How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in New York?

In New York, the Surrogate's Court appoints the personal representative and the Surrogate's Court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; every appointment goes through the court.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in New York

Executor (testate) / Administrator (intestate); collectively "fiduciary"

The form that opens the estate

P-1

Petition for Probate · Fillable PDF · View source

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

Where you file

Surrogate's Court (one per county)

What the court issues (with a will)

Letters Testamentary

issued by Surrogate's Court

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

NYSCEF e-filing is available in Surrogate’s Court for probate, administration, and small-estate proceedings, and the regime is set county by county in a published Surrogate’s Court protocol (49 counties publish one). E-filing is now mandatory for probate and administration in most of them — 41 of the 49, including Bronx, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Erie, Albany and Dutchess — and consensual in only seven (New York, Kings, Richmond, Madison, Chenango, Tioga, Schuyler). A self-represented filer is never compelled to e-file: unrepresented litigants are exempt from every e-filing mandate and may choose to participate (CPLR § 2111; Uniform Rule § 207.4-aa(e)(1)), so paper filing remains open in every county. Check the county’s NYSCEF Surrogate’s Court protocol before filing.

Statewide Surrogate's Court forms (Petition for Probate, Petition for Letters of Administration, SE-3A) apply in every county, but each county Surrogate's Court publishes its own filing checklists and may require supplemental local forms, affidavits, and cover sheets, and sets its own NYSCEF e-filing protocol. Filing fees are set by SCPA § 2402 on a sliding scale by estate size: the probate fee is computed initially upon the gross estate passing by will as stated in the petition (§ 2402(1)) and the administration fee upon the gross estate passing by intestacy as stated in the petition (§ 2402(2)); an additional fee falls due if the estate is later shown to be larger than the value on which the fee was paid, and a refund is due if it is smaller.

Bond

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

What to file with the petition

Death certificate — one must be filed on any application for letters testamentary, letters of administration, or voluntary administration; alternate evidence of death may be accepted in the court's discretion (22 NYCRR 207.15(b))
Original will and any codicils (filed with the Petition for Probate) (SCPA Art. 14)
Estimate of gross estate value (personal and real property, gross rents for 18 months, and any wrongful-death/personal-injury cause of action) in the petition (22 NYCRR 207.16(a)(2))
Waivers and consents, or citation with proof of service, for distributees/interested parties (SCPA §§ 1403, 401(4))
Affidavit(s) of attesting witnesses or self-proving affidavit for the will (probate track) (SCPA § 1406)
Bond — no bond is required of an executor unless the will requires it (SCPA § 710(1)); on the intestate track an administrator must file a bond before Letters issue unless the court dispenses with it because the petitioner takes the whole estate or all interested persons file acknowledged consents (SCPA § 805(1)); and no bond is required of either where the assets do not exceed the small-estate amount (SCPA § 801(1))

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: Yes
Form: SE-3AView source
Form name: Affidavit of Voluntary Administration (Small Estate Affidavit)

State-specific notes

New York runs estates through a county Surrogate’s Court (not a probate division of a general trial court) under the SCPA and EPTL, with no Uniform Probate Code and no informal/registrar appointment track. With a will: Petition for Probate (form P-1) → Letters Testamentary (SCPA Art. 14). Without a will: Petition for Letters of Administration (form A-1) → Letters of Administration (SCPA Art. 10), issued by priority of distributee class (SCPA § 1001). Estates of personal property $50,000 or less can use Article 13 voluntary administration (form SE-3A), which issues a Certificate of Voluntary Administration instead of Letters and avoids a formal fiduciary appointment. Bond differs by track: no bond is required of an executor unless the will requires it (SCPA § 710(1)), but an administrator must file a bond before Letters of Administration issue unless the court dispenses with it — which it may do where the petitioner is entitled to the whole estate, or where acknowledged consents to dispense with the bond are filed by all persons interested in the estate (SCPA § 805(1)); either way no bond is required where the assets do not exceed the small-estate amount (SCPA § 801(1)). Filing fees scale with estate size under SCPA § 2402.

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

New York uses Petition for Probate (P-1), filed with the Surrogate's Court. Surrogate's Court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, New York generally requires: Death certificate — one must be filed on any application for letters testamentary, letters of administration, or voluntary administration; alternate evidence of death may be accepted in the court's discretion (22 NYCRR 207.15(b)); Original will and any codicils (filed with the Petition for Probate) (SCPA Art. 14); Estimate of gross estate value (personal and real property, gross rents for 18 months, and any wrongful-death/personal-injury cause of action) in the petition (22 NYCRR 207.16(a)(2)).

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

New York permits a self-represented person to open an estate, using Petition for Probate (P-1). E-filing is open to self-represented filers. The New York 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 New York: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in New York

In New York, a personal representative is appointed by the Surrogate's Court. Surrogate's Court issues the Letters that prove authority over the estate — Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will). New York has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

The estate is opened by filing Petition for Probate (P-1) with the court. The court filing fee runs $45 - $1,250 (based on estate value), and New York has no informal (registrar) appointment track, so every appointment goes through the court.

New York 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 $50,000 in New York may qualify for a simplified procedure that avoids a full appointment entirely (SE-3A). The self-file probate assessment carries a New York cost comparison.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

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

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