Wills registered and counting
Over 10.5 million Wills are registered in the system, approximately half of all Wills in the UK.
National Will Register
Registered with the National Will Register
When you prepare a Will with us, we register it with the National Will Register at no extra cost to you.
It’s a straightforward step that can make an enormous difference when the time comes.
What is the National Will Register?
The National Will Register is the UK’s largest central database for recording the existence of Wills and details of the firm or Will writer that holds or prepared them.
Exclusively endorsed by the Law Society of England and Wales, it is the most widely used Will registration and search service in the UK, trusted by solicitors, banks, charities, and probate professionals nationwide.
Missing Wills located
1 in 5 Will searches find a Will that was presumed missing, or uncovers a later Will that supersedes the one being relied upon.
Trusted for over two decades
The Register has been in operation for over 20 years, and at peak times, one Will is registered every two seconds.
Why do we register every Will?
We register every Will we prepare as standard. We believe the job isn’t finished until your wishes are properly protected, not just written down.
Registering your Will with the National Will Register means it won’t be overlooked. Whether we store your Will or you keep it yourself, the Register provides an independent record that it exists and a reliable means to locate it, so solicitors, banks, and probate professionals can find it quickly when it matters.
An undiscovered Will is as good as no Will at all. Registration helps prevent that, reducing the risk of an older, revoked Will being acted upon by mistake and giving your executor a clear starting point at an already difficult time.
The result is simple: peace of mind that your planning won’t go to waste.
How does a Will search work?
If a loved one passes away and their family needs to locate a Will, the process is straightforward.
1 The search begins
The Register is checked against its database of over 10.5 million records to identify whether a Will has been registered.
2 A match is found
If a match is found, the Register confirms the existence of the Will and provides details of where it is held.
3 No match, no problem
If no registered Will is found, a wider REACH search can also be conducted, which targets law firms and Will writers in relevant geographical areas to look for unregistered Wills.
Your questions answered
No, it doesn’t hold a copy of your Will. It simply records that one exists, and which firm holds or prepared it, providing a clear starting point for anyone trying to trace it. The contents remain entirely private.
A search can be requested by a family member, executor, or solicitor following a person’s passing. A death certificate is required to access the information, so your details cannot be accessed during your lifetime without your consent.
No. Registration is voluntary, but it is strongly recommended as best practice by leading bodies, including the Law Society. At ELM, we include it as standard because we believe it is the responsible thing to do.
If you update or rewrite your Will with ELM, we update the registration at the same time. This ensures the register always reflects your most recent and valid Will.
Get in touch
We’re here to help you put the right plans in place for the future.
For support with Wills, Trusts, LPAs or Probate, please complete our contact form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.