Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: Philadelphia’s Register of Wills, Pennsylvania’s most populous county, charges a tiered probate fee starting at $189.25 and rising with estate value.
If a trust could save your estate this fee in Pennsylvania
A living trust avoids probate entirely in Pennsylvania, which means the estate skips the $189.25 above along with every other cost the court charges once a case is open. LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
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What Pennsylvania charges to open probate
Pennsylvania sets this fee on a statutory tier tied to the estate’s value, starting at $189.25 for probate value $0 to $250 (philadelphia) and rising in steps as the estate gets larger.
| Probate value $0 to $250 (Philadelphia) | $189.25 |
| Probate value $10,000.01 to $50,000 (Philadelphia) | $385.25 |
| First $1,000,000 tier (Philadelphia) | $1,330.25 |
Pennsylvania sets probate fees at the county Register of Wills level, not statewide; Philadelphia is shown as the largest-county example.
Where this money goes and who sets it
The authority for this figure is Philadelphia Register of Wills & Clerk of the Orphans’ Court fee schedule, effective September 26, 2022. In the source’s own words: “0 to 250 $189.25 / 10000.01 to 50000 $385.25 / First $1,000,000 $1,330.25”
What this fee doesn’t cover
Because Pennsylvania prices this by tier, the fee jumps at each threshold in the table above rather than climbing smoothly with the estate’s value. Either way, this is the court’s own charge just to open the file and issue letters, separate from what an attorney charges to actually handle the estate and separate from any state estate or inheritance tax the estate itself might owe.
Sources
Source: Philadelphia Register of Wills & Clerk of the Orphans’ Court fee schedule, effective September 26, 2022.