How to Publish the NT Probate Notice and What the 14-Day Waiting Period Means

Before you can file a probate application in the Northern Territory, you must first advertise your intention to do so — and then wait. This isn't optional. Filing your application before the notice period expires will result in immediate rejection by the Supreme Court registry. Understanding exactly how the notice process works will save you weeks of delay.

What Is the Notice of Intended Application?

The notice requirement exists so that anyone with a legitimate interest in the estate — an unknown creditor, a family member who was unaware of the death, someone who holds a later Will — has the opportunity to come forward before the court grants probate.

In the NT, this is governed by Practice Direction 3 of 2020, which modernised the process significantly. Prior to that Practice Direction, applicants were required to publish their notice in a local newspaper such as the NT News. That requirement no longer applies. If you have received outdated advice telling you to place a newspaper advertisement, ignore it.

Under the current rules, the notice is published directly on the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory's official website — not in print media.

The Form You Need: Form 88B

To trigger the notice, you must complete Form 88B — Notice of Intended Application for Probate (available from the NT Supreme Court website). If you are applying for Letters of Administration because the deceased left no will, the equivalent form is Form 88C.

The form captures basic information about the deceased, the applicant, and the nature of the proposed application. You must:

• Complete the form as a properly formatted PDF
• Email it to the Probate Officer at [email protected]
• Wait for the court to publish it on the court's online notice board

You cannot "self-publish" this notice. The form goes to the Probate Officer, who arranges publication on the court's website. Once published, the 14-day clock starts.

The 14-Day Waiting Period

The law requires 14 clear days to elapse from the date the notice appears on the Supreme Court website before you can file your full probate application (Form 88A and supporting affidavits).

"Clear days" means the day of publication and the day of filing are not counted. So if your notice appears on the court website on a Monday, you cannot file your application until the Wednesday of the following week at the earliest — and that assumes there are no court processing delays on either end.

There is no discretion here. If you attempt to file your application before the 14-day period has fully elapsed, the registry will reject it. You will then need to resubmit, adding unnecessary time to an already slow process.

Do not assume the Probate Officer will email you when publication occurs. Check the court's online notice board yourself and record the exact publication date in writing. That date is your starting point for calculating when you can file.

What Happens During the Waiting Period

The two-week window is not dead time — it is when you should be finalising your affidavits and gathering supporting documents.

Specifically, this period is the right time to:

• Complete Form 88G (Affidavit of Death) and physically annex a certified copy of the death certificate (front and back) before having it witnessed
• Complete Form 88H (Affidavit of Executor), which requires you to state the gross value of the deceased's assets
• Complete Form 88T (Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities), the most detailed document in the application
• Arrange witnessing of all affidavits by a Justice of the Peace or Commissioner for Oaths
• Scan each document as a separate PDF file — the NT Supreme Court will reject applications where documents are merged into a single PDF

The physical handling of your documents during this period matters enormously. Every affidavit must be printed on single-sided A4 paper. The original Will must not be unstapled — if the court detects that staples have been removed and re-inserted, it will demand an additional Affidavit of Plight and Condition explaining the disturbance, which will delay your application further.

Mandatory Searches Before You File

The NT Supreme Court also requires two institutional searches to be completed before you lodge Form 88A, independent of the notice process.

First, email the Public Trustee of the Northern Territory at [email protected] to request a search of the Index of Wills. This confirms whether the deceased registered a Will with the Public Trustee. Second, email the Probate Officer at [email protected] to request a search of the court's existing probate records. This confirms no one else has already filed an application.

These searches do not need to be completed before you submit Form 88B (the notice). They must, however, be done and the results obtained before you lodge Form 88A. Use the 14-day waiting period to initiate and complete both searches.

Filing After the 14 Days: What to Send

Once the waiting period has expired, you email your complete application to the Probate Registry. The NT does not have an online lodgement portal; everything goes via email.

Your email must attach:

• Form 88A (Application for grant of representation)
• Form 88G (Affidavit of Death)
• Form 88H (Affidavit of Executor)
• Form 88T (Affidavit of Assets and Liabilities)
• Affidavit of Identity (required if you are self-represented)
• An electronic copy of the Will
• Electronic Payment Form to pay the court filing fee (verify the current amount at the Supreme Court registry — approximately $1,542 in the 2025/2026 financial year)

Each of these must be a separate PDF file named according to the court's exact convention (e.g., "Affidavit of Death – Form 88G.pdf"). A combined PDF will be returned.

What If There Is a Delay in Filing?

If you do not file your probate application within six months of the date of death, the NT Supreme Court requires an Affidavit of Delay explaining why you took longer than six months. This is an additional affidavit that must be drafted, sworn, and submitted alongside the main application. The court will not automatically reject late applications, but unexplained delays are not acceptable.

If the estate has a pressing reason for urgency — for example, a property settlement at risk of collapsing — contact the Probate Registry to explain the circumstances. In some cases, the court will expedite processing.

Getting the Application Right the First Time

The NT Supreme Court registry staff are explicitly not permitted to advise applicants on how to complete their forms or review documents prior to formal lodgement. If your application contains errors — whether in formatting, naming, affidavit wording, or document bundling — the court will issue a formal Requisition. A Requisition halts your application, requires an additional amended affidavit to correct the defect, and delays the grant by weeks.

The most common Requisition triggers are:

• Individual PDFs named incorrectly or merged into one file
• Affidavits not printed single-sided before witnessing
• The death certificate not physically annexed to Form 88G before the JP witnesses it
• Missing or incorrect dates in the affidavit text
• An Affidavit of Identity missing when the applicant is self-represented

The Northern Territory Probate Process Guide walks through the exact formatting requirements, affidavit templates, and a pre-lodgement checklist designed to prevent Requisitions. If you are handling this application without legal representation, it is the most effective way to protect yourself from preventable delays.

See more Northern Territory guides →