A Section 27 Notice is one of the most useful steps an executor or administrator can take when administering an estate. Published correctly, it protects you personally against claims from creditors you did not know about. This guide explains what that protection covers, what it does not, and how to place the notice.
What is a Section 27 Notice?
Section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 allows trustees and personal representatives to protect themselves against claims from creditors and beneficiaries they have not had notice of at the time they distribute the estate, provided the notice complies with the requirements of that section.
In plain terms, it is a public announcement that an estate is being administered. Potential claimants are given a period to come forward. If they do not, the personal representative can distribute without becoming personally liable for claims they could not reasonably have known about.
The words “not had notice of” carry the whole weight of the section, and they are the point most often misunderstood. The notice does nothing at all about a creditor you already know about.
The executor’s role in probate
Probate is the legal process of administering a deceased person’s estate: collecting assets, settling debts, and distributing what remains to beneficiaries under the will or the rules of intestacy.
If there is a will, an executor carries out this work. If there is no will, an administrator does so instead after obtaining letters of administration. Both are personal representatives and both are subject to the same statutory duties.
Dealing with debts is central to both roles. That is where the Section 27 Notice comes in.
Why the Section 27 Notice matters
When someone dies, their debts do not disappear. They become liabilities of the estate, and the personal representative must settle them before distributing anything to beneficiaries. The difficulty is that not every creditor is easy to identify.
A Section 27 Notice gives unknown creditors a formal opportunity to come forward, and gives the personal representative statutory protection if they do not. Without it, a creditor who emerges after distribution can pursue the executor personally for the debt, and there are real risks in acting as an executor without that protection in place.
What the notice protects you against, and what it does not
If the notice is properly published and you distribute after the notice period has expired, you are not personally liable to a claimant whose claim you had no notice of at the time.
Four limits matter, and they are the reason the notice is a safeguard rather than a shield.
It does nothing about known creditors. The protection is confined to claims you had no notice of. A debt you are already aware of, or ought reasonably to be aware of from the paperwork, must still be paid.
It does not remove your duty to search. Section 27(2)(b) says expressly that the notice does not free a personal representative from the obligation to make the searches, or obtain the official certificates of search, that an intending purchaser would be advised to make. Publishing the notice and skipping the searches loses you the protection.
It does not extinguish the claim. Section 27(2)(a) preserves a claimant’s right to follow the property, or anything representing it, into the hands of anyone other than a purchaser who received it. So a creditor or an overlooked beneficiary can still trace the money to whoever it was paid to. What changes is that they cannot come after you.
It gives no protection against a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. This is the trap that catches executors out, because the timescales differ. Section 27 runs for two months. The protection against a 1975 Act claim comes from section 20 of that Act, and only applies once six months have passed from the date the grant was first taken out. An executor who publishes a Section 27 Notice, waits two months and distributes is still exposed to a 1975 Act claim for another four months.
Issuing a Section 27 Notice: a step-by-step guide
- Identify potential creditors. Review the deceased’s financial records thoroughly, and carry out the searches described above rather than relying on the notice alone.
- Draft the notice. It must identify the deceased, give their last address and date of death, and provide an address for claims.
- Publish in The Gazette. For an estate in England and Wales that is The London Gazette.
- Publish in a local newspaper if the estate includes land. Section 27 requires a notice in a newspaper circulating in the district in which the land is situated. It is the location of the property that decides which paper, not where the deceased happened to live, and the newspaper requirement is engaged where the estate includes land.
- Wait at least two months. The statutory minimum is two months from the date fixed in the notice, or from the last of the notices where more than one is published.
- Settle valid claims from the estate before distributing.
- Consider the six-month point. Where a 1975 Act claim is conceivable, wait until six months have passed from the grant before distributing.
Publication requirements for the Section 27 Notice
For an estate administered in England and Wales, the Gazette notice goes in The London Gazette. Where an estate has connections to another jurisdiction, notices elsewhere are a matter for direction by the court in a particular case rather than a straightforward choice between the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes.
Where both a Gazette notice and a newspaper notice are published, the clock runs from the later of the two publication dates, so placing them at the same time avoids an awkward gap.
Keep the tear sheets or PDF proofs on the estate file. There is no statutory retention period, but twelve years is a sensible benchmark, because section 22 of the Limitation Act 1980 sets twelve years as the long-stop for most claims to a deceased person’s estate.
To place the notice, The Gazette asks you to supply one of the grant of probate, the letters of administration or the death certificate. That is The Gazette’s own submission requirement rather than something section 27 imposes.
On cost, The Gazette’s published 2026 pricing is £96.55 plus VAT for a deceased estates notice, with its newspaper placement package at £240.00 plus VAT. A Gazette notice alone therefore comes to a little over £115 including VAT, and roughly £400 including VAT with a local paper. Either way it is an administration expense payable from the estate.
What happens if you do not issue a Section 27 Notice?
Publishing is not compulsory, but going without it leaves you personally exposed if a creditor emerges after distribution. That exposure is real and it falls on you, not the estate.
Distributing before the notice period expires compounds the problem, because funds may then have to be recalled from beneficiaries who have already spent them.
The practical rule is to publish the notice, complete the searches, wait out the statutory period, and think carefully about the six-month 1975 Act window before paying anything out.
Managing debts after someone dies
Settling the deceased’s debts is a core part of the role. The estate’s assets pay those debts, and beneficiaries receive only what remains.
If the estate is insolvent, meaning the debts exceed the assets, a strict statutory order governs which creditors are paid first, and paying the wrong person leaves you personally liable for the shortfall. Take advice before taking any further step.
Distributing the estate after the notice period
Once the notice period has expired and claims have been dealt with, distribute according to the will or the intestacy rules, keeping a clear record of what each beneficiary received.
After distribution is complete and all debts are settled, the estate can be closed.
Getting professional support
Much of this can be handled without a solicitor, but the interaction between the two-month notice period, the six-month 1975 Act window and the duty to search is where lay executors most often come unstuck.
You can compare quotes from three probate solicitors through The Probate Network and talk through your own situation.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Section 27 Notice in probate?
It is a public announcement, published in The Gazette and, where the estate includes land, in a newspaper circulating where that land is, inviting creditors of a deceased person to come forward. It takes its name from section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925. Published correctly, it protects the personal representative against personal liability for claims they had no notice of.
How long do creditors have to respond to a Section 27 Notice?
The statutory minimum is two months from the date fixed in the notice. In practice notices are commonly set at two months and one day, which is a publishing convention to make certain the period is not less than two months rather than a requirement of the Act. Where more than one notice is published, the period runs from the last of them.
Is a Section 27 Notice a legal requirement?
No. Section 27 is permissive: it gives protection to a personal representative who chooses to use it. Most solicitors publish one as a matter of course, because the personal risk of not doing so falls on the executor rather than the estate.
Can a creditor still claim after the Section 27 Notice period has passed?
Yes, but not against you personally, provided they were a creditor you had no notice of. Section 27 expressly preserves the right to follow the money into the hands of whoever received it, so the claim can still be pursued against the beneficiaries. The notice moves the exposure off the personal representative; it does not make the debt go away.
Does a Section 27 Notice protect against a claim under the 1975 Act?
No. That is a separate protection with a longer timescale. Section 20 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 protects a personal representative who distributes once six months have passed from the date representation was first taken out. Waiting only the two months of the Section 27 period leaves you exposed to a 1975 Act claim for a further four.
This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and thresholds can change and every estate is different. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a qualified professional. You can book a free legal consultation through The Probate Network.
