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Kent, England Probate Jurisdictions

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England Gotoarrow.png Kent Gotoarrow.png Kent Probate Records.

Getting Started[edit | edit source]

Probate is the legal court process by which the estate of a deceased person is distributed to his or her heirs. The term probate refers to a collection of documents, including wills, administrations (also called admons), inventories, and act books. This article is about probate records in Kent. See England Probate Records for a general description of probate records in England.

1858 to the Present[edit | edit source]


Before 1858[edit | edit source]

  • Links to Kent places. Here is the list of Kent places from A to Z of the pre-1858 courts that had probate jurisdiction over each.


The courts listed for each place are those that had jurisdiction over probating wills prior to 1858. To use this table, follow these steps.
1. Find the place where your ancestor lived in the first column.
2. Click on the court name in the second column to learn where to find the records and indexes.
3. Click on each name of the court in the third column if the record isn't found in the first court.
4. Search last the Prerogative Court of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Before 1858, Church of England ecclesiastical courts had authority for this process. To search for a pre-1858 probate record in Kent follow these steps:

Step 1. Search Indexes[edit | edit source]

Here are some online indexes to probate records that include individuals who lived in Kent.  Search these indexes first:




The gazetteer will either tell you:

  • A place is a parish, or
  • What parish it is a part of, or
  • What place it is near.


Once you have identified the parish, go to Step 3.


Once you have identified the parish where your ancestor lived or died, learn which courts had jurisdiction over it then search indexes for those courts. Every town and parish in Kent fell under the probate jurisdiction of a primary court and several secondary courts. Click on a link below for the letter the parish begins with. If no will is found, your ancestor may not have left one.