confirmation lists the courts for Glasgow, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

• Larger courts, such as Glasgow and Edinburgh, handle the most applications and can take longer at busy times. The Royal Faculty of Procurators in Glasgow reported waiting times of around six weeks at Glasgow in 2025, and some commentators report up to 12 weeks at the busiest times.
• Smaller courts can be much quicker, and some issue Confirmation within days of receiving a correct application.
• Small estates of £36,000 or less go through the sheriff clerk's small estate procedure, so the timing also depends on how soon an appointment is available.

For the courts our clients use most often, see our pages for Glasgow, Hamilton, Paisley and Dumfries.

What makes Confirmation take longer

• No will. Someone must first petition the court to be appointed executor-dative, and usually arrange a bond of caution. See our guide on becoming an executor when there is no will.
• Inheritance tax. If tax is due, a full inheritance tax account has to be sent to HMRC and at least some of the tax paid before Confirmation can be granted. Our guide to inheritance tax in Scotland explains how.
• A will that is not self-proving. If the will was not properly witnessed, the court will need evidence, usually sworn statements, that the signature is genuine.
• Mistakes on the inventory. An application with missing information, wrong figures or an incorrect property description will be sent back, and it rejoins the queue once corrected.
• Assets found later. If something is discovered after Confirmation, a corrective inventory is needed to add it.
• Disputes. A disagreement over the will, or over who should be executor, can hold everything up. Anyone who expects to object can lodge a caveat, so they are told before Confirmation is granted.
• Property or assets outside Scotland. Overseas assets can be slow to value and may need their own process.

How to speed things up

1. Write to every organisation early, as soon as you have the death certificate. The Death Notification Service lets you tell several of the larger banks in one go.
2. Keep a list of who you have written to and chase any that have not replied after two or three weeks.
3. Get the house valued early, and find the title deeds or ask a solicitor to obtain the title from the Registers of Scotland.
4. Check the will is the original and is signed and witnessed properly.
5. Use the Direct Payment Scheme if inheritance tax is due. Many banks and building societies can pay the tax to HMRC directly from the person's accounts before Confirmation.
6. Check the inventory carefully before lodging it, including the court fee and the number of certificates of Confirmation you need.
7. Consider using a solicitor. Solicitors deal with the same courts and organisations every week, which usually avoids rejected applications.

What you can do while you wait

Waiting for Confirmation does not mean the executry stands still. While the application is with the court, you can:

• ask the bank to pay the funeral bill directly from the person's account;
• collect smaller balances that banks will release without Confirmation, as explained in our guide to bank limits without Confirmation;
• put the house on the market, although the sale cannot complete until Confirmation arrives;
• keep the house insured and apply for the council tax exemption;
• list the debts and tell the creditors about the death;
• work out who is entitled to legal rights, and start those conversations.

After Confirmation: how long until the estate is paid out?

Confirmation is the halfway point, not the finish line. Once you have it, you still need to collect in the money, sell or transfer any property, pay the debts and taxes, and wait until at least six months after the death before distributing the estate. Most straightforward estates in Scotland are wound up within six to twelve months of the death. Our guide on how long an executor has to settle an estate covers the full timeline.

How we can help

We prepare Confirmation applications every week, know what each sheriff court expects, and chase the banks and pension providers for you. If you want Confirmation as quickly as possible, talk to our executry solicitors in Glasgow, Hamilton, East Kilbride or Dumfries. We also act for families across Renfrew, Barrhead and Motherwell.

This guide is general information about Scots law, correct at the date shown. It is not legal advice for your circumstances.