How much does probate cost in Washington?
2 Aug 2026
Washington publishes no percentage for the attorney and none for the personal representative. What it does fix is the court: $290.00 to open a probate.
Both fees are whatever the court decides is just and reasonable, and either the representative or the attorney can ask for money on account before the estate closes rather than waiting for the final account. The will is the starting point for the representative’s pay, and it binds — unless a written renunciation is filed before qualifying. The creditors’ notice is optional in Washington, so its cost is optional too. The bond has no set sum, and a surviving spouse taking the whole estate usually needs none at all.
RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c) and (6) — Revised Code of Washington, published by the Washington State Legislature · Verified 2 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
Washington sets no percentage on either professional fee, so there is no schedule to work. What the calculator can give you is the court side, which the statute builds out of three separate pieces.
| Instituting a probate proceeding — the base fee | $200.00 |
| Surcharge on filing fees under the section | $40.00 |
| Further surcharge, probate expressly listed | $50.00 |
| To open a Washington probate | $290.00 |
| Contesting a will, or objecting to a written agreement | $200.00 |
| Filing a will or codicil | $20.00 |
| Processing an ex parte order | $30.00 |
| Attorney | just and reasonable |
| Personal representative | just and reasonable |
No subsection of the statute prints $290.00. The figure is the sum of three pieces the law charges separately: a $200.00 fee paid to the clerk of the superior court by the party instituting the proceeding at the time the first document is filed, a $40.00 surcharge collected on filing fees under the section, and a $50.00 surcharge collected on a list of fees that expressly includes probate. We show the build-up rather than assert a total the statute never states.
The smaller charges sit in a different section again: $20.00 to file a will or codicil, $5.00 for the certificate of qualification with a certified copy of the letters, $5.00 for the first page of any certified copy and $1.00 for each page after it, and $30.00 to process an ex parte order. One charge expressly does not apply: the $2.00 fee for approving a bond is charged in other than civil actions and probate proceedings, so a Washington probate bond is approved without it.
The two professional fees cannot be computed from an estate value in Washington, because no percentage exists to compute. Anyone quoting you a Washington executor percentage is quoting another state.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where Washington fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeServices to the estate | No statutory scheduleWashington fixes no percentage and no schedule for the estate’s attorney. An attorney performing services for the estate at the instance of the personal representative is entitled to such compensation out of the estate as the court deems just and reasonable. The timing rule matters as much as the standard: compensation may be allowed at the final account, but at any point during the administration either the personal representative or the attorney may apply to the court for an allowance on account, so the estate is not obliged to wait until closing to pay. Where the personal representative is also the attorney, additional compensation may be allowed for the services as attorney and for other services not required of a personal representative — Washington treats the two hats as two entitlements rather than folding one into the other. | The court, on a just-and-reasonable standard | RCW 11.48.210 Last amended 2026 c 204 s 7 | 2 Aug 2026 |
| Personal representativeExecutor or administrator | No percentage scheduleWashington starts with the will, not with a formula. Where the testator makes provision in the will for the representative’s compensation, that is taken as the full compensation — unless the representative files a written instrument in court renouncing all claim to it before qualifying as personal representative. Where no compensation is provided in the will, where the representative has renounced it, or where the estate is intestate, the representative is allowed such compensation as the court deems just and reasonable. Two rules cut the other way: a representative appointed under RCW 11.28.120(3) receives no compensation in connection with the administration from anyone other than the estate unless the court allows it, and where the court finds the representative has failed to discharge the duties of the office in any respect it may reduce the compensation or deny it altogether. | The will, or the court where the will is silent | RCW 11.48.210 Same section as the attorney fee | 2 Aug 2026 |
| Court filing feeOpening a probate in superior court | $290.00, and the law lets it rise$290.00, and the law lets it rise — a county may add charges for nonstatutory services rendered by authority of local ordinance or policy; check the county clerk’s own schedule before filing. The $290.00 is not printed anywhere as a single number: it is a $200.00 base paid by the party instituting the proceeding, plus a $40.00 surcharge, plus a $50.00 surcharge on a list of fees that expressly includes probate. Contesting a will already admitted, seeking to admit a will that has been rejected, or objecting to a written agreement under RCW 11.96A.220 carries its own $200.00 fee. | Statute, statewide, plus county charges | RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c) and (6), read with RCW 36.18.016(4), (8), (9), (12) and (27) Total computed from the three subsections | 2 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice to creditors | Optional — and no rate is fixedPublication is optional here. The representative may publish notice to creditors but the law does not require it; if you publish, the newspaper sets the rate. Where notice is given, the notice is filed with the court and published once each week for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper in the county where the estate is being administered; the representative may at any time give actual notice to creditors who become known, by personal service or first-class mail to the last known address; and a copy including the decedent’s social security number goes to the Department of Social and Health Services office of financial recovery. Proof by affidavit of the giving and publication is then filed with the court. Where the decedent lived in Washington but the probate was commenced in a different county, the notice runs in the county of the decedent’s residence and is filed where the proceedings were commenced. | The newspaper, if you choose to publish | RCW 11.40.020 | 2 Aug 2026 |
| BondPersonal representative’s bond | Required unless waived
|
The court’s direction, subject to the exemptions | RCW 11.28.185 Last amended 2026 c 204 s 3 | 2 Aug 2026 |
The $290.00 is a build-up, not a printed figure. Sites quoting Washington at $200.00 are quoting the base subsection and stopping there; the two surcharges are collected on the same filing and probate is named in the list for both.
How the Washington sources are linked. The Legislature publishes the Revised Code of Washington with a stable address for each section, so every source above opens the exact section we read.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- Filing a will or codicil under chapter 11.12 — $20.00, charged whether or not a probate follows.
- Certificate of qualification with a certified copy of letters testamentary or of administration — $5.00.
- Certified copies — $5.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each page after it.
- Processing an ex parte order — $30.00.
- Contesting a will already admitted to probate, seeking to admit a will that has been rejected, or objecting to a written agreement under RCW 11.96A.220 — $200.00 each.
- Approving the bond — $0.00. The $2.00 charge for approving a bond applies in other than civil actions and probate proceedings, so a Washington probate bond is approved without it.
- County charges — a clerk must charge costs for nonstatutory services rendered by authority of local ordinance or policy, so your county can add to the figures above. No statewide list of those charges exists.
RCW 36.18.016(4), (8), (9), (12), (23) and (27); RCW 36.18.020(2)(f) — Revised Code of Washington · Verified 2 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in Washington
- If the will names a fee, it can bind you
- In Washington, an executor who accepts without renouncing is held to it. Where the will provides for the representative’s compensation, that provision is taken as the full compensation unless a written instrument renouncing all claim to it is filed in court before qualifying as personal representative. Miss that moment and the will’s figure stands, however far below a just-and-reasonable allowance it falls. Washington is stricter here than most states that allow renunciation at all.
- You do not have to wait until the estate closes to be paid
- Compensation may be allowed at the final account, but at any point during the administration either the representative or the attorney may apply to the court for an allowance on account. In a long administration that changes the cash position of the estate rather than the total bill.
- The representative who is also the attorney gets paid for both
- Where the personal representative is also the attorney for the estate, the court may allow additional compensation for the services as attorney and for other services not required of a personal representative. The two roles are two entitlements, not one folded into the other.
- The court can cut the fee for how the job was done
- Where the court finds the representative has failed to discharge the duties of the office in any respect, it may reduce the compensation or deny it altogether. A representative appointed under RCW 11.28.120(3) also takes nothing from anyone outside the estate unless the court allows it.
- Publishing is a choice, and so is its cost
- Washington is one of the few states where notice to creditors is elective. The statute says the representative may give notice; the whole publication machinery only engages if that choice is made. What the choice does to the creditor deadline is set by a different section, RCW 11.40.051, which we have not read and do not state here.
- The county can add to the court fee
- The clerk must charge costs for nonstatutory services rendered by authority of local ordinance or policy. The $290.00 is the statewide floor; your county clerk’s own schedule is the place to check before filing.
Washington’s limit is $100,000 — and the community property interest comes out first
Washington’s affidavit route opens forty days after the death and is confined to personal property and debts. Anyone indebted to the decedent, or holding personal property belonging to the decedent, or belonging to the decedent and a surviving spouse or domestic partner as a community, must pay or deliver it to a claiming successor on receipt of proof of death and a conforming affidavit. Estates under $100,000.00 may qualify for the affidavit route.
- How the limit is measured is the point most summaries miss. It is the value of the decedent’s entire estate subject to probate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, not including the surviving spouse’s or domestic partner’s community property interest in assets subject to probate. In a community property state that exclusion can bring an estate inside the route that looks far too large from the outside.
- The section provides no route for real property. A Washington estate holding a house cannot use it, however small the house.
- Forty days must have passed since the death, and the affidavit must state that no application or petition for a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction.
- All debts, including funeral and burial expenses, must have been paid or provided for.
- Written notice identifying the claim and describing the property must be served or mailed to all other successors, and at least ten days must have passed since — a requirement with no equivalent anywhere else in this database. The practical wait is therefore longer than forty days.
- Transfer agents must re-register securities and government agencies must reissue certificates of ownership on the same affidavit. No release from any Washington state or local taxing authority may be required first.
- A copy of the affidavit including the decedent’s social security number goes to the Department of Social and Health Services office of financial recovery.
RCW 11.62.010(1) and (2) — Revised Code of Washington · Verified 2 Aug 2026
Check your own estate against the Washington route →
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Washington probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in Washington?
There is no percentage. Where the will provides for the representative’s compensation, that provision is taken as the full compensation unless the representative files a written renunciation in court before qualifying. Where the will is silent, where the representative has renounced, or where there is no will, the court allows such compensation as it deems just and reasonable. The court can also reduce or deny it where the representative has failed to discharge the duties of the office.
Does Washington set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. An attorney performing services for the estate at the instance of the personal representative is entitled to such compensation out of the estate as the court deems just and reasonable. There is no schedule and no percentage. Either the representative or the attorney may apply to the court during the administration for an allowance on account rather than waiting for the final account.
What does it cost to file for probate in Washington?
Two hundred and ninety dollars to open the probate. That figure is built from three subsections rather than printed as one number: a two hundred dollar base paid by the party instituting the proceeding at the time the first document is filed, a forty dollar surcharge, and a fifty dollar surcharge on a list of fees that expressly includes probate. Your county clerk may add charges for nonstatutory services by local ordinance, so check the county schedule before filing.
Does an executor need a bond in Washington?
Usually, but the exemptions are wide. No bond is required where the will manifests an intent that the representative not furnish one, where the representative is the surviving spouse or domestic partner and the whole estate will pass to them after expenses and creditor claims, or where a bank or trust company is appointed. Otherwise the court directs the bond and sets the amount. The two dollar fee for approving a bond is not charged in probate proceedings.
Does Washington have a small estate affidavit?
Yes, with a one hundred thousand dollar limit on personal property and debts. Real property is outside the route entirely. The limit is measured on the estate subject to probate less liens and encumbrances, and it excludes the surviving spouse or domestic partner community property interest, which can bring an estate inside the route that looks far too large from the outside. Forty days must have passed since the death, and written notice must have gone to all other successors at least ten days before the affidavit is used.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The Washington State Legislature publishes the Revised Code of Washington with a stable address for each section.
- Attorney fee — RCW 11.48.210 app.leg.wa.govVerified 2 Aug 2026 · last amended 2026 c 204 s 7 · annual statutory re-check
- Personal representative’s compensation and the renunciation rule — RCW 11.48.210 app.leg.wa.govVerified 2 Aug 2026 · same section as the attorney fee · annual statutory re-check
- Court filing fee and its surcharges — RCW 36.18.020(2)(f), (5)(c) and (6) app.leg.wa.govVerified 2 Aug 2026 · cited 2025 c 357 s 1 and 2022 c 260 s 17 · total computed from the three subsections, not printed as one
- The clerk’s other charges, and the county-ordinance rule — RCW 36.18.016(4), (8), (9), (12), (23) and (27) app.leg.wa.govVerified 2 Aug 2026 · cited 2026 c 33 s 1 · annual statutory re-check
- Publication, and that it is optional — RCW 11.40.020 app.leg.wa.govVerified 2 Aug 2026 · the creditor deadline in RCW 11.40.051 was not read and no period is stated on this page
- Bond — RCW 11.28.185 app.leg.wa.govVerified 2 Aug 2026 · last amended 2026 c 204 s 3 · annual statutory re-check
- Small-estate affidavit — RCW 11.62.010(1) and (2) app.leg.wa.govVerified 2 Aug 2026 · RCW 11.62.005 defines successor and was not read · 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 Washington. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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