Accredited official statistics

Family Court Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2024

Updated 7 April 2025

© Crown copyright 2025

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1. Main Points
On average, care proceedings took less time than in the same quarter last year with more disposals within 26 weeks. The average time for a care or supervision case to reach first disposal was 38 weeks in October to December 2024 , down 3 weeks compared to the same quarter in 2023. 37% of cases were disposed of within 26 weeks - up 3 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023 . The average time to first disposal throughout 2024 was 40 weeks, down 2 weeks from 2023. 34% of cases were disposed of within 26 weeks, up 5 percentage points compared to 2023.
There were 24,171 divorce applications under the no fault divorce legislation this quarter Between October to December 2024 there were 24,171 applications made (74% from sole applicants, 26% from joint applicants), including those for dissolution of civil partnerships. Annually, there were 108,657 divorce applications made and 105,449 final orders granted throughout 2024, down 4% and up 2% respectively compared to 2023 (across both no fault divorce and prior legislation).
Increase in domestic violence remedy applications, with a decrease in the orders made. The number of domestic violence remedy order applications increased by 2% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023, while the number of orders made decreased by less than 1% over the same period. There were 30,823 applications and 36,962 orders made throughout 2024, down 2% and similar to 2023 respectively compared to 2023.
Decrease in the number of both adoption applications and orders. Annually, there were 4,099 applications and 4,264 orders for adoption in 2024, down 4% and up 2% respectively from 2023. The reduction was also seen in the latest quarter, compared with the same period a year earlier.
There were 4,763 orders relating to deprivation of liberty under the Mental Capacity Act this quarter There were 2,044 applications under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 relating to deprivation of liberty in October to December 2024. There were 8,016 applications and 12,042 orders relating to deprivation of liberty throughout 2024. Please note that a new data system can into effect in July 2024 and comparisons to the previous data are not recommended.
Decrease in time taken for probate grants issued Probate grants took approximately 7 weeks (mean average) to be issued after the application was submitted during October to December 2024, down around 7 weeks on the equivalent quarter in 2023. This is while the number of applications increased by 5% over the same period. Annually probate grants took approximately 9 weeks (mean average) to be issued after the application was submitted during 2024, down just over 4 weeks on the equivalent quarter in 2023.

This publication presents statistics on activity in the family courts of England and Wales and provides figures for the latest quarter (October to December 2024). Also, the bulletin provides additional commentary on annual changes between 2023 and 2024. For further information and technical details please refer to the accompanying Guide to Family Court Statistics.

For feedback related to the content of this publication, please let us know at familycourt.statistics@justice.gov.uk

2. Additions:

This quarter a new table (Table 26) - “Probate service caseload” has been introduced to the series which provides a breakdown of open caseloads and the age of these cases.

3. Data Quality Issues

The rollout of reform in family courts introduced a new data management system, Core Case Data (CCD), to collect family data. As each service area undergoes reform, existing cases stay on the legacy system FamilyMan (FM) until they are disposed or closed, while new cases are recorded on CCD with some key details copied back to FM.

Following family public law (FPL) undergoing this reform process and work done to amalgamate both FM and CCD there have been changes to some of the reports. These are:

  • The total number of public law applications made has been discontinued as this related directly to the way applications were entered onto the legacy system Familyman. CCD works differently and so this data no longer exists for Public Law cases. (Table 2)

  • We are no longer able to split Child Arrangement and Section 8 orders (Contact/residence/prohibited steps and specific issue orders) into their specific subtypes. The number of unsplit orders for the full time series has been provided. Note that a single unsplit order can contain multiple order subtypes so the sum of the order subtypes does not equal the number of unsplit orders. We have also improved the assignment of interim and on-interim orders by merging the interim orders for these order types with the non-interim orders. (Table 3 and 4)

  • Data quality checks carried out during migration from FamilyMan to CCD has revealed an error in the order volumes in the old system, these have now been corrected therefore some orders may have lower volumes compared to those in previous publications (Table 4). Please treat figures from earlier in the series with caution.

  • Some cases in FamilyMan were mistakenly being entered as high court cases. This has now been corrected in CCD therefore the number of high court cases may be lower compared to those in previous publications (Table 7). Please treat figures from earlier in the time series with caution.

Data for divorce hearings for Q2 (Apr-Jun) 2022 onwards (Tables 11 and 13) also cannot be maintained due to the capability of collecting the hearings data for new divorce law not yet being available and the limited reasons for contesting a divorce case within the new law.

Following Reform and transition to a new data platform, additional work is needed to reinstate timeliness and legal representation figures for financial remedy cases in Tables 10 and 11. These series will be reinstated as soon as possible.

The forced marriage and FGM data used in this publication (Table 16 and 17) are extracted from HMCTS’ management information system One Performance Truth. Recent data validation has confirmed that this system does not include all applications/orders made. We are reviewing the data available, and these tables will be modified accordingly from next quarter.

Court of Protection figures under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (Table 20 and 21) have been reintroduced in this publication, following the transition to a new data system in July 2024. However, due to improved recording practices and several changes to the categorisations published, it is not recommended that comparisons to data prior to Q3 2024 be made.

4. Statistician’s comment

Cases starting in the family courts have dropped by 1% in 2024 compared to 2023, continuing to fall from the peak seen in 2022. The decrease in 2024 is driven by matrimonial matters, with small increases seen in financial remedy cases, as well as both public and private law cases. There has been an 5% increase in cases closed in 2024, driven by financial remedy, domestic violence remedy, private law and matrimonial matters cases.

Data on public law cases shows that care proceedings showed more disposals within 26 weeks during 2024, and private law cases were also disposed of quicker compared to 2023.

The number of grants issued by the Probate Service during 2024 (up 18% from the previous year) is a series high, and the average time for all grant types from application submission to grant issue was 10 weeks during 2024, nearly 4 weeks quicker than the previous year.

5. Overview of the Family Justice System

During October to December 2024, there were increases in most case types: financial remedy, public law, private law and domestic violence cases; at the same time there have been decreases in matrimonial and adoption case starts.

Over the same period, cases reaching a final disposal have increased by 23%. This was due to increases in most case types: private law (3%), financial remedy (30%), domestic violence (17%), matrimonial (2%) and public law (2%) cases. Adoption cases reaching a final disposal decreased by 7%. (Table 1)

Figure 1: Cases started and disposed, by case type, January to March 2013 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 1)

In October to December 2024, over 40% of new cases within family courts related to matrimonial matters, down 1 percentage point from equivalent quarter of 2023.

During 2024, there were 259,688 new cases started in Family courts, down 1% from 2023.

Timeliness by Case Type

The mean average time for divorce cases (under the no fault divorce law) was up 2 weeks compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. Private law cases took less time, with the mean average time to first disposal in October to December 2024 taking 28 weeks, down nearly 2 weeks compared to the same period in 2023. (Tables 10, 10b)

Across all of 2024, the average time for no fault divorce cases to reach first disposal was up 4 weeks from 2023, to 35 weeks. By contrast, private law cases saw a decrease between 2023 and 2024 of 2 weeks, taking the average to 29 weeks. (Tables 10, 10b)

Public and private law cases – number of parties

The vast majority of private law cases involve one applicant and one respondent only (Table 6). However, for public law cases whilst nearly all cases have only one applicant, 82% involve two or more respondents.


HMCTS monthly management information

The statistics in this publication focus on the period between October to December 2024; however, monthly management information (MI) has been published by HMCTS that covers up to January 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-january-2025. This MI is subject to the data quality issues associated with extracting data from large live administrative case management systems. Late reporting of cases and regular updating of case details, which can lead to the figures being updated to manage the case - more recent figures may therefore be subject to larger revisions and should be treated with greater care and considered provisional.

6. Children Act - Public Law

Increase in the number of public law case starts and cases disposed

There were 4,002 public law cases starting in October to December 2024, up 3% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. Cases disposed were up 2% to 3,959 (Table 2).

Average time for care proceedings decreased

The average time for a care and supervision case to reach first disposal was 38 weeks in October to December 2024, down 3 weeks from the same quarter in 2023. 37% of these care proceedings were disposed of within the 26-week limit introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014, up 3 percentage points from the same period last year (Table 8).

There were 6,792 individual children involved in new public law applications in October to December 2024, similar to the same quarter in the previous year, while the number of orders applied for increased by 1%. In October to December 2024, public law care applications made up 66% of public law orders applied for (3,068) (Figure 2).

Looking at annual trends, there were 15,980 public law cases started in 2024, up 3% from 2023, whilst the number of cases disposed decreased by 4% over the same period to 15,852. Total orders applied for were similar to 2023, with 18,357 in total involving 26,725 individual children.

The average time for a care or supervision case to reach first disposal was 40 weeks in 2024, down 2 weeks from 2023. 34% of these care proceedings were disposed of within the 26-week limit - up 4 percentage points compared to 2023.

Figure 2 shows the most common types of public law orders applied for and made in October to December 2024, illustrating the different pattern between the types of orders applied for and the orders that are given, i.e. an application for one type can result in an order of a different type being made.

Figure 2: Public law applications and orders made, by order type, October to December 2024 (Source: Table 3-4)

7. Children Act - Private Law

Increase in the number of private law case starts and cases disposed

The number of private law cases[footnote 1] started increased by 2% (to 12,361) in October to December 2024 compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. The number of applications made increased by 2% over the same period.

The number of private law cases disposed of during October to December 2024 was up 3% on the equivalent quarter in 2023, with the number of disposals down by 6% (Table 2).

There were 12,863 new private law applications made in October to December 2024, up 2% on the equivalent quarter in 2023, with 18,882 individual children involved in these applications.

The number of private law disposals in October to December 2024 was 39,815, down 6% on the equivalent quarter in 2023.

Annually, there were 51,473 private law cases started in 2024, up 1% from 2023, whilst the number of cases disposed increased by 5% over the same period to 47,170. In 2024 there was a 1% increase in private law applications compared to 2023.

Timeliness of Private law cases

In October to December 2024, it took on average 42 weeks for private law cases to reach a final order, i.e. case closure, down 3 weeks from the same period in 2023 (Table 9).

Overall, it took 42 weeks on average for private law cases to reach final order during 2024, compared to 45 weeks in 2023.

Figure 3: Private law timeliness from case start date to final order in the family court, January to March 2013 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 9)

Cases with legal representation take longer on average

In general, cases where either both parties or the respondent only had legal representation took longer to be disposed of than those cases where only the applicant was represented or where both parties were without legal representation (Table 10).

Legal representation in Private law cases

The implementation of the LASPO Act led to a shift in the proportion of private law cases involving legal representation[footnote 2],[footnote 3]. More recently, the proportions have been relatively stable - in October to December 2024, the proportion of disposals where neither the applicant nor respondent had legal representation was 38%, down 2 percentage points from October to December 2023.

The proportion of cases where both parties had legal representation was 18% in October to December 2024, down 2 percentage points compared to the same period in 2023 (Figure 4).

For 2024, neither the applicant nor the respondent was represented in 39% of private law cases, whilst both had legal representation in 19% of private law cases. Both percentages are unchanged from 2023.

Figure 4: Proportion of private law disposals by type of legal representation of the parties, January to March 2013 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 10)

The change seen in the pattern of legal representation is also demonstrated in private law cases with at least one hearing where the proportion of parties with legal representation stood at 59% in October to December 2012 compared to 29% in October to December 2024.

The proportion of parties with legal representation in cases with at least one hearing varies by case type and range from around 84% for public law cases to 2% for adoption cases, with figures subject to change as new cases progress (Table 11). Across the whole of 2024 the proportions were similar to the final quarter, with a range from around 84% for public law to 4% for adoption.

9. Divorce

There were 24,171 divorce applications made between October to December 2024 under the ‘no fault divorce’ (NFD) legislation

Between October to December 2024 there were 24,171 applications made (74% from sole applicants, 26% from joint applicants) (Table 12b). This was a decrease of 2% from the same quarter in 2023.

There were 23,413 final orders granted in October to December 2024 up 2% compared to the same quarter in 2023 (across both no fault divorce and prior legislation) (Table 12).

Increase in the average time for all divorce proceedings

In October to December 2024, the mean average time from application to conditional order was 45 weeks up 3 weeks from the same quarter of 2023 (Table 12).

The mean average time from application to final order was 70 weeks, up 2 weeks from the equivalent quarter in 2023.

Please note that, due to the mandatory waiting period between applying for divorce and applying for the conditional order (CO), this means that any NFD cases started would have had to have waited at least 20 weeks before getting to the CO stage. For cases applied for under the old law, our timeliness measure will represent a dwindling number of cases and reflect the tail end of cases applied for some time ago, and by definition this measure will be relatively high and will increase over time (and represent fewer cases) until all cases applied for under the old law are dealt with.

Annually, applications were down 4% in 2024 compared to 2023 and final orders were up by 2%. There were 108,657 applications under the NFD law in 2024, 75% of these applications were made under a sole applicant.There were also 103,253 conditional orders and 94,243 final orders made under the NFD law in 2024.

Digital divorce cases

For digital divorce cases (i.e. those dealt with in the Courts and Tribunals Service Centres that are digital at all stages), there were 23,517 applications made during October to December 2024 (97% of the total, up from 95% in the same period of 2023). The average time to conditional order (91% of the total) for October to December 2024 was 37 weeks, and 57 weeks from application to final order (89% of the total).

In 2024, digital divorce cases made up 96% of applications compared to 95% in 2023. Digital divorce cases also accounted for 92% of conditional orders and 89% of final orders, from 90% and 83% the year before.

Sole and Joint divorce cases

For sole divorce cases, there were 17,851 applications made during October to December 2024 (74% of the total down 2 percentage points from the same period of 2023). The average time to conditional order for October to December 2024 for these cases was 38 weeks, and 54 weeks from application to final order.

For joint divorce cases, there were 6,320 applications made during October to December 2024 (26% of the total up 2 percentage points from the same period of 2023). The average time to conditional order for October to December 2024 for these cases was 32 weeks, and 47 weeks from application to final order.

Figure 5: Divorce applications made between Q2 2022 to Q4 2024, by applicant type (Source: Table 12b)

10. Financial Remedy

Increase seen in financial remedy applications and disposals events

In October to December 2024, the number of financial remedy applications was up 5% and the number of disposal events was up 29% compared to the same period in 2023 (Table 14).

There were 11,023 financial remedy applications made in October to December 2024, up 5% from the same period in 2023, while there were 12,806 financial remedy disposals events, up 29% compared with a year earlier. During the latest quarter, 74% of applications were uncontested and 26% were contested.

Across 2024 as a whole, there were 45,564 financial remedy applications, up 3% from 2023. Similarly, the number of financial remedy disposals was up 15% to 47,164.

Figure 6: Applications for financial remedy orders, January to March 2013 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 14)

11. Domestic Violence Remedy Orders

Increase in the number of domestic violence remedy applications, with minimal change in orders made

In October to December 2024, there was a 2% increase in applications made compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. The number of orders made showed little change over the same period. The overall picture highlights a longer-term increase in the number of applications, with the number of applications in the latest quarter almost double those made since the series began in 2011 (Table 15).

In October to December 2024, there were 7,606 domestic violence remedy applications, (up by 2% on the same quarter in 2023), requesting a total of 8,792 orders (multiple orders can be applied for in a single application). Most of the orders applied for were non-molestation orders (83%) compared to occupation orders (17%); these proportions have remained relatively consistent in recent years. Applications for non-molestation orders in October to December 2024 were up, by 3% whereas applications for occupation orders were down, by 3% respectively, compared to the same period in 2023.

There were 8,922 domestic violence orders made in October to December 2024, similar to the same period last year. 93% were non-molestation orders and 7% were occupation orders, with numbers remaining similar to the equivalent quarter in 2023.

In 2024, 30,823 applications were made for domestic violence remedies, down 2% compared to 2023 requesting a total of 35,514 orders. There were 36,962 orders made, similar to the previous year. Non-molestation orders formed 83% of orders applied for and 93% of orders made, whilst occupation orders comprised 17% and 7% of the totals respectively.

Figure 7: Domestic violence remedy orders applied for, January to March 2013 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 15)

12. Forced Marriage Protection Orders and Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders

Long term upward trend in the number of forced marriage protection orders and female genital mutilation protection orders (Table 16 and 17)

The number of applications and orders made for forced marriage protection orders (FMPOs) is very small. Consequently, numbers fluctuate each quarter but overall, there has broadly been a long-term upward trend from their introduction in November 2008 until the end of 2019 with a less pronounced increase thereafter.

In October to December 2024, there were 90 applications made, of which 78% of applications were for people aged 17 and under. Over the same period, there were 108 orders made, up 26% since the same period from the previous year.

In 2024, 242 applications were made for FMPOs, down 16% compared to 2023. There were 412 orders made, similar to the previous year.

Historically the numbers of orders made outweigh the number of applications. Often there are multiple orders granted per case, where one application covers more than one person, and an order is granted for each person covered in the application. Extensions and increased provision of previous orders can also be granted as new orders, without the need for a new application to be submitted.

An increase in the number of orders does not necessarily represent an increase in the prevalence of forced marriage, but potentially it relates to a greater awareness of forced marriage being a crime and the support available. Particularly during 2019 where the government held events with relevant groups (local authorities, police, charities etc.), designed specifically to raise awareness of FMPOs and how they can be used to protect those at risk. In 2020, health education became compulsory across all state-funded schools in England, where Relationship Education is compulsory in primary schools and Relationship and Sex Education (RES) is compulsory in secondary schools to spread awareness of forced marriages.

Figure 8: Applications and orders made for Forced Marriage Protection Orders, January to March 2013 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 16)

As with FMPOs, the number of applications and orders made for female genital mutilation protection orders (FGMPOs) is very small, with only 7 applications and 7 orders made respectively in October to December 2024 (Table 17). In total, there have been 649 applications and 909 orders made up to end of December 2024, since their introduction in July 2015.

In using data from this section, please remain mindful of the cavats outlined in the Data Quality Issues section and apply some caution.

13. Adoptions

Decrease in the number of adoption applications and orders, consistent with the long-term trend showing a fall in adoptions

During October to December 2024, there were 1,003 adoption applications made, down 10% from the equivalent quarter in 2023. Over the same period, the number of adoption orders issued also decreased by 7% to 989 (Tables 18 and 19).

During 2024 there were 4,099 adoption applications made, down 4% from 2023. This continues the downward trend seen in applications made since 2014. There were 4,264 adoption orders issued in 2024, up 2% compared to 2023.

There were 1,762 total disposals in October to December 2024, a decrease of 7% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023. There were 7,992 applications under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 in 2024, down 6% from 2023 and continuing the downward trend seen in applications made since 2013

The chart below shows the trend of adoption orders by the type of adopter. This shows that during October to December 2024, 51% of all adoption orders were issued to mixed-sex couples, 23% to sole applicants, 18% to same-sex couples and 6% to step-parents.

Figure 9: Adoption orders issued, by adopter, January to March 2013 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 19)

14. Mental Capacity Act - Court of Protection

There are two figures related to deprivation of liberty. The first are those made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which cover people over 18 and are made by the Court of Protection, and the second refers to the ability of the High Court to make deprivation of liberty orders for people under 18. The figures in this section refer to the former.

There were 2,044 applications relating to deprivation of liberty under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 made in the most recent quarter. Furthermore, the number of orders made for deprivation of liberty was 4,763.

Court of Protection figures under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (Table 20 and 21) have been reintroduced in this publication, following the transition to a new data system in July 2024. However, due to improved recording practices and several changes to the categorisations published, it is not possible to make robust comparisons to data prior to this time.

In October to December 2024, there were 9,381 applications made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Of those, 34% related to applications for appointment of a property and affairs deputy (Table 20).

In comparison, there were 10,829 orders made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Of those, 44% related to orders for Deprivation of Liberty (Table 21).

Deprivation of Liberty applications made under the Mental Capacity Act

There were 2,044 applications relating to deprivation of liberty under the Mental Capacity Act in October to December 2024. This is 22% of the applications made under the Mental Capacity Act in the quarter.

Deprivation of Liberty applications made under the High Court

There are also deprivation of liberty applications made to the High Court, which has the power to make deprivation of liberty orders for children under the age of 18. There were 321 applications during October to December 2024, up 13% compared to the same period in 2013, for this purpose, handling the same number of children. Almost all of these children were teenagers; 53% aged between 13 and 15 and 37% aged between 16 and 18 years (Table 22).

In October to December 2024, 294 orders were issued (up 5%), of which, 149 have had a final order made. 30% of the orders which were finalised between October to December 2024 lasted less than 3 months, while 14% lasted more than 12 months.

These are different from the deprivation of liberty applications and orders made under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which relate to people over the age of 18. This means that the changes that affected data quality for deprivation of liberty applications made under the Mental Capacity Act do not affect the applications here.

In 2024 there were 1,280 deprivation of liberty applications and 1,151 orders made under the High Court.

Applications for appointment of a property and affairs deputy represented the highest proportion of orders made under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) during 2024, totalling 25% of the 50,418 made throughout the year.

15. Mental Capacity Act - Office of the Public Guardian

Continued increasing trend in Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)

In October to December 2024, there were 321,302 LPAs registered and up 2% compared to the equivalent quarter in 2023 (Table 23).

In total there were 322,498 Powers of Attorney (POAs) registered in October to December 2024, up 2% from the same quarter in 2023 (Table 23). In October to December 2024, 56% of POAs registered were from female donors whilst 42% were from male donors and 49% were over 75 years old. Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs) made up almost all (99.6%) of POAs registered in October to December 2024, with Enduring Powers of Attorney (EPAs) making up the other share. There were 1,196 EPAs registered in October to December 2024, down 3% on the equivalent quarter in 2023.

Annually, there were 1,490,584 LPAs registered in 2024, up 28% compared to the previous year. There were 5,474 EPAs in 2024, down 10% on 2023. In total, there were 1,496,058 Powers of Attorney in 2024, up 28% from the year before and the highest total in this time series.

The sharp increase in LPAs seen during 2015 and 2016 was largely due to increased publicity and the new online forms introduced in July 2015 making it simpler and faster to apply. The more recent increase in LPAs is part of the trend seen of more applications being made over time as awareness of LPAs has increased and also in response to the pandemic.

Figure 10: Powers of attorney registered, January to March 2013 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 22)

16. Probate Service

Probate grants issued more quickly than other grants of representation

Probate grants took approximately 7 weeks to be issued after the application was submitted during October to December 2024, down around 7 weeks from the equivalent quarter in 2023. Letters of administration with a will and without a will took around 18 and 10 weeks respectively (Table 25).

Similar levels in the proportion of digital applications for probate grants with an increase in the proportion of probate grants issued made digitally

In October to December 2024, there were 55,256 applications for probate grants. 57,664 probate grants were issued in the same period. 90% of these applications and 91% of these grants issued were made digitally, compared to 91% and 89% respectively in the same quarter in 2023 (Table 24).

There were 70,359 applications made for grants of representation in October to December 2024. 55,256 (79%) of these were for probate grants, of which 90% were made digitally (Table 24).

Probate grants also make up the majority (78%) of all grants issued. In October to December 2024, 58% of the grants issued were applied for by legal professionals and 42% were personal applications (Table 24). For the 57,664 probate grants issued in the same period, 91% were issued digitally.

During 2024, there were 297,692 applications made for grants of representation, down 2% on 2023. There was a total of 328,460 grants of representation issued, up 18% on 2023. Probate grants made up 81% of all the grants of representation issued in 2024.

Annually there were 238,416 applications for probate grants and 265,566 probate grants issued in 2024, down 1% and up 21% respectively from 2023.

Timeliness of probate grants

The mean average time from application submission to grant issue for probate grants was 7 weeks (median average 3 weeks) overall. The mean time between application submission and grant being issued is the lowest it’s been since the end of 2022. Whilst the mean average time for the majority of grants (digital probate grants for applications not stopped which formed 67% of total probate grants issued) took approximately 3 weeks from application submission to grant issue and 0 weeks from document receipt to grant issue.

Timeliness of grants issued can be affected if the case has been ‘stopped’ for any reason (which can occur when there’s a dispute about either who can apply for probate or issues with a will or proposed will, or if an error is identified and a request for further information made). Probate grants that were stopped during October to December 2024 took 15 weeks on average to be issued, compared to 3 weeks for those that were not stopped.

When looking at the time from document receipt (i.e. when payment has been made and the application and all accompanying documents are ready for examination) to grant issue, this is around 3 weeks quicker than the average time from application submission for probate grants.

Averages for letters of administration with a will and without a will were 18 and 10 weeks respectively for October to December 2024, though these formed a smaller proportion of all grants issued, 5% and 17% respectively (Figure 12).

Figure 11: Average (mean) time for grants of representation issued from application submission by the Probate Service, July to September 2019 to October to December 2024 (Source: Table 24)[footnote 5]

When a probate case is contested, the Chancery Division of the High Court deals with the matter. In 2024 there were 125 contested probate cases, up from 122 cases in 2023.

Open caseload

There were 39,142 total open probate cases at the end of December 2024. This is down from 77,904 at the end of 2023, a fall of nearly 50%. The majority of the open caseload is for probate grants (66%), compared to letters of administration (26%) and letters of administration with a will annexed (8%). Open cases for probate only decreased from 56,823 in 2023 to 25,808, down by 54%.

79% (30,992) of the open caseload at the end of December 2024 had been open for less than six months.

17. Further information

The data presented in this publication are from live administrative databases. Therefore, previously published data is liable to be updated in the latest bulletin, following any further data cleaning or the incorporation of additional cases not available in the extracts used to produce previous bulletins.

Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

Accredited official statistics status

Accredited official statistics are called National Statistics in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in January 2019. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

It is the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for accredited official statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. Accredited official statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:

Tel: 0300 790 0711
Email: newsdesk@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to the Data and Evidence as a Service division of the Ministry of Justice:

Rita Kumi-Ampofo, Head of Access to Justice Data and Statistics, using the following email address familycourt.statistics@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 26 June 2025

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly

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Produced by the Ministry of Justice

Alternative formats are available on request from ESD@justice.gov.uk

  1. See the accompanying technical guide for more information. ↩

  2. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) also publishes (England only) data on the number of private law cases. A comparison of Cafcass and MoJ data and further information can be found in the accompanying guide. ↩

  3. Please see the accompanying guide for further details. ↩

  4. Due to quality issues in the transition between data systems, the breakdown by type of grants of representation for Q2 2019 were rounded estimates only, with the average distribution across 2016 to 2018 applied to the known total. These estimates then feed into the total for 2019. ↩

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