How to Probate an Estate in Berks County

Probate is the legal process that proves a will and appoints the person who will settle a dead person's estate. In Berks County you open the estate through the Register of Wills, and the appointment is done by a scheduled video call, not at a counter. Once the office grants you the authority to act, state law puts several duties on you within the first few months. This guide covers the first steps, what they cost, the short certificates you will need, and what has to happen after you are sworn in.

The office is the Berks County Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court, on the second floor of the Berks County Services Center, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601. It is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the phone is 610-478-6600. For what the office is and the range of things it handles, see our Berks County Register of Wills guide.

Before you go to the office

1. Order the death certificate. The Pennsylvania Department of Health issues it, not the county. You need an original for probate. Our guide on birth and death certificates in Berks County explains how.
2. Find the original will and any codicil. Photocopies are not enough to probate; the office needs the signed original. If there is no will, the estate still goes through the office, and an administrator is appointed instead.
3. Work out who will serve. A will names an executor. With no will, Pennsylvania law sets who has the first right to serve as administrator, usually the surviving spouse or an adult child.
4. Estimate the estate's value. The fee for letters is tiered by the size of the estate, and the petition asks for a value, so total up the accounts, real estate, and vehicles that were in the deceased person's name alone.

The probate appointment

Berks handles all probate virtually. You send the paperwork in, the office reviews it and assigns a file number, and you meet by Microsoft Teams to be sworn in. There is no electronic filing, so signatures must be original ink. The office's instruction is direct: "We do not have electronic filing, meaning wet signatures are required for all documents."

Bring, or send in, the original will and codicil, the original death certificate, a completed Petition for Grant of Letters, photo ID for the person who will serve, an Estate Information Sheet, notarized renunciations if others with an equal right are stepping aside, and witness oaths if the will is not self-proved. Do not sign the petition in advance. You sign it during the video appointment. For the full step-by-step, see the Register of Wills guide.

When it is done, the office issues your Grant of Letters and any short certificates you ordered. The document that grants your authority is called letters testamentary when there is a will and letters of administration when there is not.

Short certificates: what they are and how many to buy

A short certificate is the one-page paper that proves you currently hold legal authority over the estate. Banks, brokerages, insurers, the state motor-vehicle bureau, and other institutions each want to see one before they will release or retitle a dead person's money or property.

Buy enough. As a rule, plan on one short certificate for each institution that holds an estate asset, plus a few spares. The office puts it plainly: "As many short certificates as necessary may be purchased from the Register's Office after the formal opening of an estate or probate of will." Each short certificate costs $10, and you can order more at any time as you discover more accounts. Some institutions also want a short certificate that was issued recently, so ask before you send an old one.

What you must do after you are sworn in

Getting the letters is the start, not the end. Pennsylvania law puts three early duties on the personal representative, the umbrella term for an executor or administrator.

1. Advertise the estate. State law (20 Pa.C.S. § 3162) requires you to publish notice of the grant of letters once a week for three weeks so creditors can come forward. In Berks the notice runs in two places: the Berks County Law Journal, the county's legal periodical, and a newspaper of general circulation such as the Reading Eagle. The notice gives your name and address and asks anyone owed money to present a claim and anyone who owes the estate to pay.
2. Notify the heirs. Under Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Rule 10.5, within three months of the grant you must send a written notice of estate administration to everyone named in the will and to the spouse, children, or intestate heirs, then file a certification with the office confirming you sent it. If you miss it, the Register can report the delinquency to the court.
3. Get a tax ID and open an estate account. The estate is its own taxpayer, so apply to the IRS for an Employer Identification Number, then use it and a short certificate to open a bank account in the estate's name. Run the estate's money through that account, not your own.

Two more filings come later in the process. You must file a verified inventory of the estate's property, due no later than when you file the estate's account or when the inheritance tax return is due, whichever comes first (20 Pa.C.S. § 3301). And you file the Pennsylvania inheritance tax return with the same office; the rates, the nine-month delinquency date, and the 5% early-payment discount are covered in our Register of Wills guide.

What it costs

The charges come from the county's Bill of Costs, the court order that sets the office's fees. The current order took effect December 1, 2025. The county posts it on its fee-schedules page under a file still named 2022, but the December 2025 effective date and the amounts below are inside the document. The fee for letters is tiered by the size of the estate:

Estate value	Fee for letters
Less than $2,500	$30
$2,501 to $5,000	$50
$5,001 to $10,000	$75
$10,001 to $25,000	$100
$25,001 to $50,000	$130
$50,001 to $75,000	$200
$75,001 to $100,000	$250
Each additional $100,000 (or part)	add $125

Other common charges: a short certificate is $10, filing the inheritance tax return is $15, filing the estate inventory is $15, and filing a petition with a proposed order is $45. Some filings add a $41.25 Pennsylvania Judicial Computer Project fee and a $17.50 Record Improvement Fund fee. These county fees do not include what you pay the newspaper and the Law Journal to run the required notices, or an attorney if you hire one.

Frequently asked questions

How long does probate take in Berks County?

The office's probate page does not list a turnaround time. The appointment is scheduled once your paperwork is reviewed, and the Grant of Letters and short certificates issue after you return the signed originals with payment. Opening the estate is quick; closing it takes much longer, because the law makes you advertise for creditors for three weeks, keep the estate open while claims and the nine-month inheritance tax deadline run, and pay debts before you distribute what is left. Call 610-478-6600 to ask about current scheduling.

How many short certificates do I need?

Order one for each bank, brokerage, insurer, or agency that holds an asset in the deceased person's name, plus two or three spares. They are $10 each, and you can buy more later, so it is cheaper to guess a little high than to run back for one.

Do I need a lawyer to probate an estate?

The Register of Wills lets the named executor or administrator file the paperwork and be sworn in without an attorney, and it processes your filing rather than giving legal advice. Estates with disputes, business interests, out-of-state property, or hard tax questions usually warrant a lawyer. The office can tell you what forms it needs, not whether you should file them.

What if there is no will?

The estate still goes through the Register of Wills, which grants letters of administration to an eligible relative. Pennsylvania's intestacy law sets who has the first right to serve and who inherits, generally starting with the surviving spouse and children.

Is there a shortcut for a very small estate?

Pennsylvania allows a simplified process for small estates below a dollar limit set by state law, which can avoid full administration. Whether an estate qualifies depends on what it holds, so ask the office at 610-478-6600 before you assume you must open a full estate.

Sources and contact

• Berks County Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court and its Probate & Estates page
• Fee Schedules page and the Bill of Costs, effective Dec. 1, 2025 (PDF)
• 20 Pa.C.S. § 3162 (advertisement of grant of letters), 231 Pa. Code Rule 10.5 (notice to beneficiaries and heirs), and 20 Pa.C.S. § 3301 (inventory)
• Berks County Law Journal legal notices
• Pennsylvania Department of Revenue — Inheritance Tax and the IRS EIN application

Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court: Berks County Services Center, 2nd Floor, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601. Phone 610-478-6600, rwills@berkspa.gov. Open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Facts in this guide were verified against the county and state sources above on September 5, 2026; fees and procedures can change, so confirm with the office before you rely on them.