Letter of Administration in Bangladesh 2026: Who Applies, Court Process, Bonds and Revocation

Letter of administration Bangladesh law: what the grant is and why it matters in 2026

A letter of administration Bangladesh courts grant under the Succession Act 1925 turns a family member, a creditor or a nominee into the legal representative of a person who has died. Once the District Judge seals the grant, the whole estate vests in the administrator, who collects assets, pays debts, sues and is sued, and finally distributes what remains. Without it, banks, companies and foreign institutions often refuse to deal with anyone, and in some estates no one can establish a claim in court at all.

This guide covers letters of administration and probate under Parts VIII and IX of the Act: when a grant is compulsory, who may apply, which court has jurisdiction, the petition, court fees, the administration bond, contested cases, revocation and foreign estates. Where a smaller instrument will do, we say so and point to our separate guide on the succession certificate.

Summary: Letters of administration appoint a court-supervised representative for a deceased person's entire estate, movable and immovable, where there is no will or no executor able to prove one. Probate does the same for an executor named in a will. Both are granted by the District Judge, with concurrent jurisdiction in the High Court Division. For Muslim estates, and for intestate Hindu and Bangladeshi Christian estates, a grant is generally optional, but it is often the only practical way to administer a large, mixed or cross-border estate.

Key point: An administrator must give a bond with sureties, file an inventory within six months and an account within one year of the grant, and, in estates of Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina and exempted persons, obtain the court's prior permission before selling, mortgaging or giving away immovable property or leasing it for more than five years. Wilful failure to file a true inventory or account is itself a ground for revoking the grant.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

What a letter of administration Bangladesh courts grant actually does

Section 211 makes the executor or administrator the deceased's legal representative for all purposes and vests all of the deceased's property in him.[2] The administrator does not merely receive a share; he holds the whole estate, as a fiduciary, for creditors first and heirs afterwards. Section 220 adds that the grant entitles him to all the intestate's rights as if made the moment after death, so rents and dividends accruing in the interval belong to the estate, although section 221 denies validation to earlier acts that damaged it.[1]

Survivorship property is outside the grant

Where the deceased was a Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina or exempted person, nothing vests in the representative that would otherwise pass by survivorship to someone else.[2] Mapping which assets belong to the estate and which pass outside it is the first job of any adviser.

Letters of administration and probate distinguished

Probate is granted only to an executor appointed by the will, and never to a minor or a person of unsound mind.[1] Letters of administration are granted to everyone else: the person entitled on intestacy, a residuary legatee, a creditor or a court-chosen nominee. Where there is a will but no executor able or willing to prove it, the court grants letters of administration with the will annexed; under section 232 a universal or residuary legatee may take that grant where no executor was appointed, the executor is incapable or refuses to act, or the executor died before proving the will.[1]

When a grant is compulsory and when it is optional

Section 212(1) provides that no right to any part of an intestate's property can be established in any court unless letters of administration have first been granted.[3] Section 213(1) provides that no right as executor or legatee can be established in any court unless probate, or letters of administration with the will annexed, has first been granted.[4] Everything turns on the exceptions.

Intestate estates

Section 212(2) disapplies the intestacy rule for a Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina or Bangladesh Christian.[3] Most Bangladeshi heirs can therefore sue for their shares, seek partition or defend title without a grant. The exemption is framed by community, so for an intestate outside those communities, such as a foreign national who is not a Bangladesh Christian, section 212(1) applies on its terms.

Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina and Christian wills

Section 213(2) applies the probate requirement to wills of Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jainas within clauses (a) and (b) of section 57.[4] Those clauses cover wills made within Bangladesh on or after 1 September 1870, and wills made elsewhere so far as they relate to immovable property in Bangladesh.[7] Christian wills are not excluded at all. In practice, a legatee under almost any Hindu or Christian will made in Bangladesh needs probate, or letters with the will annexed, before relying on it in court.

Muslim wills and estates

Section 213(2) states that it does not apply to wills made by Muslims.[4] In Jahanara Begum v Hazi Nizamuddin, decided on 23 January 2024, the Appellate Division agreed that sections 57, 58 and 213 do not govern Muslim wills, held a probate case on a Muslim will not maintainable on its facts, and found that it in reality sought partition of paternal property under the guise of probate.[12] The court did not say probate can never be sought for a Muslim will, but the warning against using testamentary proceedings to reopen an inheritance dispute is clear.

The Act also gives the court a discretion. Under section 298, where the deceased was a Muslim, Buddhist or exempted person, or a Hindu, Sikh or Jaina outside section 57, the court may refuse letters of administration, recording its reasons in writing. Section 264(2) further ties the court's power to receive such applications, outside section 57 cases, to government authorisation by Gazette notification.[1] Confirm the local court's practice before filing in a Muslim estate.

Why optional grants are still sought

Optional does not mean unnecessary. Section 214 bars a court from decreeing or executing payment of a debt owed to the deceased in favour of a claimant by succession unless he produces probate, letters of administration, an Administrator-General's certificate or a succession certificate specifying the debt.[5] Banks, listed companies, insurers and foreign institutions also want one authoritative representative. For a running business, rental property in several districts, debts to pay or heirs who distrust one another, letters of administration are usually the cleanest solution. The underlying shares for each community are explained in our guide to inheritance law in Bangladesh.

Letter of administration Bangladesh or succession certificate: choosing the instrument

A succession certificate under Part X is asset-specific: it authorises the holder to collect the listed debts and securities and is conclusive only against the debtors and issuers concerned.[8] Letters of administration cover the entire estate, movable and immovable, and carry continuing duties to the court. Procedure, fees and timing for certificates are covered in our guide to the succession certificate in Bangladesh, so we do not repeat them here.

Section 370(1) bars a succession certificate for any debt or security to which a right must be established by a grant under section 212 or 213, subject to an exception for the estate of a deceased Bangladesh Christian.[8] Where a Hindu will governs the deposits, the legatee cannot sidestep probate by applying for a certificate. Conversely, under section 215 a later grant supersedes an earlier certificate for the same estate, the grantee may take over the certificate holder's pending suits, and good-faith payments to the holder remain valid.[6] Families can unlock urgent funds with a certificate and move to a full grant later, with the certificate fee credited against the grant fee.[9]

Who can apply for letters of administration

Entitlement depends on the deceased's community and on whether there is a will.

Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina and exempted estates

Under section 218, administration may be granted to any person who, under the applicable rule of distribution, would take the whole or any part of the estate. Where several apply, the court may choose one or more; where none applies, a creditor may be appointed.[1] In a Muslim estate, any heir with a share under Muslim inheritance law is eligible, and the court chooses between competing heirs by fitness and the interests of the estate.

Other estates, including Christian estates

Section 219 gives the widow first claim unless she is excluded for personal disqualification or lack of interest, and remarriage is not a ground of exclusion. Failing her, administration goes to those who would take on intestacy, persons in equal degree are equally entitled, a widower stands where a widow would, and a creditor may be appointed if no kindred will act. These rules apply to property in Bangladesh even where the deceased was domiciled abroad.[1]

Where there is a will

If an appointed executor has not renounced, letters cannot be granted to anyone else until he has been cited to accept or renounce. Where there is no executor and no residuary legatee able or willing to act, section 234 allows the persons entitled on intestacy, a beneficially interested legatee or a creditor to take the grant, and section 235 requires citations to the next of kin before a non-residuary legatee is appointed.[1]

Minors, absent heirs and the court's choice

Letters cannot be granted to a minor or a person of unsound mind; where the sole person entitled is one, letters go to a guardian or court-appointed person until majority or recovery.[1] Our guide to child custody and guardianship covers the guardianship side. Sections 241 and 243 allow limited grants to the attorney of an executor or heir absent from Bangladesh. Section 254 lets the court appoint someone other than the person ordinarily entitled, weighing consanguinity, interest, the safety of the estate and the likelihood of proper administration, and section 253 permits an urgent limited grant to collect and preserve property.[1]

Which court has jurisdiction: the District Judge and the High Court Division

Section 264(1) gives the District Judge jurisdiction to grant and revoke probates and letters of administration in all cases within the district. Under section 270, a grant may be made if the deceased, at death, had a fixed place of abode or any movable or immovable property within the judge's jurisdiction, and the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 regulates the proceedings so far as circumstances permit.[1] If the deceased had no fixed abode in the district, section 271 allows the judge to decline in favour of a more convenient district or to limit the grant to local property, so filing where the deceased lived is almost always better.[1]

District Delegates and the High Court Division

The Supreme Court may appoint District Delegates to grant probate and administration in non-contentious cases; a Delegate cannot proceed once someone appears to oppose.[1] Section 300 gives the High Court Division jurisdiction concurrent with the District Judge, and only the High Court Division may, under sections 301 and 302, remove or discharge a private executor or administrator, appoint a successor, or give directions about the estate.[1] An order of the District Judge is appealable to the High Court Division under the Code of Civil Procedure; see our guide to civil appeals in Bangladesh.[1]

Where the grant takes effect

A grant is conclusive of representative title against debtors and holders of the deceased's property, who are protected when they pay or deliver to the grantee. Under the proviso to section 273, it takes effect throughout Bangladesh where made by the High Court Division, or by a District Judge where the deceased had a fixed abode in the district and the judge certifies that the value of property affected beyond the district does not exceed Tk 10,000.[1] Estates spread across districts therefore need careful planning of the forum.

Preparing the letter of administration Bangladesh petition

Errors in the petition are a classic ground for later revocation. Section 278 requires a petition for letters of administration to state the time and place of death, the deceased's family or other relatives and their residences, the right in which the petitioner claims, the amount of assets likely to come to his hands, and the fixed abode or property that founds jurisdiction.[1] It must be signed by the petitioner and his pleader and verified as true to the best of his information and belief, and a false averment is punishable under section 282.[1]

Probate petitions

A probate petition under section 276 annexes the will and states the time of death, that the writing is the last will, that it was duly executed, the likely assets and that the petitioner is the named executor. Section 281 requires verification by at least one attesting witness, if procurable, and sections 237 to 239 allow probate of a copy, draft or statement of contents where the original is lost.[1]

Documents to assemble

• death registration certificate, and national identity cards, passports or birth certificates for the deceased and every heir;
• marriage and divorce records establishing the spouses;
• a family tree identifying everyone entitled under the applicable personal law;
• title deeds, khatians and mutation records, with current valuations;
• bank statements, share certificates, savings instruments, insurance policies and business records;
• a schedule of debts and taxes, plus co-heir consents and powers of attorney for heirs abroad.

The asset schedule drives the court fee and becomes the baseline against which the administrator's inventory and account are later tested.

Court fees and valuation of the estate

Article 10 of Schedule I to the Court-fees Act 1870, as substituted in 2010, applies graduated rates band by band: 3 per cent on value above Tk 5,000 up to Tk 50,000, 5 per cent up to Tk 1 lakh, 6 per cent up to Tk 2.5 lakh, 7 per cent up to Tk 3 lakh, 8 per cent up to Tk 5 lakh and 9 per cent above Tk 5 lakh.[9] We checked the schedule on 20 October 2026. On a Tk 50 lakh estate the bands produce a fee of roughly Tk 4.37 lakh, so the choice between a full grant and a targeted certificate is often a financial one.

Valuation and the Collector

Section 19-I of the Court-fees Act bars any order for a grant until the petitioner has filed a valuation in the Third Schedule form and the court is satisfied the fee has been paid.[11] Under section 19-H, notice of the application goes to the Collector, who may inspect the record, examine the petitioner and require an amended valuation, and may ask the court to inquire into the true value within six months after the section 317 inventory is exhibited.[10] Understating the estate to save fees is a false economy.

Citations, caveats and the hearing

The District Judge may examine the petitioner on oath, require further proof of execution or entitlement, and issue citations calling on anyone claiming an interest to appear before the grant. Citations are fixed in the court-house and the Collector's office and published as the court directs.[1] In practice newspaper publication is common, and special notice goes to every heir named in the family schedule.

An objector can enter a caveat under section 284, in the Schedule V form, after which nothing is done on the petition until the caveator has had reasonable notice.[1] Section 293 sets minimum waiting periods of seven clear days after death for probate and fourteen for letters of administration. Grants issue under the seal of the court, and proved original wills are kept among its records.[1] Order several certified copies at once, because every bank, registry office and company will want one.

The administration bond and sureties

Section 291 requires every administrator, other than one appointed under section 241, to give the District Judge a bond with one or more sureties for the due collection, getting in and administration of the estate, in a form set by the judge's order; the Act does not fix the amount. In Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina and exempted estates the court may require a similar bond from an executor taking probate.[1]

If the bond's condition is broken, the court may assign it to a person who sues on it as trustee for everyone interested.[1] Sureties carry real exposure, and for heirs who did not apply the bond is the main protection against an administrator who collects and fails to distribute. They should press for a bond proportionate to the estate rather than accepting a nominal figure.

Contested proceedings

Once anyone opposes the grant, section 295 converts the proceeding, as nearly as may be, into a regular suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, with the petitioner as plaintiff and the objector as defendant.[1] Pleadings, issues, discovery, witness evidence and cross-examination follow, so a contested case should be budgeted as full civil litigation. Administration contests usually concern who should administer or whether an alleged heir or marriage is genuine; probate contests concern due execution, capacity, undue influence, fraud or a later will.

Administrator pendente lite

While a suit about a will's validity, or about obtaining or revoking a grant, is pending, section 247 allows the court to appoint an administrator pendente lite with full powers except distribution, under its control.[1] Where rents go uncollected or a business drifts during a family dispute, this is often the most useful interim order, alongside a temporary injunction freezing dealings with property.

Probate is not a partition suit

Jahanara Begum shows that courts will look through a testamentary petition that is really a claim to divide property and reject it at the threshold.[12] Division among heirs belongs in a partition suit, and in districts covered by the legal aid reforms, partition disputes within Assistant Judge jurisdiction must first go through mandatory pre-case mediation.[13] On 21 July 2026 the Law Minister, Md Asaduzzaman, extended that requirement under section 21B of the amended Legal Aid Services Act to ten more districts beyond twenty pilot districts.[14]

Powers and duties of an administrator after the grant

Restrictions on dealing with immovable property

Section 307(2) limits administrators in Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina and exempted estates. Without the court's previous permission, an administrator may not mortgage, charge or transfer by sale, gift, exchange or otherwise any immovable property vested in him, or lease it for more than five years, and a disposal in breach is voidable by any other interested person.[1] Buyers of estate land should insist on seeing the permission order.

Inventory and account

Section 317 requires an inventory of all property, credits and debts within six months of the grant, and an account of the assets and their application within one year, unless the court extends time. Intentionally failing to comply with a requisition is an offence under section 176 of the Penal Code, and an intentionally false inventory or account is an offence under section 193.[1]

Order of payment and personal liability

Funeral and death-bed expenses come first, then the costs of obtaining the grant, then wages for labour or domestic service in the three months before death, then other debts rateably, and all debts before any legacy.[1] An administrator who misapplies the estate or lets it suffer through neglect, such as releasing a solvent debtor or allowing a claim to become time-barred, must make good the loss. A person who intermeddles without a grant may become an executor of his own wrong, although preserving property, paying for the funeral or meeting the family's immediate needs is excepted.[1]

Revocation of a letter of administration Bangladesh grant

Section 263 allows a grant to be revoked or annulled for just cause: the proceedings were defective in substance; the grant was obtained fraudulently by false suggestion or concealment of something material; it was obtained on an untrue allegation of a fact essential in law, even if made inadvertently; it has become useless and inoperative; or the grantee has wilfully and without reasonable cause failed to exhibit the inventory or account, or exhibited one untrue in a material respect.[1]

The most frequent ground in practice is an heir omitted from the family schedule who never received a citation. A will surfacing after an intestate grant, and an administrator who stops reporting, are close behind. Minor errors in names, descriptions, or the time and place of death can instead be rectified under section 261 without revocation.[1]

A revoked grant must be delivered up immediately, and wilful refusal is punishable with a fine of up to Tk 1,000, imprisonment of up to three months, or both. Payments made in good faith under the grant before revocation remain a valid discharge.[1] Third parties can rely on a grant; the grantee remains accountable.

Foreign estates, heirs abroad and cross-border grants

Section 219(g) applies the Act's entitlement rules to property in Bangladesh even where the deceased was domiciled under a different law of succession.[1] For a deceased outside the exempted communities, section 212 makes a Bangladeshi grant a precondition to establishing rights in court here, and a foreign grant does not by itself operate in Bangladesh.[3]

Wills proved abroad and surplus transfers

Where a will has been proved and deposited in a competent court outside Bangladesh and an authenticated copy is produced, section 228 allows letters of administration with a copy of that copy annexed, avoiding re-proof of execution.[1] Where a deceased not domiciled in Bangladesh leaves assets here and in the country of domicile, section 367 allows the Bangladeshi representative, after the section 360 notices and payment of known lawful claims, to transfer the surplus to the domiciliary representative with that representative's consent.[1]

Heirs living abroad

Non-resident heirs need not travel. Sections 241 and 243 permit limited grants to the attorney of an absent executor or heir, and consents and powers of attorney signed abroad must be properly executed and authenticated, as our succession certificate guide explains.[1] Our cross-border family matters practice coordinates Bangladeshi grants with proceedings in the United Kingdom, the Middle East and North America.

Step-by-step: obtaining a letter of administration Bangladesh grant

An uncontested application usually follows the sequence below. Contested cases share the opening stages and then become regular suits.

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Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying for the wrong instrument. Paying a 9 per cent court fee where a succession certificate would release the deposits, or relying on a certificate where a Hindu or Christian will makes probate compulsory.
• Omitting an heir. A second wife or a child from an earlier marriage left out of the family schedule invites revocation.
• Undervaluing the estate. The Collector can challenge the valuation and the inventory will expose it.
• Selling land without permission. Under section 307(2) a sale without prior court permission is voidable.
• Missing the inventory and account deadlines. Wilful default is a revocation ground.
• Using probate to partition. The Appellate Division has made clear that testamentary proceedings are not a substitute for a partition suit.
• Distributing before paying debts. Debts come first, and the administrator is personally exposed.

After the grant: land records, mutation and planning ahead

A grant gives authority, but the land records still show the deceased. Immovable property will need mutation in the record of rights, explained in our guide to land mutation in Bangladesh, and heirs who agree a division usually record it in a registered partition deed. Lifetime planning reduces all of this: a properly executed will with a named executor, or registered lifetime gifts, can keep an estate out of contested proceedings. Our guide to heba, wills and gift registration sets out the options, and our inheritance and succession planning practice advises on structuring.

A letter of administration Bangladesh courts grant is a powerful tool that imposes real duties. If you are an heir, executor, creditor or overseas family member facing an estate in Bangladesh, contact TRW for a clear view of which grant you need and how to obtain it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a letter of administration in Bangladesh?

A grant by the District Judge or the High Court Division under the Succession Act 1925 appointing an administrator as legal representative of a deceased person's estate, where there is no will or no executor able to prove one. The whole estate vests in the administrator.[1] [2]

Is a letter of administration Bangladesh law requires for a Muslim estate?

Generally not. Section 212(2) disapplies the intestacy requirement for Muslims, and section 213(2) excludes Muslim wills from the probate requirement. Heirs may still seek a grant for practical reasons, but the court may refuse with recorded reasons.[3] [4] [1]

Does a Hindu will need probate in Bangladesh?

Usually yes. Section 213 applies to Hindu wills within section 57(a) and (b): wills made in Bangladesh on or after 1 September 1870, and wills made elsewhere relating to immovable property in Bangladesh.[4] [7]

Which court grants letters of administration?

The District Judge of the district where the deceased had a fixed abode or any property at death. The High Court Division has concurrent jurisdiction, and District Delegates may handle non-contentious cases.[1]

How much is the court fee?

Article 10 of Schedule I to the Court-fees Act 1870 sets graduated rates from 3 to 9 per cent, with 9 per cent on value above Tk 5 lakh. A fee already paid on a succession certificate for the same estate is credited.[9]

Do I have to give a bond?

Yes. Section 291 requires an administrator to give the District Judge a bond with one or more sureties. The Act does not fix the amount; the court sets the form and amount.[1]

What happens if someone objects?

An objector can enter a caveat, and once there is contention the case proceeds as a regular civil suit with the petitioner as plaintiff. The court may appoint an administrator pendente lite meanwhile.[1]

Can an administrator sell estate land?

In Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jaina and exempted estates, only with the court's previous permission, which is also needed for mortgages, gifts and leases over five years. A disposal without it is voidable.[1]

Can letters of administration be revoked?

Yes, for just cause under section 263, including defective proceedings, fraud or concealment, an untrue essential allegation, a grant that has become useless, or wilful failure to file a true inventory or account.[1]

Can a will proved abroad be used in Bangladesh?

Yes. Under section 228, where the will has been proved and deposited in a competent foreign court and an authenticated copy is produced, letters of administration may be granted with that copy annexed.[1]