Resealing a grant in New South Wales

If the deceased left property in New South Wales, and you have obtained a grant of probate or administration outside of New South Wales, you will need to apply to the Supreme Court of New South Wales to reseal the grant before you can deal with the property in New South Wales.

Before you make an application for reseal in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, you must wait at least 14 days after the reseal notice is published on the NSW Online Registry website. For more information, see Grants from outside NSW.

If you want to make an application to reseal the grant in NSW, follow the steps in the guide on this page.

​​ Resealing a grant in New South Wales - Step by step guide

 If you are not sure whether a grant from a Commonwealth country can be resealed, you should check with the Supreme Court Probate Office before you file your application.

Step 1: Prepare your ​documents

To make an application, you will need:

• the original grant or an exemplification of the grant, and
• a certified copy of the grant

 You can obtain an exemplification of the grant from the court that made the original grant.

If the application is made by a power of attorney, you will also need to supply a certified copy of the power attorney and the original. You can ask for the original power of attorney to be returned to you after the grant is resealed.

You should make extra photocopies of the documents for your own records.

Step 2:  Get th​e forms

You will need the following forms to apply for reseal:

• Summons (Form 111)
• Reseal (Form 113)
• Inventory of Property (Form 117)
• Affidavit of Applicant for Resealing (Form 121)

You can get a copy of the forms:

• at the Supreme Court of New South Wales registry, or
• on the UCPR website.

Step 3: Fill in the Su​mmons for Reseal

When you fill in the form you should include:

• the case number (this will be given when you publish your notice of intended application for reseal)
• the full name of the deceased
• the date of death
• the suburb, city and state or country that the deceased lived in
• the usual occupation of the deceased
• the gross and net value of the estate in New South Wales. The value of any property owned by the deceased as joint tenants with another person should not be included.
• the name(s) of the applicants.

  You must ensure that the information in the summons is identical to the Affidavit of applicant for resealing.

  Instructions for filling out a Summons for Reseal

  Sample Summons for Reseal (Form 111)

When you fill in the Reseal form you should include:

• the case number
• the full name of the deceased
• the date of death
• the suburb, city and state or country that the deceased lived in
• the usual occupation of the deceased
• the Court where the original grant was made
• the details of the court.

You do not need to sign the reseal.

You will need 2 copies of this document.

  Instructions for filling out a Reseal

  Sample Reseal (Form 113)

Step 5: Fill in the ​​Inventory of Property

When you fill in the Inventory of Property you should include:

• the name of the deceased
• a list and description of the property owned solely by the deceased in New South Wales
• a list and description of the property owned by the deceased as joint tenants with another person in New South Wales
• the estimated or known value of each of the items
• the total value.

 Property includes real estate, cash held in a bank account, furniture, valuable jewellery, antiques, paintings, cars and boats, and any other goods owned by the deceased.

 The Inventory of Property must be signed by the executor and the witness to the Affidavit of applicant for resealing.  

You will need 3 copies of this document.

  Instructions for filling out an Inventory of property - Reseal

  Sample Inventory of property (Form 117) - Reseal

Step 6: Fill in the Affi​​davit of Applicant for Resealing

When you fill out the Affidavit of Applicant for Resealing you should include:

• the case number
• the court details
• the details of the deceased
• the filing details of the applicant
• the details of the legal representative (if there is one)
• details of when the grant was made and who it was made to
• confirmation that the grant has not been revoked
• confirmation that the deceased owned assets in NSW
• confirmation that you are over 18 years of age
• confirmation that you are not an undischarged bankrupt (if you are applying to reseal letters of administration)
• the date when the Notice of Intended Application was published on the NSW Online Registry
• the details of the beneficiaries (names, age and entitlement)
• details of any debts of the deceased
• the gross and net value of the estate.

When you have finished filling out the affidavit, you need to sign it in front of a prescribed witness (lawyer or Justice of the Peace) who will verify your identity. The witness must also sign and write their details.

 If you are currently overseas, the affidavit must be sworn before someone who is authorised to witness foreign affidavits.  There may also be an authorised witness at your nearest Australian Embassy, high commission or consulate. For more information, including contact details, go to the Department of Foreign Affairs an​d Trade website​.

  Instructions for filling out the Affidavit of Applicant for Resealing

  Sample Affidavit of Applicant for Resealing (Form 121)

Step 7: Attach your ​documents to the Affidavit of Applicant for Resealing

When you have completed your forms, you must annex (attach) the following documents to the Affidavit of Applicant for Resealing:

• Inventory of Property
• Certified copy of the power of attorney (if applicable).

You should attach the documents in the same order they are referred to in the affidavit. 

You must write the words "Annexure A" at the top of the first page of the first document annexed to the affidavit. At the bottom of the document, you also need to write the following:

   'This is Annexure A to the affidavit of [applicant's name] dated [date of the affidavit]'

The witness must sign every annexure after they have witnessed the affidavit.

If an annexure has more than one page, you only need to write on the first page of the document but you should change the statement written at the bottom of the annexure to:

   'This and the following [2] pages is Annexure A to the affidavit of [applicant's name] dated [date of the affidavit] '

 Check to ensure that each of your annexures have the same letter of the alphabet as they have in the Affidavit of Applicant for Resealing and that every page of the affidavit and annexures are signed by the applicant and the witness.

 If the application was made by a power of attorney, you should lodge the original power of attorney as a separate document. You can ask the court to return the original power of attorney to you after the grant is resealed.

 If you are applying to reseal letters of administration and you do not have the consent of all other beneficiaries, the court may ask you to provide a bond to protect the shares of those beneficiaries who have not consented. If you are required to provide a bond, you should get legal advice.

Step 8: File your application with the Supreme Court of New South Wales

You must file the following documents in the Supreme Court of New South Wales:

• Summons (Form 111)
• Affidavit of Applicant for Resealing (Form 121) with annexures
• Reseal (Form 113)
• Photocopy of the Reseal (Form 113)
• Original grant or exemplification of the grant
• Certified copy of the original grant or exemplification
• Two photocopies of the Inventory of NSW assets (form 117)
• Stamped self-addressed A4 envelope.

Staple each set of documents in the top left hand corner.

 Make sure you keep a copy of all documents before filing with the court.

 Before you apply for reseal in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, you must wait at least 14 days after the reseal notice is published on the NSW Online Registry website.

 If you are notified by the court that a caveat has been lodged, you should get legal advice.

You must pay a filing fee if the gross value of the estate is more than $100,000.  The filing fee varies according to the gross (total) value of the estate. If the gross value is more than $100 000 but less than $250,000, the filing fee is $802 (as at 1 July 2022).

For more information about the current filing fees, go to Schedule 1 of the Civil Procedure Regulation 2012 on the NSW Legislation website.

If you cannot afford to pay the filing fee, you can apply for a waiver, postponement or reduction of the fee.

For more information, go to the Supreme Court of​ New South Wales website.

The application must be filed:

• in person at the Supreme Court of New South Wales Registry located at Level 5, 184 Phillip Street, Sydney or
• by mail to the Supreme Court of New South Wales Registry, GPO Box 3, Sydney, NSW 2001.

For more information, go to the Supreme Court probate information pages on the Supreme Court of ​New South Wales website.