How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in Minnesota?

In Minnesota, the District Court appoints the personal representative and the Probate Registrar in informal proceedings issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of General Administration; an informal (registrar) track is available.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in Minnesota

Personal Representative

The form that opens the estate

PRO1202 (with a will) / PRO1102 (without a will)

Petition for Formal Probate of Will and for Formal Appointment of Personal Representative (PRO1202); Petition for Formal Adjudication of Intestacy, Determination of Heirs, and Appointment of Personal Representative (PRO1102) · Print-only PDF (no fill-in fields) · View source

Where you file

District Court (Probate Division); informal cases handled by the Probate Registrar

What the court issues (with a will)

Letters Testamentary

issued by Probate Registrar in informal proceedings

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

eFS (eFile and eServe) is mandatory for attorneys, government agencies, and guardians ad litem in all 87 counties, but optional for self-represented litigants, who may file on paper at or by mail to the courthouse. Once a filer has filed a document through eFS into a case, they must continue using eFS for the rest of that case. Note: Minnesota Guide & File (the guided-interview portal) offers 9 interviews (conciliation court, divorce, eviction, eviction answer, affidavit of service, harassment restraining order, order for protection, juvenile-protection attorney request, fee waiver) — NONE of them probate. There is no online guided probate-petition tool; the PRO-series forms are print-and-file PDFs (Word DOCX is the only editable format offered).

The appointment petition/application forms are statewide PRO-series forms — no county publishes its own petition. But counties layer local requirements on top. Hennepin County (Fourth Judicial District) requires self-represented informal filers to file its county-only "Waiver of Legal Advice by Pro Se" form plus a copy of a photo ID with the PRO702/PRO802 application and PRO902 acceptance/oath, and to run an MCRO public-access search of the decedent's name for demands for notice before filing. Ramsey County (Second Judicial District) publishes no local probate forms — its probate-forms page now points filers to the statewide set.

Bond

Required before Letters: No
Waivable by will: Yes
Waivable by beneficiaries: Yes

Other official forms

Informal application: PRO802 (with a will) / PRO702 (without a will)View source

What to file with the petition

Death certificate of the decedent, and of any heirs or devisees who died before the decedent
Original will and any codicils (for testate estates) (Minn. Stat. § 524.2-516 custodian's duty to deliver / § 524.3-301(2)(i) filing)
Acceptance of Appointment of Personal Representative and Oath by Individual (PRO902)
Nomination of Personal Representative and/or Renunciation of Priority for Appointment, and Bond (PRO901) where applicable
Affidavit of Mailing of Notice to interested persons (PRO703/PRO803 informal; PRO1103/PRO1203 formal) / Notice and Order for Hearing in formal cases
Bond only if required (Minn. Stat. § 524.3-603) — not required by default

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: Yes
Form: PRO202View source
Form name: Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (Small Estate - No Real Estate)

State-specific notes

Two distinct tracks: INFORMAL (Probate Registrar appoints and issues Letters, no hearing — § 524.3-301: "Applications for informal probate or informal appointment shall be directed to the registrar") and FORMAL (District Court judge, with notice and hearing — § 524.3-401: "A formal testacy proceeding is one conducted with notice to interested persons before a court to establish a will or determine intestacy"). Both tracks are time-barred by § 524.3-108: "No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding, other than a proceeding to probate a will previously probated at the testator's domicile and appointment proceedings relating to an estate in which there has been a prior appointment, may be commenced more than three years after the decedent's death." Letters Testamentary (with a will — PRO1202/PRO802) and Letters of General Administration (without a will — PRO1102/PRO702) are issued only after appointment and the filed Acceptance/Oath (PRO902); § 524.3-103: "Administration of an estate is commenced by the issuance of letters." Small estates ≤ $75,000 with no solely-owned real estate use the PRO202 collection-by-affidavit, which is never filed with the court and bypasses appointment and Letters entirely.

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

Minnesota uses Petition for Formal Probate of Will and for Formal Appointment of Personal Representative (PRO1202); Petition for Formal Adjudication of Intestacy, Determination of Heirs, and Appointment of Personal Representative (PRO1102) (PRO1202 (with a will) / PRO1102 (without a will)), filed with the District Court. Probate Registrar in informal proceedings issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of General Administration after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, Minnesota generally requires: Death certificate of the decedent, and of any heirs or devisees who died before the decedent; Original will and any codicils (for testate estates) (Minn. Stat. § 524.2-516 custodian's duty to deliver / § 524.3-301(2)(i) filing); Acceptance of Appointment of Personal Representative and Oath by Individual (PRO902); Nomination of Personal Representative and/or Renunciation of Priority for Appointment, and Bond (PRO901) where applicable; Affidavit of Mailing of Notice to interested persons (PRO703/PRO803 informal; PRO1103/PRO1203 formal) / Notice and Order for Hearing in formal cases.

Minnesota does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one.

Minnesota permits a self-represented person to open an estate, using Petition for Formal Probate of Will and for Formal Appointment of Personal Representative (PRO1202); Petition for Formal Adjudication of Intestacy, Determination of Heirs, and Appointment of Personal Representative (PRO1102) (PRO1202 (with a will) / PRO1102 (without a will)). E-filing is open to self-represented filers. The Minnesota 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 Minnesota: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in Minnesota

In Minnesota, a personal representative is appointed by the District Court. Probate Registrar in informal proceedings issues the Letters that prove authority over the estate — Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of General Administration (no will). Minnesota has adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

The estate is opened by filing Petition for Formal Probate of Will and for Formal Appointment of Personal Representative (PRO1202); Petition for Formal Adjudication of Intestacy, Determination of Heirs, and Appointment of Personal Representative (PRO1102) (PRO1202 (with a will) / PRO1102 (without a will)) with the court. The court filing fee runs $310, and Minnesota offers an informal (registrar) appointment track for qualifying estates.

Minnesota does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one where it is needed to protect creditors or heirs.

Estates under $75,000 in Minnesota may qualify for a simplified procedure that avoids a full appointment entirely (PRO202). The self-file probate assessment carries a Minnesota cost comparison.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

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

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