Last updated: September 4, 2026|General Connecticut probate bond information — confirm current requirements with the licensing authority.

Court bond · Connecticut Probate Court (54 districts)

Connecticut Probate Bond

Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-139, a probate bond is required whenever a fiduciary is appointed in a Connecticut probate matter — but whether a will can get you out of it depends entirely on which role you hold. An executor named in a will can have the bond excused under § 45a-289 — unless someone objects, which forces the court to set a bond at the greatest of three statutory figures. An administrator appointed over an intestate estate has no will to write that waiver into, so § 45a-303 makes the bond mandatory outright. And there's no statewide dollar formula behind any of it — each of Connecticut's 54 probate districts has its own judge setting the amount and security under Rule 35 of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure. This page covers the role-by-role fork, the restricted-account alternative, and what the bond actually costs.

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The fork most guides skip

A will can excuse an executor's bond. It can't excuse anyone else's.

Section 45a-289 requires a probate bond “of an executor, unless such bond is excused as provided by law.” That escape hatch is real — a will can direct that its named executor serve without bond, and Connecticut honors it, but only “if no objection to such provisions has been filed.” Once any interested party objects, or the court independently finds cause, the judge doesn't just fall back to a standard bond — the statute sets a floor at whichever of three figures is largest:

§ 45a-289 — bond floor once a will's no-bond clause is objected to

Worked Example

GivenEstate with $180,000 in estimated debts; will named a $250,000 bond figure; no untaxed property

Compare 2 × $180,000 = $360,000 against the $250,000 will figure — take the larger

Bond Amount$360,000 bond

GivenEstate with $180,000 in estimated debts; will named a $250,000 bond figure; no untaxed property

Compare 2 × $180,000 = $360,000 against the $250,000 will figure — take the larger

Bond Amount$360,000 bond

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-289. This floor applies only once an objection to a will's bond-excusing provision is filed, or the Probate Court otherwise finds cause to require bond.

None of that machinery exists for the other three roles. An administrator is appointed precisely because there's no controlling will — so there's no clause to object to in the first place. And a conservator of the estate is bonded because § 45a-650 requires it outright, independent of anyone's wishes.

Four fiduciary roles, four different bond rules

Connecticut doesn't run one bond rule with exceptions bolted on — it runs four separate statutory defaults, one per role, and only one of them has a will-based off-ramp:

Connecticut probate bond requirement by fiduciary role

Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-289, 45a-303, 45a-650

Role	Statute	How the bond requirement works
Executor (named in a will)	§ 45a-289	Will can excuse bond — unless an objection is filed, which triggers the greatest-of-three floor
Administrator (no valid will)	§ 45a-303(d)	Court "shall take a probate bond" — no will exists to write a waiver into
Conservator of the estate	§ 45a-650	Bond required — the statute gives the court no discretion to skip it
Conservator of the person	§ 45a-650	Bond only "if the court considers it necessary" — the one role where bonding is optional by default

Conservator-of-the-person is the only role where the statute makes bonding discretionary rather than a default requirement or an outright mandate.

Compare that to Massachusetts, where every personal representative files a bond and only the sureties on it are waivable, or New York, where the Surrogate controls the waiver regardless of the will's language. Connecticut is the one where the will-based exemption exists for exactly one role and nowhere else.

54 districts, zero statutory formula

No multiplier exists — your district's judge sets the number

States like Ohio (2x personal property) or Georgia (2x, or 1x with a licensed commercial surety) write a multiplier directly into the statute. Connecticut doesn't. Section 45a-139(b) sets the bond “in such amount and with such security as shall be required by the judge of probate having jurisdiction pursuant to rules prescribed by the Supreme Court” — full stop. Those rules are Rule 35 of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure, and they hand the actual dollar figure to whichever of Connecticut's 54 probate districts has jurisdiction over your estate.

That district count isn't incidental. Connecticut ran 117 separate probate districts until the September Special Session, Public Act 09-1 redrew the map to 54 districts, effective January 5, 2011 — building on Public Act 09-114, which created the Probate Redistricting Commission and required every judge of probate elected on or after that date to be a member of the Connecticut bar, with every district court open at least 40 hours a week. The consolidation standardized who's qualified to decide your bond — it didn't standardize what they decide. Two estates of the same size in two different districts can land on different bond amounts and security terms because two different judges, both following the same Rule 35, exercise that discretion differently.

Practically: tell us which of the 54 districts has your matter and we build the bond form to that court's expectations from the start, rather than guessing at a statewide standard that doesn't exist.

The restricted-account alternative comes with a recurring form, not a one-time filing

Rule 35 lets a fiduciary offset or eliminate the bond by depositing estate funds into a financial institution account restricted so nothing can be withdrawn without a court order. It's a real alternative to buying a surety bond — but Connecticut structures it as an ongoing verification, not a set-it-and-forget-it deposit. Every time the fiduciary files a periodic or final account with the probate court, that filing has to be accompanied by Form PC-412, “Verification Re: Restricted Account,” signed by an authorized officer of the bank confirming the restriction is still in force.

That's a materially different obligation than a one-time bank-deposit offset like the ones Massachusetts and South Carolina allow. A surety bond stays in force on its own; a restricted account requires the fiduciary to keep proving, accounting cycle after accounting cycle, that the bank hasn't quietly lifted the hold. Miss a PC-412 filing and the court can treat the protection as lapsed — which is exactly the gap a surety bond doesn't have.

Two small-estate thresholds — but the waiver is never automatic

Section 45a-139(c) gives a probate judge authority to waive the bond requirement entirely if the estate's assets total less than $20,000, or if the portion of the estate not restricted by a Probate Court order is less than $10,000. Falling below either number makes a fiduciary eligible — the statute says the judge “may” waive it, not that the bond disappears on its own. Someone still has to raise it with the court.

For estates that clear those thresholds but still want to reduce bond exposure, the restricted account described above and the § 45a-289 will-waiver (for executors specifically) are the two other levers available — see our national probate bond waiver comparison for how Connecticut's thresholds stack up against other states' small-estate rules.

What a Connecticut probate bond actually costs

Once a bond is required — no will waiver survives an objection, or you're an administrator or conservator of the estate with no waiver channel at all — the premium runs a small percentage of the court-set bond amount, consistent with the 0.5%–1.5% range typical for probate fiduciary bonds nationally. A fiduciary with solid personal credit and a straightforward estate prices toward the low end; estates with real property, business interests, or credit challenges price higher. See our surety bond cost guide for the underwriting mechanics, or use the probate bond calculator against your court-set figure.

One detail worth knowing before you shop: Connecticut's own probate judges and court staff are statutorily barred from writing your bond. Under § 45a-140, “a judge of probate or officer or employee of any court of probate shall not act as surety for, and shall not, personally or as agent for any surety or bonding company, issue a probate bond” to anyone appearing before that court. It's a conflict-of-interest rule most fiduciaries never hear about — but it's the reason your bond always comes from an independent, Treasury-listed surety, never from the court itself.

Official Connecticut Requirements

"Every bond or probate bond shall be payable to the state and shall be in such amount and with such security as shall be required by the judge of probate having jurisdiction pursuant to rules prescribed by the Supreme Court."

Connecticut General Assembly — Connecticut General Statutes • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-139(b)

Working the role-fork before your district judge sets a figure

Confirm your role and district

Executor, administrator, or conservator of the estate or person — each maps to a different statute, and each of the 54 probate districts has its own judge applying it.

Check whether a will-waiver even applies to you

Only an executor's bond can be excused by will under §45a-289, and only if no one objects. Administrators and conservators of the estate skip straight to needing the bond.

Weigh a restricted account against a bond

If the estate can tie up funds at a bank willing to restrict withdrawals, a restricted account may reduce or eliminate the bond — but it commits you to filing Form PC-412 with every future accounting.

Get your district judge’s bond figure

Under Rule 35, the amount and security are set by the judge in your district — there’s no statewide formula to calculate in advance.

File the executed bond with your probate court

We issue the bond on the form your district accepts, from an independent, Treasury-listed surety, so your appointment can proceed.

Have a court order or a figure from your district judge? We'll write the bond to that exact amount and file it.

Start my probate bond quote

The same role-fork shows up in Connecticut's other fiduciary bonds

A single fiduciary can hold more than one of these roles at once before the same probate district judge:

Conservatorship bondsFor an incapacitated adult's estate under §45a-650 Guardianship bondsProtecting a minor's property Executor bondThe role the §45a-289 will-waiver applies to Probate bond calculatorEstimate the premium from your district's figure

Handling an estate with property in a neighboring state too? See how New York's Surrogate's Court and SCPA bond formula compare or check New Jersey's bond rules — neither runs Connecticut's role-based will-waiver fork. Neighboring Rhode Island skips districts entirely and runs probate through 39 separate city/town courts, with its own narrower surety-only will-waiver under §33-17-4.

Connecticut probate bond questions: roles, districts, and restricted accounts

My will says my executor doesn't need a bond. Does that settle it?

Not automatically. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-289 requires a probate bond of an executor "unless such bond is excused as provided by law," and a will's no-bond clause is honored "if no objection to such provisions has been filed." That last clause matters: any interested party can object to the will's bond waiver. If an objection lands, or the probate court otherwise finds cause, the judge sets a bond at whichever is greatest of three figures — twice the estimated debts of the estate, the estimated succession tax on property not otherwise taxed, or the amount actually named in the will. A clean, unopposed estate usually sails through on the will's language alone. A contested one doesn't.

I'm the administrator, not the executor — can I use the same will-based waiver?

No, and this is the distinction most guides gloss over. Section 45a-289's waiver only applies to executors, who are named in a will. An administrator is appointed precisely because there's no valid will (or the will named no executor), so there's no document to write a bond waiver into. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-303(d) instead says the court "shall take a probate bond from the administrator" upon granting any administration — a flat mandate with no statutory opt-out. If you were appointed to administer an intestate estate, budget for a bond; there's no will-clause path around it.

Does every one of the 54 Connecticut probate districts calculate the bond the same way?

The statute is identical everywhere, but the number isn't fixed by statute at all. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-139(b) sets the bond "in such amount and with such security as shall be required by the judge of probate having jurisdiction pursuant to rules prescribed by the Supreme Court" — meaning the sitting judge in whichever of Connecticut's 54 probate districts has your case decides the figure, following Rule 35 of the Probate Court Rules of Procedure. Connecticut consolidated from 117 probate districts down to 54 effective January 5, 2011 (September Special Session, Public Act 09-1, building on the redistricting commission created by Public Act 09-114), and every judge since has been required to be a member of the Connecticut bar — but the consolidation standardized who decides, not what they decide. Two estates of identical size in two different districts can get different bond terms because two different judges are applying the same rule.

Can I post a restricted bank account instead of buying a surety bond?

Often, yes, and Connecticut's version of this is more paperwork-heavy than most states'. Rule 35's restricted-account mechanism lets a fiduciary deposit estate funds into an account a bank restricts from withdrawal without a court order, reducing or eliminating the bond otherwise required. But it isn't a one-time filing: every time you submit a periodic or final account to the court, you also file Form PC-412, "Verification Re: Restricted Account," signed by an authorized bank officer confirming the restriction is still in force. Miss that verification on a later accounting and the court can treat the restriction as lapsed — which is a very different failure mode than a bond, where the surety company carries that ongoing obligation for you.

Is there a dollar amount below which Connecticut skips the bond requirement entirely?

There's a discretionary one, not an automatic one. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-139(c) lets a probate judge waive the bond requirement outright if the estate's assets are less than $20,000, or if the portion of the estate not restricted by a Probate Court order is less than $10,000. Read the verb carefully: the judge "may" waive it. Falling under either threshold makes you eligible for a waiver — it doesn't grant one automatically the way a small-estate affidavit process might in other states. You (or your attorney) still need to raise it with the court.

I'm being appointed conservator — does it matter if it's for someone's estate or just their person?

It changes whether a bond is mandatory or discretionary. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-650 requires the court to take a probate bond whenever it appoints a conservator of the estate — the person managing someone's finances and property. A conservator of the person — responsible for someone's personal and medical decisions, not their money — is only bonded if the court "considers it necessary for the protection of the respondent." If you're handling both roles for the same protected person, expect the estate side to require a bond as a matter of course and the person side to be case-by-case.

Reviewed by

Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer

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All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers.

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General information, not legal, tax, or underwriting advice. Connecticut probate bond requirements, amounts, and waivers are set by the Connecticut General Statutes (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 45a-139, 45a-140, 45a-289, 45a-303, 45a-650) and the Probate Court Rules of Procedure, and are administered independently by the judge of probate in each of Connecticut's 54 probate districts. Confirm the current requirement with the court handling your matter, and request a quote for your specific bond form and amount.

Know your role, know your fork — we'll handle the rest

Executor with an objection filed, administrator with no waiver path, or conservator weighing a restricted account — tell us which, and which of the 54 districts, and we'll write the bond to your judge's exact figure and file it fast. Free quote, no obligation.

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