Wills and Probate – Wills and Probate Records from 1926

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This PROVguide outlines how to order wills and probate records, created after 1925, for viewing in Public Record Office Victoria's (PROV's) reading room at the Victorian Archives Centre (VAC).

Wills and probate records are regularly transferred from the Probate Office to PROV. 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.

Once ordered on PROV's online catalogue records are delivered to the VAC reading room on weekdays and on Saturday openings at the following times: 9.30am, 11.00am, 2.00pm and 3.30pm. Records are held in the VAC reading room for 10 working days before being returned to the repository. See PROVguide 21 Ordering Records for detailed information about ordering original records held by PROV.

Accessing wills and probate records 1926-1992

Step 1: Consult the microfiche Victorian Probate Index to find the reference number that corresponds to the person whose will and probate records you are looking for, and make a note of this number. The microfiche Victorian Probate Index is available at PROV's reading rooms, the Probate Office of the Supreme Court of Victoria, the State Library of Victoria, genealogical research centres and a range of local libraries around Australia.

Step 2: Log in to PROV’s online catalogue at www.access.prov.vic.gov.au. See PROVguide 19 Registering and Maintaining a Public User Account for information on creating a public user account if you do not already have one.

Step 3: Select Wills and Probate from the Ordering menu. The Ordering Wills and Probate page will be displayed.

Hint: Enter the number from the microfiche Victorian Probate index, inserting a forward slash, so that the second number contains 3 digits, as in this example.

Entering numbers from the microfiche index onto PROV's online catalogue

The format of entries on the microfiche Victorian Probate Index varies according to the time period. Use these examples to help you enter the reference number from the microfiche index into the Ordering Wills and Probate page on PROV's online catalogue.

1853 - 1888

Excerpt from microfiche

Entering the number into the searching screen:

Hint: The second part of the number entered into the screen must contain three digits. If it has less than three digits, as in this example, include one or more zeros after the forward slash.

1889 - 1969

Excerpt from microfiche

Entering the number into the searching screen:

Hint: If there is no first number on the index, as in this example for Louisa Callow, enter the first number from the previous entry, in this case 85.

Hint: To look for multiple wills and probate records on PROV's online catalogue, follow this example and separate each number with a comma.

1970-1992

Excerpt from microfiche [Name not shown]

Entering the number into the searching screen:

Hint: For this time period use the number before the "28/P" as shown in this example. Treat the number as a two-part number by separating the parts with a forward slash. There should be three digits in the second part of the number when entered into the ordering page.

Step 4: Once you have entered the number from the microfiche index, click on the Search button. Your search results will be displayed, as in the example below.

Step 6: To order a record for viewing at the Victorian Archives Centre place a tick in the check box next to the entry for each of the records you wish to order, as shown above. Click on the Order selected entries button to place the order. If the records are on open access and not on order to another researcher the selected records will be ordered.

Entries confirming each of the records ordered will appear in your My Orders: Current page.

Accessing wills and probate records after 1992

See PROV's Accessing Wills and Probate Records web page for the current date range of records that can be accessed through PROV.

Step 1: Log in to PROV’s online catalogue at www.access.prov.vic.gov.au. See PROVguide 19 Registering and Maintaining a Public User Account for information on creating a public user account if you do not already have one.

Step 2: Select Search within a Series from the Searching menu at www.access.prov.vic.gov.au. The Search within a Series page will be displayed.

Step 3: Enter the number 28 into the VPRS text field, and the surname of the person you are researching into the next text field. Click on the Search button, and the Search results page will be displayed (see the previous section for an example of a search result).

Hint: There is no need to change the default Physical / Digital selections by unticking these boxes.

Using Advanced Search to narrow your search

If you return a large number of results you can narrow your search by using Advanced Search (from the Searching menu). In Advanced Search select Item, and enter the surname and the first name of the person in the Exact Phrase text field, as in the following example.

Hint: Selecting Item will automatically place a tick in the Physical records box and Location boxes. There is no need to change these selections by ticking or unticking these boxes.

Hint: You may want to try swapping the names around, eg. Jane Smith or Smith Jane, as the format can vary.

Step 4: To order from a Search Result tick the box next to the entries you require, and click on the Order selected entries button to place your order.

How do I get a copy of a will or probate record?

Download digitised records

You can download digitised images of wills and probate records from PROV's website, free of charge, for the period 1841 - 1925. See PROVguide 29 Wills and Probate Records 1841- 1925 for details.

Digital camera in the reading room

If you have ordered original probate records for viewing in the reading room at the Victorian Archives Centre you can use your own digital camera free of charge to make copies, provided that conditions of use are observed. Please note: PROV cannot give permission for digital cameras to be used to copy original wills as the copyright is not held by the Crown. See PROVguide 24 Use of Digital Cameras in PROV Reading Rooms for details.

In person in the reading room

PROV cannot order and copy records in response to written requests and phone calls. We can assist you to place your copy order when you visit the reading room at the Victorian Archives Centre to view the original records you have ordered online. See PROVguide 2 Copying Services for information about PROV's copying services and charges.

Search agents

If you are unable to visit the Victorian Archives Centre to view records and arrange your copy order, you may wish to hire a search agent to undertake this on your behalf. See PROVguide 15 Search Agents for contact details.

Further information

See PROVguide 29 Wills and Probate Records 1841- 1925 for detailed information about the online Victorian Probate Index and digitised wills and probate records 1841 - 1925.

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

See PROVguide 21 Ordering Records for detailed information about ordering original records held by PROV.