How much does probate cost in Pennsylvania?
31 Jul 2026
Pennsylvania publishes no fee schedule and no statewide filing fee. Compensation is whatever the orphans’ court finds reasonable and just, and the cost of opening the estate depends on which of the 67 counties grants the letters.
The statute allows the court to calculate the personal representative’s fee as a graduated percentage — and then publishes no percentages. What the law does fix is the shape of the process: notice in two separate outlets, a $50,000 route past full administration, and a bond that most estates never post.
20 Pa.C.S. §3537 — Pennsylvania General Assembly · Verified 31 Jul 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
Pennsylvania has no statutory formula to work, so no calculator can return a fee figure for it. What the law does fix is on this page.
The calculator works the statutory math in the states whose legislatures publish a schedule. Pennsylvania is not one of them — compensation is reasonable and just in the circumstances, decided estate by estate, and a percentage returned for Pennsylvania would be invented rather than read.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where Pennsylvania fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeOrdinary services | No statutory scheduleTitle 20 sets no figure at all. The attorney’s fee is an expense of administration, agreed between the personal representative and the attorney, and the orphans’ court reviews it for reasonableness when the account is audited — on the work done, the difficulty of it, the responsibility carried and the result obtained. | Agreement, reviewed on audit | 20 Pa.C.S. §3537 — the only compensation section in the chapter, and it names only the personal representative | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Personal representative feeThe executor or administrator | Reasonable and justThe court allows such compensation as is reasonable and just in the circumstances, and may calculate it as a graduated percentage. The statute permits the percentage method and publishes no percentages, so the figure is set case by case and reviewed by the orphans’ court when the account is audited. | Statute — reasonable compensation | 20 Pa.C.S. §3537 | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Court filing feeGrant of letters | Not fixed statewideEach county’s register of wills has its own bill of costs, established by order of court under 42 P.S. §21022.1, and the fee for the grant of letters rises in brackets with the gross value of the probate estate. In Chester County, on the schedule in force from 1 January 2026, letters on an estate valued between $400,001 and $500,000 cost $425.00; a first filing also carries a $41.25 state fee and a $15.00 automation fee, so $481.25 in all. A different county will charge something different. | The county register of wills | Chester County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective 1 Jan 2026, made under 42 P.S. §21022.1 | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationAdvertising the letters | Not fixed by statuteThe law sets the schedule, not the price — and Pennsylvania sets two outlets, not one. Immediately after the letters are granted the personal representative must advertise them once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published at or near where the decedent lived, and in the legal periodical, if any, designated by rule of court for legal notices. Two outlets means two separate charges, and each publication sets its own rate. | The newspaper and the legal periodical | 20 Pa.C.S. §3162(a) | 31 Jul 2026 |
| BondPersonal representative’s bond | Not required unless orderedThere is no formula and no fixed sum. Where a bond is required it is filed before the letters are granted, in whatever amount the register considers necessary having regard to the personal estate coming into the representative’s hands. In practice most estates post nothing: the statute exempts an individual named in the will who lives in Pennsylvania, anyone the testator expressly excused, a resident who is the sole residuary legatee or next of kin, and several classes of corporate fiduciary. The court may later require a bond, or increase or decrease one. | Not required unless ordered | 20 Pa.C.S. §3171, read with §3174 and §3175 | 31 Jul 2026 |
The percentage table you will find on other Pennsylvania pages is not law. A graduated schedule written by one judge — the Johnson Estate schedule — circulates widely and is used in some counties as a rough benchmark for what is reasonable. It is not in Title 20, no court is bound by it, and we do not print it here. Section 3537 permits the court to calculate the fee as a graduated percentage and publishes no percentages, which is exactly the gap that unofficial table filled.
What changes YOUR number in Pennsylvania
- “Reasonable and just” is the whole test
- There is no percentage to apply. The orphans’ court allows the personal representative such compensation as is reasonable and just in the circumstances, and it does that when the account is audited — after the work, not before it.
- The percentage the statute allows but never prints
- Section 3537 expressly lets the court calculate the compensation as a graduated percentage of the estate. It then publishes no rates. Pennsylvania is the one state in this database that authorises a percentage method without setting the percentages, which is why no figure can honestly be worked here.
- Which county decides what it costs to open
- There is no statewide probate filing fee in Pennsylvania. All 67 counties set their own bill of costs by order of court, graduated on the gross value of the probate estate, so the same estate costs different amounts in different counties. The value used is the estimate on the petition; when the inventory and the inheritance tax return are filed the actual value is worked out, and a further fee is charged if the estate turns out larger — with no refund if it turns out smaller.
- Two outlets, two bills
- Most states require one newspaper notice. Pennsylvania requires the newspaper and the legal periodical designated by rule of court, each for three successive weeks, each charging its own rate. Budget for both.
- Most estates post no bond
- Where the will names a Pennsylvania resident as executor, or the testator expressly excused a bond, none is required. The premium, where one is needed, is a private surety rate and not a figure set by law.
- The $50,000 route is a petition, not a form
- Getting past full administration in Pennsylvania means asking the orphans’ court division to direct distribution. It is a court step, not a signature at a bank counter.
Personal property of $50,000 or less can be distributed on petition
Where someone dies domiciled in Pennsylvania owning property of a gross value not exceeding $50,000, any party in interest may petition the orphans’ court division of the county to direct distribution without a full administration.
- Limit $50,000 gross, leaving out real estate and anything payable under section 3101.
- Real estate is not counted towards the limit, and the court’s power over the personal property is not restricted by how much real estate the decedent owned.
- The court may act with or without an appraisement, on whatever notice it directs, and whether or not letters have been granted or a will probated.
- Within one year any party in interest may petition to revoke the decree if the distribution was wrong.
Pennsylvania is a petition state, not an affidavit state. There is no form you sign and hand to a bank — a party in interest asks the court. Section 3101 is the separate and much smaller route that lets an employer, bank, care facility or insurer pay certain sums direct with no court involvement at all.
20 Pa.C.S. §3102 — Pennsylvania General Assembly · Verified 31 Jul 2026
Three tools, in the order most people need them
Pennsylvania probate cost questions
Does Pennsylvania set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. Title 20 publishes no attorney schedule. Section 3537, the only compensation section in the chapter, names the personal representative and does not mention the attorney. The fee is an expense of administration, agreed with the personal representative and reviewed by the orphans’ court when the account is audited.
How much does the executor get paid in Pennsylvania?
Such compensation as is reasonable and just in the circumstances. The court may calculate it as a graduated percentage of the estate, but the statute publishes no percentages, so there is no table to apply and no figure that can be worked in advance.
What does it cost to open an estate in Pennsylvania?
There is no statewide fee. Each county’s register of wills has its own bill of costs under 42 P.S. section 21022.1, graduated on the gross value of the estate. In Chester County, on the schedule in force from 1 January 2026, letters on an estate valued between $400,001 and $500,000 cost $425.00, plus a $41.25 state fee and a $15.00 automation fee on a first filing — $481.25 in all. Another county will charge something different.
How much is the newspaper notice in Pennsylvania probate?
Pennsylvania sets no price, and it requires two outlets rather than one. Section 3162(a) requires the letters to be advertised once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation near where the decedent lived and in the legal periodical designated by rule of court. Each publication sets its own rate, so budget for two bills.
Can a small estate avoid full administration in Pennsylvania?
Where the gross value of the property is $50,000 or less, leaving out real estate and anything payable under section 3101, any party in interest may petition the orphans’ court division to direct distribution without a full administration. It is a petition to the court, not an affidavit handed to a bank.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. Statutory figures are re-checked annually.
- Attorney fee and personal representative fee — 20 Pa.C.S. §3537 (Compensation) legis.state.pa.usVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Court filing fee, Chester County example — Chester County Register of Wills fee schedule, effective 1 Jan 2026 chesco.orgVerified 31 Jul 2026 · county fee bills are re-issued annually, so this row is re-checked each January as well
- Publication schedule — 20 Pa.C.S. §3162(a) legis.state.pa.usVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Bond, when required — 20 Pa.C.S. §3171 legis.state.pa.usVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Bond, when not required — 20 Pa.C.S. §3174 legis.state.pa.usVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Small-estate route — 20 Pa.C.S. §3102 legis.state.pa.usVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in Pennsylvania. Full terms: /disclaimer/
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