Resealing probate interstate & overseas
Updated 20 August 2026 · 5 minute read
A grant of probate only operates in the state that issued it. When the deceased owned assets in a second state — the Queensland unit, the WA mining shares — the executor usually needs the grant resealed by the second state's Supreme Court before institutions there will act. No Australian state has abolished this.
When you need a reseal
- Real estate in another state — the titles office will demand a local grant or reseal
- Substantial accounts or shareholdings administered in another state
- A grant from a Commonwealth-realm country — New Zealand and the UK grants are routinely resealable; NSW also lists PNG and the Solomon Islands
- NOT resealable in most states: grants from the USA, Europe, most of Asia — those estates need a fresh local grant
The process
Get office copies of the original grant
An exemplification or court-sealed copy — plain photocopies won't do.
Apply to the second state's registry
A short application with supporting affidavit; fees generally follow that state's probate fee scale.
The court reseals
The original grant, now bearing the second seal, works in that state as if granted there.
Below-threshold accounts follow the bank's normal release rules regardless of which state granted probate — a reseal is only forced when an institution or titles office insists. Ask before filing.
Apply first in the state with most assets — fees there are usually unavoidable — then reseal into the cheaper states. Getting this backwards can double the fee bill. See state fee comparisons.
Assets in two states?
Fixed-fee firms quote grant + reseal as a package — usually cheaper than two separate engagements.
Get fixed-fee probate quotesWho applies for the reseal?
The executor or administrator under the original grant — or their attorney, useful when the executor is overseas.
How long does a reseal take?
Usually faster than the original grant — a few weeks — since the substantive checking is already done.
The deceased lived overseas with a non-Commonwealth grant — now what?
A fresh Australian grant, typically 'letters of administration with the will annexed', with expert evidence of the foreign will. Specialist territory — see overseas estates.
Sources
- Supreme Court of NSW — reseal of grant (s 107, Commonwealth-realm list)
- Queensland Courts — resealing a grant