How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in Rhode Island?

In Rhode Island, the Municipal Probate Court of the city or town where the decedent resided appoints the personal representative and the City or town probate court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; every appointment goes through the court.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in Rhode Island

Executor (with a will) or Administrator (without a will)

The form that opens the estate

PC-1.5

Petition for Probate of Will · Fillable PDF · View source

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

Where you file

Municipal Probate Court of the city or town where the decedent resided (39 city/town probate courts; not part of the statewide Judiciary)

What the court issues (with a will)

Letters Testamentary

issued by City or town probate 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

Probate in Rhode Island is handled by 39 municipal city/town probate courts that sit outside the statewide eFileRI system: the Judiciary itself states that probate cases are heard at the city or town level and directs probate record requests to the city or town clerk. Completed PC forms are filed on paper with the local probate clerk, and each court sets its own filing deadlines by local administrative rule (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-29). There is no statewide probate e-filing portal. eFileRI applies to the state Judiciary courts (Supreme, Superior, Family, District, Workers’ Compensation, Traffic Tribunal), not probate.

Bond

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

Other official forms

Informal application: PC-1.9 (executor) / PC-1.10 (administrator)View source

What to file with the petition

Death certificate — required by local probate-court rule and filing checklist rather than by statute; some courts (e.g. East Greenwich) require a certified copy, others list only "Death Certificate". Statewide, Title 33 requires a death certificate only for the voluntary informal small-estate track ("a certificate of the death of the deceased", §§ 33-24-1(b) / 33-24-2(c)) and for a will filed with no assets ("a certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate", § 33-7-5(b)) — not for the PC-1.5 / PC-1.1 appointment petition
Original will and any codicils (with the Petition for Probate of Will, PC-1.5) — R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-7-5 requires whoever has custody of the will to deliver it into the probate court within 30 days after notice of the testator’s death
List of surviving spouse and heirs at law (and will beneficiaries) on the petition / page 1A
Appointment bond unless waived/exempted (PC-3.1A Universal Appointment Bond Corporate Surety Exempted / PC-3.1B Universal Appointment Bond with Corporate Surety; R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-17-1)
Waiver or Advertising (Form PC-9.1), if applicable
Filing fee (R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-22-21: 1% of the decedent’s personal property, minimum $30, maximum $1,500)

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: Yes
Form: PC-1.9 / PC-1.10View source
Form name: Petition for Voluntary Informal Executor / Administrator

State-specific notes

Rhode Island has no county-level probate courts: probate is handled by the 39 municipal (city/town) probate courts where the decedent resided (R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-9-9), all using uniform statewide PC-series forms prescribed under § 33-22-16 and published by the Secretary of State. The testate and intestate tracks are different forms (PC-1.5 vs PC-1.1). PC-1.5 lets the petitioner request "letters testamentary OR letters of administration c.t.a." Whoever holds the will must deliver it into the probate court within 30 days after notice of the testator’s death (§ 33-7-5; the old §§ 33-7-1 — 33-7-4 were repealed effective 2008-12-31). A voluntary informal small-estate track (ch. 33-24) is available when the estate is entirely personal property not exceeding $15,000 (exclusive of tangible personal property), 30 days after death, and no letters petition has been filed; it uses PC-1.9 (executor, § 33-24-2) / PC-1.10 (administrator, § 33-24-1) and bypasses full letters. Statutory probate filing fee is 1% of the decedent’s personal property (minimum $30, maximum $1,500) under § 33-22-21(a). Bond is always required (§ 33-17-1) — Letters issue only if the appointee "gives bond as by law required" (§ 33-8-1) — but surety is excused by a will direction (§ 33-17-4) or, in an intestate estate, where the administrator is the surviving spouse or sole heir (§ 33-17-1.2); an appointee who fails to file an approved bond within 30 days of appointment "may be adjudged to have declined the trust" (§ 33-17-5). Each probate court also promulgates local administrative rules on session dates, docketing, and filing deadlines, but they may not "expand, contract or otherwise vary any specific provision of title 33" (§ 33-22-29).

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

Rhode Island uses Petition for Probate of Will (PC-1.5), filed with the Municipal Probate Court of the city or town where the decedent resided. City or town probate court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, Rhode Island generally requires: Death certificate — required by local probate-court rule and filing checklist rather than by statute; some courts (e.g. East Greenwich) require a certified copy, others list only "Death Certificate". Statewide, Title 33 requires a death certificate only for the voluntary informal small-estate track ("a certificate of the death of the deceased", §§ 33-24-1(b) / 33-24-2(c)) and for a will filed with no assets ("a certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate", § 33-7-5(b)) — not for the PC-1.5 / PC-1.1 appointment petition.

Yes. Rhode Island requires a bond by default before Letters issue. A will can waive it.

Rhode Island permits a self-represented person to open an estate, using Petition for Probate of Will (PC-1.5). The Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, a personal representative is appointed by the Municipal Probate Court of the city or town where the decedent resided. City or town probate court issues the Letters that prove authority over the estate — Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will). Rhode Island has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

The estate is opened by filing Petition for Probate of Will (PC-1.5) with the court. The court filing fee runs $4 plus 1% of personal property, minimum $34, up to $1,504, and Rhode Island has no informal (registrar) appointment track, so every appointment goes through the court.

Rhode Island requires a bond by default before Letters issue, though a will can waive it.

Estates under $15,000 in Rhode Island may qualify for a simplified procedure that avoids a full appointment entirely (PC-1.9 / PC-1.10). The self-file probate assessment carries a Rhode Island cost comparison.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

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

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