Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Pennsylvania, you have 1 year to contest a will that has already been admitted to probate, running from the Register of Wills’ decree admitting the will (a court may shorten this to as little as 3 months on request).
How long do you have to contest a will in Pennsylvania?
| Deadline to contest an admitted will | 1 year |
| What starts the clock | the Register of Wills’ decree admitting the will (a court may shorten this to as little as 3 months on request) |
| Dedicated will-contest statute? | Yes |
“Any party in interest seeking to challenge the probate of a will or who is otherwise aggrieved by a decree of the register…may appeal therefrom to the court within one year of the decree…The court, upon petition of a party in interest, may limit the time for appeal to three months.”
Source: 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 908
What makes Pennsylvania different
Pennsylvania frames a will contest as a formal appeal from the Register of Wills’ decree, and uniquely lets a court shorten the presumptive 1-year window down to as little as 3 months if an interested party specifically petitions for that. The controlling authority is 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 908, and the window runs from the Register of Wills’ decree admitting the will (a court may shorten this to as little as 3 months on request).
What happens once this deadline passes?
Once the window above closes, Pennsylvania’s probate of the will generally becomes final and binding on everyone who had the chance to object, subject only to the tolling or discovery exceptions described above; a separate objection Pennsylvania allowed at the original probate hearing does not reopen or extend it.
Sources
| Statute / rule | 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 908 |
| Pennsylvania courts (general reference) | Pennsylvania judicial branch |
| Confidence | High |
Every statute or rule quoted on this Pennsylvania page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/court/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; whether a specific contest is still timely can turn on facts (exactly when notice was given, how the will was probated, whether a disability applies) that only your own Pennsylvania probate court file can confirm.