How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in Maryland?

In Maryland, the Register of Wills appoints the personal representative and the Register of Wills issues Letters of Administration; an informal (registrar) track is available.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in Maryland

Personal Representative

The form that opens the estate

RW1112

Petition for Administration · Fillable PDF · View source

Start this petition for Maryland — the builder fills it with your answers. You review, sign, and file it with the court.

Where you file

What the court issues (with a will)

Letters of Administration

issued by Register of Wills

Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.

At a glance

UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filing (self-represented)Self-represented filingLocal/county forms

Probate is filed on paper with the Register of Wills for the county (or Baltimore City) where the decedent was domiciled — there is no Register of Wills e-filing portal. Intake channels are set by each local office and differ: in-person (often by appointment), mail, and a courthouse drop box are the common routes, and SOME offices additionally accept a PDF filing by email while others expressly refuse it. Maryland Electronic Courts (MDEC) is the Judiciary's e-filing system for its trial courts; it is not a Register of Wills probate intake channel. A product can prepare and assemble the packet, but the filer must deliver it to the local office. Confirm the accepted submission method with the specific Register of Wills office before filing.

Bond

Required before Letters: Yes
Waivable by will: Yes
Waivable by beneficiaries: Yes

Other official forms

Informal application: RW1112View source

What to file with the petition

Proof of death: a death certificate (original or copy); other proof of death if a death certificate is not yet available
Original will and any codicils, if any (filed with the petition)
Schedule A (RW1136) for a regular estate; Schedule B (RW1137) for a small estate
List of Interested Persons (RW1104), naming the heirs and legatees with addresses — due no later than 20 days after appointment (Est. & Trusts § 7-104); local offices commonly take it with the petition
Consent to Appointment of Personal Representative (RW1118) from interested persons with equal or higher priority, if the petitioner is not the named/highest-priority person (Est. & Trusts § 5-104)
Appointment of Resident Agent (RW1106) if the personal representative resides outside Maryland
Bond unless expressly excused by the will or by written waiver of all interested persons on a Waiver of Bond (RW1117) (Est. & Trusts § 6-102); in a REGULAR estate either a Nominal Bond (RW1116) or a Personal Representative Bond (RW1115) is required in every case

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: No
Form: RW1103View source
Form name: Petition for Administration (Small Estate)

State-specific notes

Maryland uses one base 'Petition for Administration' form published under four RW numbers by estate type: RW1112 (Regular Estate, with Schedule A RW1136), RW1103 (Small Estate, with Schedule B RW1137), RW1135 (Will of No Estate), and RW1147 (Limited Order, with Schedule C RW1148). All four are the same two-page instrument (Rev. 07/01/2024) with a different estate-type box pre-checked. The same petition requests administrative probate (no hearing, before the Register of Wills) or judicial probate (before the Orphans' Court, used when the will's validity is questioned, the will is damaged, or more than one qualified person applies). Maryland issues 'Letters of Administration' for both testate and intestate estates — there is no separate 'Letters Testamentary' terminology. A small estate is streamlined but still appoints a personal representative and still issues Letters, unlike no-letters affidavit states. There is an Orphans' Court in each of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions, but in THREE of them — Harford, Howard, and Montgomery Counties — a Circuit Court judge sits as the Orphans' Court; in the other 21, three judges chosen in partisan elections for four-year terms sit as a panel, and in 18 of those 21 jurisdictions the judges are not required to be attorneys (the Maryland Constitution requires attorney judges only in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Prince George's County). Probate fees run on a single statutory statewide schedule assessed on the value of the probate estate; small estates opened on or after 10/1/2022 owe no probate fee to the Register of Wills.

General information about how a personal representative is appointed, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions. Data verified Aug 24, 2026

Maryland uses Petition for Administration (RW1112), filed with the Register of Wills. Register of Wills issues Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, Maryland generally requires: Proof of death: a death certificate (original or copy); other proof of death if a death certificate is not yet available; Original will and any codicils, if any (filed with the petition); Schedule A (RW1136) for a regular estate; Schedule B (RW1137) for a small estate; List of Interested Persons (RW1104), naming the heirs and legatees with addresses — due no later than 20 days after appointment (Est. & Trusts § 7-104); local offices commonly take it with the petition. The court's own checklist runs longer for particular cases.

Yes. Maryland requires a bond by default before Letters issue. A will can waive it. The beneficiaries can also waive it in writing.

Maryland permits a self-represented person to open an estate, using Petition for Administration (RW1112). The Maryland self-file probate assessment sets self-filing against attorney costs.

Yes. A revocable living trust passes its assets to the beneficiaries without a court appointment in Maryland: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in Maryland

In Maryland, a personal representative is appointed by the Register of Wills. Register of Wills issues the Letters that prove authority over the estate — Letters of Administration. Maryland has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

The estate is opened by filing Petition for Administration (RW1112) with the court. The court filing fee runs $0 - $10,000+ (based on estate value), and Maryland offers an informal (registrar) appointment track for qualifying estates.

Maryland requires a bond by default before Letters issue, though a will can waive it and the beneficiaries can waive it in writing.

Estates under $50,000 in Maryland may qualify for a simplified procedure (RW1103). The self-file probate assessment carries a Maryland cost comparison.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from Maryland statutes and official state code. How we research.

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