There are six steps to placing a deceased estates notice:

1. Obtain at least one of the following documents: grant of probate, letter of administration or death certificate, which you will need when placing the notice.

2. Create an account or sign in: as a deceased estates notice placer, create an account or sign in here

3. Select the appropriate notice: go to 'Place a notice' from the 'My Gazette' drop down. Select the appropriate Gazette edition, then 'Personal Legal' and 'Deceased Estates'

4. Complete the form: Fill out the remaining fields, including uploading the required documentation. See our price list to find the cost of placing a notice.

5. Select additional services: Select the additional services you want to include as part of your order:

   • PO Box forwarding service: ensure your address remains private

     Our forwarding service replaces your address with The Gazette's postal box, so we can forward all correspondence to you, while your address stays private. Bear in mind that if you don't take this service, your address will be permanently recorded in the public domain.

     All correspondence received will be scanned and securely stored, then sent on to you from The Gazette. Summary letters confirming the number of claims received (if any) will be sent to you at the end of the claims period, and at the end of the 10-month service period. Scanned copies of any claims received will be stored for an additional 6 months after the service has ended - the information will then be deleted.

   • Place a notice in local newspapers

     You can also submit your newspaper advertisement through The Gazette. We offer a simple, flat rate to place your advertisement in a newspaper that is local to the deceased. You will be provided with a pdf copy of the advert.

   • Buy a voucher copy for your records

     You can also buy a pdf or printed copy of your notice, if required.

6. Submit your notice and check out.

As an executor, you are responsible for dealing with any claims against the estate. After you receive a grant of representation (grant of probate), it is recommended in law that you place an advertisement in The Gazette to find creditors who are owed money by the estate (under the Trustee Act 1925 for England and Wales, the Confirmation of Executors Act 1823 for Scotland, and the Trustee Act 1958 in Northern Ireland). It is also recommended that you put a statutory advertisement in a local newspaper if in England and Wales or Northern Ireland.

A deceased estates notice is an advertisement placed in The Gazette which contains the details of a deceased person and the executor/administrator, so that any person with a claim against (or an interest in) the deceased person's estate can come forward.

Placing a deceased estates notice demonstrates that enough effort has been made to locate creditors before distributing an estate to its beneficiaries (the people who will inherit the estate). This protects the executor from being personally responsible for money owed to any unidentified creditors.

If you don't place a notice and a creditor comes forward after the estate has been distributed, then you may have to pay the creditor yourself.

Creating an account as an authorised notice placer will give you options for submitting multiple notices. See our create an account page for more details.

For more information, see Policies relating to the submission of notices and Terms and conditions.

Once the deceased estates notice has been placed, creditors have 2 months and 1 day to make a claim against the estate.

See our duties of an executor for how to manage the probate process and finalise an estate.