PA14 Probate Medical Certificate Assessment
A PA14 is a probate medical certificate used where there are concerns that a person lacks capacity in relation to an application for a Grant of Representation and the administration of …
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What is a PA14 probate mental capacity assessment?
PA14 is a probate medical certificate about an entitled person’s capacity for the grant application and estate administration. It concerns that living person, rather than the deceased’s will-making capacity.
Author and Publication
Author: Nellie Supports Ltd
Publication Date: 15/05/2026
Citation
The Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, SI 1987/2024. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1987/2024/contents
Copywright
Copywright © 2026 Nellie Supports Ltd. All rights reserved.
This article is made available for general information, education and professional reference. It may be downloaded, printed and shared for non-commercial purposes, provided that it is reproduced in full, is not altered in any way, and is properly cited as the work of Nellie Supports Ltd. This material must not be edited, adapted, sold, republished, incorporated into commercial products, or used for commercial training, assessment, report-writing or advisory services without prior written permission from Nellie Supports Ltd.
This article does not constitute legal advice, clinical advice or a substitute for a decision-specific professional assessment. Where legislation, government guidance, court forms or external professional materials are referred to, those materials remain subject to their own copyright, licensing and re-use terms.
About this guide
PA14 is a probate medical certificate about an entitled person’s capacity for the grant application and estate administration. It concerns that living person, rather than the deceased’s will-making capacity. The sections below explain the evidence, practical steps and limits of the assessment or process.
What’s on this page
PA14 is the probate medical certificate used where an entitled person lacks capacity in relation to applying for a grant of representation and administering the deceased’s estate. It concerns the living person who would otherwise act, not the deceased’s testamentary capacity. It supplies evidence for a probate application; it does not itself appoint a substitute, make an LPA or confer authority to administer. The probate rules and registry determine who may obtain the appropriate grant.
Where the PA14 sits in probate
PA14 supports the capacity aspect of a probate application where a person entitled to a grant cannot manage the relevant affairs. The correct applicant and form of grant depend on the will, entitlement, other people with priority and any LPA, deputyship or other authority. Obtain probate advice rather than assuming that the nearest relative, beneficiary or attorney may simply take over once the certificate is signed.
The decision the PA14 is actually about
The capacity in question is the person's ability to manage the task the grant involves: applying for it and administering the estate, or, framed practically, managing their property and financial affairs to the extent the role demands. It is not a general verdict on the person, and it is decision-specific like every capacity question: a person may be unable to administer an estate whilst retaining capacity for many other decisions, and the certificate should speak to the probate role rather than to the person's life at large.
What the form asks the practitioner to confirm
The current PA14 asks the professional’s name, workplace, job title, qualifications, the patient’s details, how many years they have attended them and the deceased’s name. Its certification links an impairment or disturbance of mind or brain to inability concerning the grant application and subsequent administration, and refers to property and affairs capacity under the Mental Capacity Act. The responsible eligible professional signs and dates it; signatures may be typed or handwritten. The short form does not remove the need for a sound basis for the opinion.
The assessment behind a reliable PA14
Behind a reliable certificate sits the ordinary discipline of the Mental Capacity Act 2005: the presumption of capacity, practicable support, the functional test of understanding, retaining, using or weighing the relevant information about the estate role and communicating, and the causative link to an impairment of, or disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain. Where the completing practitioner has not assessed recently, a decision-specific assessment should be conducted rather than certifying from an ageing impression.
When additional capacity evidence may be needed
The standard certificate may be sufficient for its probate purpose. If evidence is disputed, incomplete or requested by the registry, further decision-specific material may help. A fuller report should be agreed because it answers a real evidential need, not merely because an estate is valuable. Do not assume that a separate report replaces PA14, or that one opinion automatically covers a later deputyship, LPA or other decision.
Common problems with PA14 evidence
The recurring difficulties mirror capacity work everywhere: certificates resting on diagnosis alone with no functional basis, completed by practitioners with no recent knowledge of the person, contradicted by other evidence in the application, or framed as though the person lacks capacity for everything rather than for the estate role. Each invites requisitions and delay, and each is avoided by the same means: a real assessment, recent, decision-specific and consistent with the wider application.
The person's position and dignity in the process
The person the certificate concerns retains their rights throughout: the presumption of capacity until evidence displaces it, support to participate where participation is possible and a process that treats the finding as specific to the probate role. Where their capacity may fluctuate or recover, the papers should acknowledge it, and where they can express wishes about the estate or its administration, those wishes deserve recording even though the grant is passing to another.
Practical steps for families and practitioners
Clarify the person entitled to the grant and obtain probate advice on who can apply if they cannot act. Use an eligible HMCTS-listed professional who can substantiate the PA14 opinion, giving the actual estate-role information and relevant records. Keep the application documents consistent, address any dispute or change in capacity and check what the registry requires. Authority and capacity must be established separately.
Key takeaway
PA14 provides capacity evidence for a defined probate purpose. Check the eligible signatory, actual assessment basis and correct probate route. The certificate does not itself transfer an office or authorise another person to take a grant, and a report for another decision should not be used without checking its relevance.
Frequently asked questions
Does a diagnosis automatically mean someone lacks capacity?
No. A diagnosis alone does not establish incapacity. For a Mental Capacity Act decision, provide practicable support, examine understanding, retention, use or weighing and communication, then explain whether any inability is caused by an impairment or disturbance of mind or brain. The conclusion is specific to the decision and time.
What evidence helps with a PA14?
The PA14 itself, the assessment behind it addressing the person's ability to manage property and financial affairs, relevant medical records and the LPA or deputyship order of whoever will apply in the person's place. The registry's question is narrow and the evidence should answer it directly.
When might a formal opinion be useful?
A formal assessment is useful whenever an executor's or administrator's ability to act is genuinely in doubt: it either evidences the PA14 route cleanly or confirms the person can act after all, which avoids wrongly bypassing them. A conclusion about one decision does not establish capacity for another.
Related mental capacity assessment pages
The related pages below explain connected decisions, evidence requirements and legal processes.
PA14 Probate Mental Capacity Assessment
Who can complete a PA14 medical certificate?
Mental capacity and applying for a Grant of Representation
Read guide
Practical next steps
Before seeking a report, write down the exact decision, relevant date, reason for concern and intended use. Gather the documents that explain the real options and any communication needs. Check any required form or court direction, agree the scope and total fee, and clarify how missing evidence or further questions will be handled.