Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
Maryland court costs
Maryland probate filing cost: $200
The statewide probate fee is $0 below $50,000; $100 from $50,000 to below $100,000; $200 from $100,000 to below $500,000; $1,000 from $500,000 to below $1 million; $2,000 from $1 million to below $2.5 million; $5,000 from $2.5 million to below $5 million; $7,500 from $5 million to below $7.5 million; $10,000 from $7.5 million to below $10 million; and $10,000 plus 0.02% of excess over $10 million thereafter, with no stated cap.
$200 is the statutory total at a $100,000 estate. Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Every line below is computed from the statutory schedule quoted at the end of this page. These are court charges only. They are not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
Probate fees assessed on the value of the probate estate
Published value bands
These are the fee bands stated in the source. The worked examples below apply them to sample values; they do not replace the published thresholds.
Maryland statutory probate fee
| Value band | Published calculation |
|---|---|
| Up to $49,999.99 | $0 |
| More than $49,999.99 to $99,999.99 | $100 |
| More than $99,999.99 to $499,999.99 | $200 |
| More than $499,999.99 to $999,999.99 | $1,000 |
| More than $999,999.99 to $2,499,999.99 | $2,000 |
| More than $2,499,999.99 to $4,999,999.99 | $5,000 |
| More than $4,999,999.99 to $7,499,999.99 | $7,500 |
| More than $7,499,999.99 to $9,999,999.99 | $10,000 |
| More than $9,999,999.99 | $10,000 plus 0.02% of the amount over $10,000,000 |
| Charge | $25,000 estate | $100,000 estate | $400,000 estate | $1,000,000 estate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland statutory probate fee | $0 | $200 | $200 | $2,000 |
| Total from this schedule | $0 | $200 | $200 | $2,000 |
Not included in this total
- Certified copies and recording charges
- Publication and service costs
- Fees for later accounts, motions or contested proceedings
The schedule prices the opening filing on the statutory basis. A specific case can carry further charges the statute does not set out here.
Source: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 2-206, Maryland General Assembly. Edition/currentness: Publisher edition or effective date not stated. Verified September 15, 2026.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
- Maryland statute pages have no usable currentness marker.
- The final probate-fee tier cannot be safely represented by the existing FilingFeeComponent union because it is 0.02% only of excess over $10 million.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
Maryland filing-cost map
Separate the Maryland filing charge from the estate budget
The Maryland filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| Question | Recorded Maryland answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small-estate administration | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | probate property within the rule's stated scope; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $50,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; The general bar uses the earlier of a death-based outer period and an individual-notice period, while publication is weekly for three weeks and special claims have separate rules; one days value would misstate the framework. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Orphans’ Court / Register of Wills about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | The court-selected commission may not exceed 9% of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration plus $1,800 and 3.6% of the excess over $20,000. A will may provide a larger measure; the statute calls compensation reasonable and permits renunciation. It states no separate extraordinary-services percentage. The relevant base is gross probate property. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Filing record
What the Maryland cost record can answer
Probate fees assessed on the value of the probate estate
Basis: estate-value. Status: operative. The schedule prices the opening filing on the statutory basis. A specific case can carry further charges the statute does not set out here.
- Maryland statutory probate fee 9 marginal bands
Case-file context
Keep the Maryland answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Maryland descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
Maryland’s small-estate administration is a threshold-based court track through the Register of Wills. Modified administration is a separate consent-based track for qualifying solvent estates, with election, report, and distribution deadlines rather than a small-estate cap.
Property subject to Maryland administration may use small-estate administration at $50,000 or less, or $100,000 or less when the surviving spouse is sole legatee or heir. Value is date-of-death fair market value less debts of record secured by the property to the extent insurance does not pay the secured debt. This court petition is distinct from modified administration, which is not a small-estate threshold track.
Compensation context
The court-selected commission may not exceed 9% of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration plus $1,800 and 3.6% of the excess over $20,000. A will may provide a larger measure; the statute calls compensation reasonable and permits renunciation. It states no separate extraordinary-services percentage.
The court-selected commission may not exceed 9% of the first $20,000 of property subject to administration plus $1,800 and 3.6% of the excess over $20,000. A will may provide a larger measure; the statute calls compensation reasonable and permits renunciation. It states no separate extraordinary-services percentage. The relevant base is gross probate property.
Deadline context
The general bar uses the earlier of a death-based outer period and an individual-notice period, while publication is weekly for three weeks and special claims have separate rules; one days value would misstate the framework.
- Maryland statute pages have no usable currentness marker.
- The final probate-fee tier cannot be safely represented by the existing FilingFeeComponent union because it is 0.02% only of excess over $10 million.
Court-material note: Maryland publishes separate statewide packets for small estates and modified administration. The Register of Wills receives filings and the Orphans’ Court exercises probate jurisdiction; the circuit court hears specified appeals.
Arithmetic illustration
See the Maryland amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Maryland ceiling is $50,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $37,500 sits below the Maryland figure and $62,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Maryland counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Maryland ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $37,500 | Below $50,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $62,500 | Above $50,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Small Estate Packet (2025)Maryland Registers of Wills
- Modified Administration PacketMaryland Registers of Wills
- Register of Wills feesMaryland Registers of Wills
Maryland publishes separate statewide packets for small estates and modified administration.
The Register of Wills receives filings and the Orphans’ Court exercises probate jurisdiction; the circuit court hears specified appeals.
Source trail
Records used by this Maryland map
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 5-601Maryland Estates and Trusts, Small Estate Thresholds; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 5-602Maryland Estates and Trusts, Small Estate Petition; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 5-702Maryland Estates and Trusts, Modified Administration Eligibility; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 7-601Maryland Estates and Trusts, Personal Representative Compensation; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 2-206Maryland Estates and Trusts, Register of Wills Probate Fees; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 7-103Maryland Estates and Trusts, Notice of Appointment; reviewed August 9, 2026
- Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 8-103Maryland Estates and Trusts, Limitation on Claims; reviewed August 9, 2026
Filing-cost source
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 2-206
Reviewed source note: Probate fees shall be assessed on the value of the probate estate at the following rates: If the Value of the Probate But Less The Fee Estate Is Than Is At Least (i) ��� -- $50,000 $0 (ii) ��� $50,000 $100,000 $100 (iii) ��� $100,000 $500,000 $200 (iv) ��� $500,000 $1,000,000 $1,000 (v) ��� $1,000,000 $2,500,000 $2,000 (vi) ��� $2,500,000 $5,000,000 $5,000 (vii) ��� $5,000,000 $7,500,000 $7,500 (viii) ��� $7,500,000 $10,000,000 $10,000 (ix) ��� $10,000,000 -- $10,000 plus .02% of excess over $10,000,000 (3) Except as provided in paragraph (4) of this subsection, for purposes of determinations under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the value of a probate estate is the amount, as reflected in the administration accounts filed in the proceedings, that equals: (i) The sum of: 1. The value of all inventories filed in the proceedings; 2. All principal and income receipts; and 3.