Wills and Probate – Wills and Probate Records 1841 – 1925

Wills and probate records created between 1841 and 1925 have been indexed and are being digitised and made available online free of charge.  Public Record Office Victoria (PROV), the Genealogical Society of Utah and the Victorian Association of Family History Organisations are indexing wills and probate records up until 1992.  The 1926 – 1992 portion of the Victorian Probate Index will be completed and made available online in the near future.

Access is available using the online Victorian Probate Index, with access to digitised wills and probate records free of charge through PROV’s online catalogue at www.access.prov.vic.gov.au.  See the Accessing Wills and Probate Records web page for the current date range of records that can be accessed through PROV.  As a general rule, probate records created within the last 7 to 10 years can be accessed through the Probate Office of the Supreme Court of Victoria www.supremecourt.vic.gov.au.

Using Will and Probate Images

Images of digitised will and probate documents can be downloaded from PROV’s website free of charge and used for personal research.  Before any records held by PROV can be reproduced, for example in a printed publication, exhibition or website, the written permission of the copyright holder must first be obtained. Please consult PROVguide 25 Copyright for Researchers for details.

Further information

See PROVguide 68 Wills and Probate Records from 1926 for detailed information about accessing original wills and probate records created after 1925.

See PROVguide 70 Wills and Probate Records for information about locating a range of probate-related records held by PROV.