Apply for an infected blood interim compensation payment as an estate
Applying for probate or confirmation
You must have probate or confirmation to claim compensation, even if you would not normally need it.
If you’re not sure if probate has already been granted you can:
- search probate records in England and Wales
- search probate records in Northern Ireland using the Information Commissioner’s Office Service (ICOS) if the death was on or after 1 January 1986 or using the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) if the death was before 1986
- check for confirmation in Scotland with the local sheriff court
You cannot claim back the cost of searching probate or confirmation records.
If probate has not already been granted, you can usually apply for it if you’re:
- named as an executor in the will of the person who’s died
- the person’s closest living relative if there is no will
How you apply for probate depends on whether the person was living in England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland when they died.
Find a legal adviser if you need help applying for probate.
Applying for probate in England, Wales or Northern Ireland
You can:
There are extra steps you need to take if:
- the person died between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 2021 and they had a nil value estate
- the person died on or before 31 December 1981
- you’ve applied in England or Wales
If the person died between 1 January 1982 and 31 December 2021 with a nil value estate
If you do not need to send full details of the estate, you’ll need to complete form IHT205.
You must write ‘Infected Blood Interim Estates Payment’ in the box in section 13 of the IHT205 form. You do not need to follow the instruction to complete form IHT400 instead.
If the person died on or before 31 December 1981
You must complete and sign a declaration and send it with your probate application.
If you’ve applied in England or Wales
Email the Probate Service after applying with the:
- case reference number for your probate application
- full name of the person who died
- date of death
Probate Service
probateinfectedbloodscheme@justice.gov.uk
You do not need to email if you’ve applied for probate in Northern Ireland.
Applying for confirmation in Scotland
Apply for confirmation in Scotland.
You must send a covering letter stating you are applying for confirmation to claim an infected blood interim compensation payment as an estate when returning your form.
There are also extra steps you need to take:
- when declaring compensation in the estate inventory
- if the estate has a nil value
Declaring compensation in the estate inventory
You must add this wording to the inventory section of form C1:
‘Compensation payment due Infected Blood Interim Estates Payment – Nil’.
If the estate has a nil value
You cannot get confirmation if the estate has a nil value. If the compensation payment is the only item in the inventory, you must add another item with a nominal value. For example, you can add ‘Cash in hand - £5.’
This will prevent your application from being rejected.