Where to keep a will¶

A will is only useful if the executor can find it within days of the death. The legal validity of the document is a separate question from its physical location, and a perfectly valid will that is destroyed, hidden, or simply unknown is functionally the same as no will at all — the intestacy rules apply by default. This guide compares the realistic storage options across the UK and why one common choice — the bank safe deposit box — is the wrong one.

If you can only do one thing today: write down where the will is currently stored, who holds the key or access details, and which executor knows about it. Put that note somewhere the family will find it — the household paperwork folder, a shared digital document, a sealed envelope in a drawer. The location matters more than the storage method.

The five options, compared¶

Option	Cost	Risk	Executor access
At home, location known	£0	Fire, flood, loss, accidental disposal	Easy if location is documented
With the drafting solicitor	Often £0; some firms £10–£20/year	Firm closure (mitigated by succession arrangements)	Easy; solicitor often helps with probate
HMCTS Probate Service (E&W)	£23 one-off	Very low	Easy with deposit certificate
Books of Council and Session (Scotland)	Low one-off (check Registers of Scotland)	Very low	Easy via the issued extract
Bank safe deposit box	£50–£150/year	Box may be sealed at death	Difficult — see below
[source: gov-uk/store-will-with-probate-service-2026-05-02.html]

Option 1 — At home, in a known location¶

Free, fully under the testator's control, and acceptable provided three conditions are met:

The will is physically protected — a fireproof document bag or small safe, away from damp.
The location is documented — a written note in the regularly-used household paperwork (not just spoken instructions), and a copy of that note with the named executor.
The location is stable — moving the will from drawer to drawer over years is the most common reason a known location turns into an unknown one.

The risks are real and underestimated. Domestic fires and floods destroy thousands of important documents in the UK each year. Family clearance after a long illness — or an unexpected sudden death — is a common moment for paper to be thrown away. A copy held by the executor is a useful belt-and-braces but is no substitute for the original; only the original will is admitted to probate.

Option 2 — With the drafting solicitor¶

Standard practice and the most common choice for solicitor-drafted wills. Most firms store the original at no charge or for a small annual fee (typically £10–£20). The original sits in the firm's strong room or off-site secure storage; the testator receives a signed copy.

What to confirm when instructing:

That the firm will hold the original and that this is included in the quoted fee (or what the storage charge is).
That the executors named in the will will be told the firm holds the original. The simplest arrangement is for the testator to give the firm permission to contact the named executors at the appropriate time.
That the firm has a documented succession arrangement — what happens to stored wills if the firm closes or is bought out (Solicitors Regulation Authority requirements oblige firms to have these arrangements, and typically wills transfer to a successor practice).

The advantages are convenience, professional storage conditions, and — usually — easier handling when probate is needed (the same firm can often act for the executors, though they are not obliged to and the executors are not obliged to instruct them). The trade-off is mild dependence on a particular firm; if the testator moves house and switches solicitors, the will should be retrieved or transferred.

Option 3 — HMCTS Probate Service deposit (England and Wales)¶

The Probate Service operated by HM Courts and Tribunals Service offers official will deposit at a one-off fee of £23. The testator completes a short form, sends the original will and the fee to the Newcastle district probate registry, and receives a certificate of deposit. The will is held permanently in the registry's vaults; after death, the executor produces the certificate and an official copy of the death certificate to retrieve the original. Retrieval itself is free. [source: gov-uk/store-will-with-probate-service-2026-05-02.html]

Strengths: official government storage; permanent; immune to the failure of any private firm; no annual fee; the deposit certificate is short and easy to keep with other essential paperwork.

Limitations: limited to England and Wales; the original passes out of the testator's hands (replacement is not straightforward if the will needs to be retrieved for amendment); the deposit certificate must itself be findable — store it the same way you would store a will at home, with a note to the executor.

The Probate Service also offers a separate standing search — for a £3 fee, a six-month period during which the searcher will be sent a copy of any grant of probate or letters of administration issued for a named person's estate. The standing search is mainly used by creditors and potential beneficiaries to confirm when probate has been granted; it is not a substitute for storing the will itself.

Option 4 — Books of Council and Session (Scotland)¶

Scotland has its own permanent register: the Books of Council and Session (also called the Register of Deeds), held by Registers of Scotland. A will registered there is held permanently; the registrant receives an extract which has the same legal force as the original and can be produced for any later proceedings, including the application for confirmation (Scotland's equivalent of probate).

The will must meet the formality requirements of the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 and be in a form acceptable for registration. Most Scottish solicitors who draft a will offer to register it on the client's behalf as part of the engagement. The fee is modest — low tens of pounds — and there are no annual fees. See the Books of Council and Session entity for the longer description.

For Scottish testators, the Books of Council and Session is the most secure long-term option. It is less widely known to non-Scottish executors, so the testator should make the executors aware that the will is registered and where the extract is held.

Option 5 — Northern Ireland¶

Northern Ireland has no equivalent advance-deposit service for unprobated wills. The Probate Office (part of the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast) holds wills only after probate has been granted, at which point they become public record. Before death, Northern Irish testators rely on solicitor storage, home storage, or — for a will with strong English connections — the HMCTS Probate Service deposit (which accepts wills from outside England and Wales but is most useful where probate is likely to be sought there).

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) holds historical wills from 1858 onwards but does not accept new unprobated wills.

Option 6 — Bank safe deposit box (the wrong choice)¶

Bank safe deposit boxes are routinely sealed by the bank when the holder dies, pending sight of the grant of probate. The catch-22 is obvious: the executor needs the will to apply for probate, but cannot access the box that contains the will until probate has been granted.

The bank can in some cases be persuaded to allow access for the limited purpose of retrieving the will, or to open the box in the presence of the executor and a bank officer, but the process is bank-specific, takes weeks, and may require legal correspondence. The cost in time, fees, and stress is several multiples of the cost of any of the other options above.

Safe deposit boxes are appropriate for passive assets that are not needed in the immediate aftermath of death — jewellery, share certificates, deeds of property held in trust. They are the wrong place for a will, an LPA, an advance decision, or a funeral plan, all of which are needed urgently and may need to be acted on within 24 to 48 hours.

What else to keep with the will¶

The will is the spine of a small set of documents the family will need within the first week or two. Storing them together — physically or as a clearly labelled inventory — avoids the most common cause of executor stress, which is hunting through paperwork while grieving. The minimum useful set:

The will itself (and the deposit certificate, if applicable).
Any LPA (registered originals, or the access codes for the gov.uk "Use a lasting power of attorney" online service).
Any advance decision (and a note of who else holds copies — GP, hospital, family).
Life-insurance policy schedules and policy numbers.
Pension scheme details (with scheme nominations — pension death benefits usually pass outside the will).
Property deeds or land-registry title numbers, and mortgage account details.
Birth and marriage certificates (originals or certified copies).
Divorce decree absolute or final order, if relevant.
A short list of who to notify — close family, employer, GP, accountant, solicitor.

A separate, regularly-updated digital-access note (passwords, password manager master, two-factor recovery codes) is often best not kept with the will itself but kept somewhere the executor can reach independently — many people use a sealed envelope held by a solicitor or a password-manager emergency-access feature.

Reviewing the storage arrangement¶

The will is reviewed every 3 to 5 years anyway (see Making a will); the storage arrangement should be reviewed at the same time. Specific triggers for reviewing the storage:

Move house — the home location notes need updating; if the will was at home, the move is a chance to switch to deposit.
Switch solicitors — retrieve the original from the previous firm.
Change executors — the new executor needs to know where the will is.
Lose the deposit certificate — replacement is possible but slower; replace it before the executor needs it.

What this guide doesn't cover¶

The drafting of the will itself — see Making a will.
The probate process that the executor goes through after death — see How to apply for probate.
Digital legacy planning in detail (passwords, social-media accounts, cryptocurrency) — these warrant their own document and are deliberately not stored with the will.

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Last verified: 2 May 2026 against gov.uk/store-will-with-probate-service and the Registers of Scotland Register of Deeds guidance.