Form N2A Probate Claim Notes for Claimant: Full UK Guide

At a glance

• What N2A is: Form N2A is the official "Notes for claimant on completing a claim form" that accompany Form N2, the claim form used to start a contentious probate claim in England and Wales.
• Governing rules: Contentious probate claims follow CPR Part 57, Section I — a self-contained set of rules, not the general Part 7 procedure most civil claims follow on its own.
• Correct court: In London, probate claims are issued in the High Court, Chancery Division. Outside London, a probate claim can only be started at a County Court hearing centre that also has a Chancery district registry, or at the County Court at Central London — not at any general county court counter.
• Track: every probate claim is allocated to the multi-track, regardless of value.
• Grounds to contest a will: lack of knowledge and approval of the contents, a will that was not duly executed under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, lack of testamentary capacity, or undue influence or fraud.
• Litigation friend: required where the claimant is under 18, or lacks capacity to conduct proceedings within the meaning of section 2 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• No default judgment: unusually for a civil claim, a probate claim cannot end in default judgment if a defendant fails to respond — the claimant must apply to the court for an order that the claim proceed to trial.
• Before you issue: if you need to stop a grant of probate being issued while you decide whether to claim, entering a caveat at the Probate Registry — not a probate claim — is usually the first step, and lasts six months.

What Form N2A is, and how it fits with Form N2

Form N2A does not stand alone. It is the guidance document that walks a claimant through completing Form N2, the claim form that formally starts a probate claim. Rule 57.1(2)(a) of the Civil Procedure Rules defines a probate claim as a claim for the grant of probate of a will or letters of administration of an estate, the revocation of such a grant, or a decree pronouncing for or against the validity of an alleged will — provided the claim is contentious. Routine, uncontested ("common form") probate applications are a different, non-contentious process handled through the Probate Registry, not through a Part 57 claim.

If you are on the receiving end of a probate claim rather than bringing one, the equivalent guidance is Form N2B, the notes for defendant — read that instead. And if your dispute is about a will's validity generally rather than the mechanics of the claim form itself, our companion guide on contesting a will covers the substantive grounds in more depth.

A probate claim is started using the ordinary Part 7 procedure (rule 57.3) — it is not a Part 8 claim. This matters because a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, by contrast, is started by Part 8 claim form under rule 57.16. The two routes look similar on the surface — both concern a deceased person's estate — but they are procedurally distinct, and using the wrong one will cause delay.

Which court hears a probate claim

Rule 57.2 fixes where a probate claim can be issued, and this is one of the most common places claimants go wrong:

• In London: the High Court, Chancery Division, at the Royal Courts of Justice. The claim form heading reads "In the High Court of Justice Chancery Division."
• Outside London: only at a County Court hearing centre that also has a Chancery district registry, or at the County Court at Central London. You cannot issue a probate claim at any ordinary county court counter — the official notes list the specific centres this covers (Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne and Preston, among others), and it is worth confirming the current list with the court before you file.
• Every probate claim is allocated to the multi-track under rule 57.2(4), regardless of the value of the estate — this is not a decision the court makes case by case.

Every probate claim form, and every subsequent document filed in it, must be marked at the top with the fixed wording: "In the estate of [name] deceased (Probate)." This is not optional formatting; it identifies the estate the claim relates to and is required by the official notes.

Setting out the parties — and when you need a litigation friend

The person issuing the claim is the claimant; the person being sued is the defendant. The official N2A notes are specific about what must go in each party's details:

• Full name and UK address. All known forenames and surnames, and a full residential address with postcode in the United Kingdom (or elsewhere in the European Economic Area). If you are willing to accept service by DX, fax or email within the UK, you can add those details — but the service rules do not permit direct cross-border service by fax or email within the EEA, so a UK address for service matters.
• Block capitals, black ink. If you are completing the form by hand, the official guidance asks for block capitals and black ink throughout.
• A litigation friend is required where the claimant is under 18, or lacks capacity to conduct proceedings within the meaning of section 2 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (a "protected party"). The litigation friend takes responsibility for running the case in the claimant's best interests, and can be liable for costs orders made against the claimant during the proceedings. Where a child is old enough and capable of conducting the proceedings themselves without a litigation friend, the form is marked "(a child)" instead.
• Revocation claims name every interested administrator. If your claim seeks to revoke an existing grant of probate or letters of administration, every person entitled — or claiming to be entitled — to administer the estate under that grant must be joined as a defendant (rule 57.6(1)).

Stating your interest in the estate, and the grounds for contesting a will

Rule 57.7(1) requires the claim form to contain a clear statement of the nature of the claimant's interest in the estate, and of each defendant's interest — for example, that you are a beneficiary under an earlier will, a person entitled on intestacy, or a creditor. If you dispute another party's stated interest, you must say so and set out your reasons (rule 57.7(2)).

Where your claim challenges the will itself, the rules require more than a general assertion — you must plead particulars of the facts and matters relied on for whichever specific ground applies:

1. Lack of knowledge and approval — that at the time the will was executed, the testator did not know of and approve its contents (rule 57.7(3)).
2. The will was not duly executed — it did not meet the formal signing and witnessing requirements in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837: in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone else in their presence and at their direction) with the apparent intention of giving effect to it, and that signature made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time, each of whom then attests and signs (rule 57.7(4)(a)).
3. Lack of testamentary capacity — that at the time of execution the testator did not have the mental capacity required to make a valid will (rule 57.7(4)(b)).
4. Undue influence or fraud — that the execution of the will was procured by undue influence or fraud (rule 57.7(4)(c)).

A defendant does not have to run a positive case on any of these grounds. Rule 57.7(5) allows a defendant to give notice in their defence that they do not raise a positive case but instead insist on the will being "proved in solemn form," reserving the right to cross-examine the witnesses who attested it. If a defendant takes that course, the court will not order them to pay costs unless it decides there was no reasonable ground for opposing the will in the first place.

Lodging testamentary documents and filing your witness statement

This is one of the most procedurally strict — and most frequently missed — requirements in a probate claim. Under rule 57.5:

• Any testamentary document of the deceased that you hold or control — the will itself, a draft, written instructions for a will, or any document purporting to be evidence of the contents of a will alleged to have been lost or destroyed — must be lodged with the court when you issue the claim form. A defendant who holds one must lodge it when they acknowledge service.
• You must also file written evidence describing every testamentary document you know about, even if you don't hold it yourself — including, where you know it, the name and address of whoever does. If you know of none, you must say so.
• Inspection is restricted. Except with the court's permission, no party may inspect the testamentary documents or evidence lodged by another party until they have lodged their own (rule 57.5(5)).
• You can only issue the claim form without the documents or evidence if the court gives permission — normally only in urgent cases, such as where you need an administrator appointed immediately and cannot obtain the documents in time. If permission is given, expect the court to require an undertaking to lodge them by a specific date.

If part of your dispute concerns where an earlier or later will was kept, our guide on depositing a will with the Probate Service explains the official storage route, which can help establish the chain of custody for a testamentary document.

What happens after you issue the claim

Once the claim form is issued and served, ordinary Part 7 timetabling applies with probate-specific modifications:

• Acknowledgment of service: each defendant has 28 days from service of the claim form (or, if particulars of claim are to follow separately, 28 days from service of those particulars) to file an acknowledgment of service (rule 57.4). This period extends by 14 days where the claim form is served outside the jurisdiction.
• Counterclaim: a defendant who believes they have a claim or remedy of their own relating to the grant may serve a counterclaim (rule 57.8).
• No default judgment. Rule 57.10 disapplies the normal default judgment rules entirely. If a defendant does not acknowledge service, the claimant may — after filing evidence of service — proceed as if they had. If no defendant responds at all, the claimant must apply to the court for an order that the claim proceed to trial; the court can direct that it be tried on written evidence alone.
• Discontinuance and dismissal. The ordinary Part 38 discontinuance rules do not apply to probate claims (rule 57.11). Instead, the court — on the application of the claimant or a defendant who has acknowledged service — can order the claim discontinued or dismissed on whatever terms it thinks fit, and direct that a grant be made to whoever is entitled to it.

Once the claim is issued, the court will formally record it. If you need to understand what that notice of issue actually confirms, see our guide to Form N205D, the notice of issue for a probate claim.

Using a caveat before you issue a probate claim

Many contentious probate disputes start before a claim is ever issued, at the point where someone is worried a grant of probate is about to be issued and wants to stop it. That is done by entering a caveat at the Probate Registry — a separate, simpler process from a Part 57 claim, using Form PA8A. Practically:

• A caveat stops a probate application being issued for six months, taking effect the working day after it is received (it will not stop an application already approved the same day).
• If the person applying for probate disagrees, they can issue a formal "warning." You then have 14 days to respond, or they can apply to remove the caveat.
• You respond to a warning either by entering an appearance (if you have a "contrary interest" — for example, you believe the will is invalid and would benefit under an earlier will, or under intestacy) or by issuing a summons (which does not require a contrary interest, but is used, for example, where you dispute who is entitled to apply).
• A caveat can be extended for a further six months in the final month before it expires, provided no appearance has been entered and no summons issued. A modest fee applies — check GOV.UK for the current amount.
• If your dispute concerns provision from the estate rather than the will's validity, note that a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 has its own strict deadline: section 4 requires the claim to be brought within six months of the date the grant of representation was first taken out, and the court's permission is needed to bring it later.

Worked example: from caveat to a contested probate claim

The following is a fictional illustration, not a real case. Priya believes her late father's final will — made eight months before he died, leaving the bulk of the estate to a recently-introduced acquaintance rather than his children — was made when he lacked the mental capacity to understand what he was signing.

1. She enters a caveat at the Probate Registry using Form PA8A as soon as she learns a grant application may be imminent, stopping any grant for six months while she takes advice.
2. The named executor, unaware of any dispute, had already begun an application. When it is blocked, they issue a formal warning in response to the caveat.
3. Priya has a contrary interest — under the earlier will, or under intestacy, she would benefit if the later will is found invalid — so she enters an appearance, which the Registrar accepts, making the caveat permanent unless a court later orders otherwise.
4. She then issues a probate claim using Form N2, following the N2A notes: the claim is headed "In the estate of [her father's name] deceased (Probate)," issued at a County Court hearing centre with a Chancery district registry (she is outside London), names the executor and the beneficiary under the later will as defendants, and states her interest in the estate.
5. Because she is alleging lack of testamentary capacity, her statement of case sets out particulars of the facts relied on, as rule 57.7(4)(b) requires — for example, medical records from around the time of execution.
6. She lodges the earlier will she holds as a testamentary document, together with written evidence about it, when she issues the claim.
7. The defendants have 28 days to acknowledge service. If they do, the claim proceeds through the multi-track case management process; if they do not respond at all, Priya must apply to the court for an order that her claim proceed to trial rather than assuming she has won by default.

Common mistakes that delay a probate claim

• Issuing at the wrong court. Filing a probate claim at a county court that does not have a Chancery district registry means the claim will need to be transferred, losing time.
• Treating it as a Part 8 claim. A probate claim uses Part 7; only an Inheritance Act 1975 claim uses Part 8. Using the wrong claim form type is a procedural error that can require re-issuing.
• Vague grounds. Simply asserting that a will "doesn't seem right" is not enough. Rule 57.7 requires particulars of the specific facts relied on for whichever ground — capacity, knowledge and approval, due execution, or undue influence and fraud — you are actually running.
• Forgetting the testamentary documents duty. Every testamentary document you hold, and written evidence about every one you know of even if you don't hold it, must be lodged or filed alongside the claim form — not produced later if asked.
• Assuming a non-responding defendant means an automatic win. Because default judgment is disapplied, a claimant still has to actively apply to the court for an order that the claim proceed to trial if a defendant does not engage.
• Missing the Inheritance Act 1975 deadline. If your real concern is inadequate financial provision from the estate rather than the will's validity, the six-month time limit in section 4 of the 1975 Act runs from the date the grant was taken out — not from when you found out about it.

What to do next

1. Work out which claim you actually need. A dispute about a will's validity is a probate claim under Part 57 and Form N2/N2A. A dispute about inadequate provision from the estate is a different claim under the 1975 Act, using Part 8.
2. Consider whether you need to stop a grant first. If no grant has yet been issued and you need time to take advice, entering a caveat (Form PA8A) is usually faster and cheaper than issuing a full claim.
3. Gather every testamentary document you know about, including earlier wills, drafts, and correspondence about the will's preparation, before you issue — you will need to lodge or describe all of it at the outset.
4. Identify the correct defendants, particularly if you are seeking to revoke an existing grant — every person entitled, or claiming to be entitled, to administer the estate under it must be joined.
5. Check the current court fee and any time limits that apply to your specific claim on GOV.UK before you file, as fees and administrative details change.
6. Take advice early if the facts are contested or the estate is significant. Contentious probate claims are multi-track litigation from the outset, with real costs exposure on both sides — speaking to a legal adviser before you issue can help you understand what you're taking on.

This guide provides general information about Form N2A and probate claims in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances — completing this guide does not create a solicitor–client relationship. LegalDocuments.co.uk is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The law described was accurate as at August 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position, and speak to a regulated adviser about how the rules apply to you.

Last reviewed: August 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.