Form PA1A - Letters of Administration (Electronic Signature)

Trusts Discussion
1

I am dealing with an intestate estate, one of the intended administrator’s lives in Australia and due to conflict with the other intended administrator, both are insisting on signing the form.

I located guidance from HMCTS dated 2020 and on Practical Law dated 2020 that electronic signatures are being accepted. This was verified with the Probate line yesterday. I called the helpline again today to find out if an electronic signature via DocuSign would be accepted to be told it is not possible for it to be signed electronically at all!

Has anyone relied on an electronic signature recently or aware of the change in guidance on signatures since 2020? If so, how did you instruct the application to sign electronically?

Appreciate the help.

Kind regards
Rebecca

2

Way past the time you probably needed this answer but I found your question when searching myself and thought I would share this from November 2025: Applying for grants of probate as a legal professional | The Law Society. There is an FAQ that includes scenarios