⚠️ Educational information only — not legal, tax, or financial advice.
The figures on this page are general estimates. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for Maryland with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.
This page is built to print. Use your browser's Print command and choose "Save as PDF" for a one-page Maryland reference. Every figure below is compiled from the statutes and state authorities listed at the bottom — the same sources cited on our Maryland probate pages.
Maryland probate fees
| Item | Maryland |
|---|---|
| Court filing fee | Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §2-206(b)(2) sets the Register of Wills probate fee on the value of the probate estate: $0 under $50,000; $100 for $50,000 to under $100,000; $200 for $100,000 to under $500,000; $1,000 for $500,000 to under $1,000,000; $2,000 for $1,000,000 to under $2,500,000; $5,000 for $2,500,000 to under $5,000,000; $7,500 for $5,000,000 to under $7,500,000; $10,000 for $7,500,000 to under $10,000,000; and $10,000 plus 0.02% of the excess over $10,000,000 above that. §2-206(b)(3) defines the value used. §2-206(a)(1) does not itself waive anything — it defines "poverty", as a family household income at the decedent's death below 50% of the State median family income as reported in the Federal Register, or a personal representative represented by an attorney retained through the Maryland Legal Services Corporation. The waiver is §2-206(a)(4), and it requires that poverty and a property condition: the decedent's Maryland real property subject to administration must either be transferred to an heir of the decedent who resides on the property, or be encumbered by a lien and subject to sale under Title 14, Subtitle 8 of the Tax-Property Article. Income alone does not waive the fee. |
| Attorney fees | Not a fixed statutory percentage. Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-602(a) entitles an attorney to reasonable compensation for legal services rendered to the estate or the personal representative or both. Under §7-602(b)(1) it is the court — not the Register of Wills — that may allow a counsel fee, on a petition filed in reasonable detail by the personal representative or the attorney, and §7-602(b)(2) requires the compensation to be fair and reasonable in light of all the circumstances. §7-602(c) requires the court to consider what would be a fair and reasonable total charge for administering the estate and forbids aggregate compensation above that figure. We found no published source for what probate costs in total in Maryland as of September 2026; the ranges that are published come from law firms and from sites paid to refer customers to them. |
| Executor / personal representative fees | Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601(a)(1) entitles the personal representative or special administrator to reasonable compensation. §7-601(b)(1) provides that "[u]nless the will provides a larger measure of compensation", the court may allow the commissions it considers appropriate on petition, and §7-601(b)(2) caps those commissions at 9% of the first $20,000 of the property subject to administration plus 3.6% of the excess over $20,000. So the table is a ceiling on what the court may allow, not an absolute ceiling: a will providing a larger measure displaces it. Where a will states a compensation that the court judges insufficient, §7-601(a)(2) provides that additional compensation shall be allowed. §7-601(c) lets the personal representative, special administrator or an unsuccessful exceptant appeal the allowance to the circuit court within 30 days; the circuit court may increase it but not above the table, or decrease it. |
| Fee basis | statutory |
Worked example
On a $400,000 Maryland estate the maximum commission is $15,480: 9% of the first $20,000 ($1,800) plus 3.6% of the remaining $380,000 ($13,680).
Maryland thresholds and deadlines
| Item | Maryland |
|---|---|
| Small-estate threshold | Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601(a) allows small-estate administration under §§5-602 through 5-607 where the property of the decedent subject to administration in Maryland "is established to have a value of $50,000 or less as of the date of the death". §5-601(b) allows an estate already in administration to move to that procedure on the same $50,000 test, and §5-601(c) raises the figure to $100,000 where "the surviving spouse is the sole legatee or heir" — both of those only if the change is made "before the filing of an initial account". §5-601(d) fixes the valuation basis: value is "the fair market value of property less debts of record secured by the property, as of the date of death, to the extent that insurance benefits are not payable to the lien holder or secured party". |
| Creditor claim period | A claim is forever barred against the estate, the personal representative, and the heirs and legatees unless presented within the EARLIER of six months after the date of the decedent's death, or two months after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers the creditor a notice in the form required by Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-103 (§8-103(a)). The mailed notice shortens the period rather than extending it: the six-month death clock is the outer limit either way. Particular claims run separately — a claim based on the conduct of or a contract with the personal representative is barred unless an action is commenced within six months after the claim arose (§8-103(c)), and a Maryland Department of Health Medical Assistance recovery claim runs from publication of notice of the first appointment rather than from death (§8-103(f)). Nothing in the section affects enforcement of a mortgage, pledge, judgment or other lien or security interest on estate property (§8-103(d)), or an action for injury or property damage against a decedent who had been duly served with process before death (§8-103(e)). |
| Statutory floor (creditor period) | A claim is forever barred against the estate, the personal representative, and the heirs and legatees unless presented within the EARLIER of six months after the date of the decedent's death, or two months after the personal representative mails or otherwise delivers the creditor a notice in the form required by Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-103 (§8-103(a)). The mailed notice shortens the period rather than extending it: the six-month death clock is the outer limit either way. Particular claims run separately — a claim based on the conduct of or a contract with the personal representative is barred unless an action is commenced within six months after the claim arose (§8-103(c)), and a Maryland Department of Health Medical Assistance recovery claim runs from publication of notice of the first appointment rather than from death (§8-103(f)). Nothing in the section affects enforcement of a mortgage, pledge, judgment or other lien or security interest on estate property (§8-103(d)), or an action for injury or property damage against a decedent who had been duly served with process before death (§8-103(e)). |
| Transfer-on-death deed | Maryland has no transfer-on-death deed statute for real property; none was found in the Real Property article and no source publishing one is cited here. Maryland does have the uniform transfer-on-death security registration provisions at Md. Code, Est. & Trusts Title 16: §16-101(b) defines "beneficiary form" as a registration indicating the present owner and the person who will become the owner on the owner’s death, and §16-108(a)(1) provides that a registering entity "is not required to offer or to accept a request for security registration in beneficiary form", so the designation depends on the entity agreeing to it. §16-108(b) provides that by accepting such a request the registering entity agrees the registration will be implemented on the death of the deceased owner. |
Note on the creditor-claim clock. The period above does not start on the same event in every state — depending on the statute it can run from the date of death, from the date letters are issued to the personal representative, or from first publication of notice. The Maryland trigger is stated in the row above, as written in the statute.
What passes outside Maryland probate
These transfers are not part of the estate the fees above are calculated on:
- Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death accounts.
- Joint ownership with right of survivorship.
- Transfer-on-death deed — Maryland has no transfer-on-death deed statute for real property; none was found in the Real Property article and no source publishing one is cited here. Maryland does have the uniform transfer-on-death security registration provisions at Md. Code, Est. & Trusts Title 16: §16-101(b) defines "beneficiary form" as a registration indicating the present owner and the person who will become the owner on the owner’s death, and §16-108(a)(1) provides that a registering entity "is not required to offer or to accept a request for security registration in beneficiary form", so the designation depends on the entity agreeing to it. §16-108(b) provides that by accepting such a request the registering entity agrees the registration will be implemented on the death of the deceased owner.
- Assets titled into a funded living trust.
Sources for this sheet
- Statutes: Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-601 (PR commission cap); Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §7-602 (attorney compensation); Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §2-206 (Register of Wills fees); Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §5-601 (small estates); Md. Code, Est. & Trusts §8-103 (creditor claims); Md. Code, Tax-Gen. §7-204 (inheritance tax)
- State authority: Maryland Registers of Wills (registers.maryland.gov)
- Executor fees: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=7-601&enactments=false
- Court filing fees: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=2-206&enactments=false
- Small-estate procedure: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=5-601&enactments=false
- Transfer-on-death deed: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=16-108&enactments=false
- Creditor claim period: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=get§ion=8-103
- estateTax: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtg§ion=7-309&enactments=false
- inheritanceTax: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gtg§ion=7-203&enactments=false
Compiled August 15, 2026 from the sources listed above. Fee schedules, thresholds, and court costs are amended by legislatures and courts — confirm each figure against the cited statute or the Maryland court before relying on it.
The full Maryland guides
- How Much Does Probate Cost in Maryland? — the full cost breakdown.
- How Much Does an Executor Get Paid in Maryland? — the fee rule in detail.
- How Long Does Probate Take in Maryland? — the timeline and its statutory floor.
- Executor Deadlines in Maryland — inventory deadline, creditor-claim period and outer bar, each quoted from the statute.
- How to Avoid Probate in Maryland — the transfers that pass outside it.
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Maryland? — execution requirements and pricing.
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This sheet sets out Maryland probate figures as published at the time of compilation. It is not legal advice. Figures and statutes change and their application depends on the specific estate. Confirm current figures with the Maryland courts or a licensed Maryland attorney.