Executor Fee in the District of Columbia: The Old 4.5%-8% Guideline No Longer Applies

Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: The District of Columbia entitles a personal representative to reasonable compensation under D.C. Code § 20-751, and the statute itself lists no enumerated factors. Reasonableness is reviewed by the Superior Court, Probate Division, but only upon request of an interested person, it is not automatic. An older guideline, Probate Division Rule 125’s 4.5% to 8% combined fee range for the personal representative and attorney together, applied only to decedents who died before July 1, 1995, and has no force for current estates.

The statute, and what it does not set

D.C. Code § 20-751 provides that, except as may otherwise be ordered by the court for good cause shown in respect to a supervised personal representative or a special administrator, a personal representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for services. No percentage, schedule, or list of factors appears in the text.

Who actually decides, and the renunciation mechanic

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Probate Division, reviews reasonableness, but only upon request of an interested person, the fee is not automatically reviewed unless someone asks. A personal representative may renounce a will’s compensation provision, either before or after qualifying, and take reasonable compensation instead, or may renounce compensation altogether by written filing with the court. Historically, for decedents who died before July 1, 1995, Superior Court Probate Division Rule 125 set a 4.5% to 8% combined guideline covering the personal representative’s fee and the attorney’s fee together, but that guideline does not apply to current estates and is not part of the current statute.

What that means in practice

Because reasonableness is reviewed only if an interested person asks, keep records that would support the fee if a beneficiary ever raises the question. If a will sets compensation that looks low or otherwise unsuitable, know that renunciation is available, either before or after qualifying as personal representative, and reasonable compensation under Section 20-751 can be requested instead.

What the whole process costs in this state: District of Columbia probate cost. Every state’s fee model side by side: probate cost by state.

Work out the number: the executor fee calculator. How the standard is applied where no schedule exists: reasonable-compensation states. Whether to take the fee at all: when the executor is also an heir, and how the fee is taxed.

Statutory text read at each state’s own legislature or official code publisher. General information, not legal advice; a court retains the final say on what compensation is allowed.