DC Probate Bond
Every personal representative appointed in the District owes a bond by default under D.C. Code § 20-502(a) — capped at the probable maximum value of the estate’s personal property and D.C. real property, unless the will excuses it or every interested person signs a written waiver. Here’s what most fiduciaries get wrong: that bond question has nothing to do with whether the Superior Court orders your case as supervised or unsupervised administration under §§ 20-401 and 20-402. They’re decided under different sections, for different reasons, and neither one determines the other.
Supervised vs. unsupervised administration sets oversight, not your bond
D.C. Code § 20-401(b) makes unsupervised administration automatic the instant a personal representative is appointed — the Order of appointment is the unsupervised order, nothing extra required. Under that track, the personal representative files no routine inventories or accounts with the court and answers only to a narrow issue either side raises for the judge, not continuing supervision. § 20-402 lets the court order supervised administration instead, but only in three situations: the will directs it, the will directs unsupervised administration but the court finds good cause to override it for the protection of interested persons, or the court finds good cause in any other case. Critically, § 20-402 also bars the court from delaying appointment of a personal representative while it decides between the two tracks — someone is appointed first, under unsupervised administration by default, and the court converts the case afterward if warranted.
None of that changes the bond analysis under § 20-502. A supervised estate with a will that excuses bond can still be bond-free; an unsupervised estate can still owe a full bond if no waiver was filed. Treat the two questions separately when you talk to the Probate Division — asking “do I need a bond?” and “is my case supervised?” are different questions with different answers.
DC's Two Administration Tracks
What triggers each one, and what it actually requires — separate from the bond question
| Track | What Triggers It | What It Requires | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unsupervised (default) | Automatic on appointment — no will provision or court order needed | No inventories/accounts filed; court steps in only on a specific issue raised by either side | § 20-401(a)–(b) |
| Supervised | Will directs it, or court finds good cause "for the protection of persons interested in the estate" | Continuing in rem proceeding until an order approves distribution and discharges the PR | § 20-401(a), § 20-402 |
An interested person may petition to convert an unsupervised case to supervised administration at any time before the proceeding terminates.
DC waives bond person by person, not with one blanket document
Most states treat a bond waiver as a single yes-or-no document. DC’s own Superior Court form — the Waiver of Personal Representative’s Bond — is built the other way: it lets one competent adult heir, legatee, or a creditor whose claim exceeds $500 waive bond protection for their own share of the estate only. Section 20-502(a)’s full exemption requires every interested person’s waiver on file — if even one heir doesn’t sign, the personal representative typically still needs bond sized to protect that non-waiving interest, and no waiver can be signed on behalf of a minor or an incapacitated interested person except through their own guardian, conservator, or other legal representative under § 20-101(d)(2)(C).
Even a complete, all-signatures waiver isn’t permanent. § 20-502(a-1) gives any person with an estate interest over $1,000, or any creditor with a claim over $1,000, the right to file a written demand that reinstates the bond requirement at any point during administration — the waiver protects the personal representative only until someone with enough at stake objects.
What Actually Excuses a DC Personal Representative's Bond
From full bond down to a genuine exemption
| Scenario | Result | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| No waiver on file | Full bond — capped at probable maximum personal + D.C. real property value | § 20-502(a), (d) |
| Some, not all, interested persons waive | Bond stays in force, sized to protect whoever didn’t sign — the waiver form only releases the signer’s own interest | § 20-502(a); Waiver of PR’s Bond form |
| Will excuses it or every interested person waives | No bond — unless a $1,000+ interested person or creditor later files a written demand | § 20-502(a), (a-1) |
| Bank or trust company is the PR | No bond of any kind | § 20-502(b) |
| All known assets distributed, all known claims satisfied | No further bond required for any later period | § 20-502(b) |
A $1,000+ interested person or creditor can revive the bond requirement by written demand under § 20-502(a-1) even after a full waiver is on file.
§ 20-502(d) caps your bond — it doesn’t multiply it
Unlike states that apply a fixed multiplier to estate value — Ohio doubles it, Illinois runs 1.5x for a corporate surety — DC sets a ceiling instead. § 20-502(d) fixes the penalty sum at “an amount not exceeding the probable maximum value of the personal and D.C. real property of the estate” that will come under the personal representative’s control. Notice what’s included: unlike Maryland or Pennsylvania, which generally leave real estate a fiduciary holds outright out of the bond base, DC folds in D.C.-situated real property directly — so an estate anchored by a rowhouse in Petworth or Capitol Hill bonds higher than an identical estate held entirely in brokerage accounts. The court can then reduce that ceiling by cash held in a court-approved account and by the value of property that can’t be sold without prior court authorization.
How the DC Superior Court sizes a personal representative bond
D.C. Code § 20-502(d). The court fixes the penalty 'not exceeding the probable maximum value of the personal and D.C. real property of the estate,' reduced by court-controlled deposits and property the fiduciary lacks power to sell without approval.
Any interested person can request the surety in advance. The court’s Bond of Personal Representative form filed under § 20-502(a-1) lets the petitioner name a proposed surety and figure at the time bond is set, rather than waiting for a separate demand later in the case.
That penalty sum is coverage, not premium. DC probate bond premiums for applicants with solid personal credit typically run about 0.5% to 1% of the bond amount per year, higher for thinner credit files — on the $480,000 example above, roughly $2,400 to $4,800 annually. Bond premiums are chargeable against the estate under § 20-502(f), so the fiduciary isn’t paying out of pocket. See what determines your surety bond cost and the probate bond cost breakdown by state. Want the math run on your own estate figure? Try the probate bond cost estimator.
Two exemptions, and one 2025 change that reroutes smaller estates entirely
Outside a complete written waiver, these are the only paths to a bond-free DC estate:
Bank or trust company PR
§ 20-502(b) exempts a bank or trust company authorized to act as personal representative in DC, and a national bank, from bonding entirely — the same regulatory-capital logic most states apply to institutional fiduciaries.
Distribution already complete
§ 20-502(b) also drops the bond requirement for any period after all known assets have been distributed and all known claims satisfied — the exposure the bond covers has closed out.
A separate, unrelated change affects which estates reach § 20-502 at all. The Strengthening Probate Administration Amendment Act of 2024 raised D.C. Code § 20-351’s small-estate ceiling from $40,000 to $80,000, effective March 21, 2025 — doubling how many DC estates can use the simplified small-estate procedure administered through the Probate Division’s small-estate specialists rather than the standard filing that issues Letters of Administration. If your estate now falls under that raised $80,000 line, ask whether it qualifies for the small-estate track before budgeting for a full § 20-502 bond.
Getting your DC probate bond filed
Confirm what the Register of Wills already has on file
A will provision, a waiver, or a written demand under § 20-502(a-1) may already have settled the bond question before you’re appointed.
Separate the bond question from the supervision question
Ask directly whether your case is supervised or unsupervised under § 20-401/402 — it’s a different determination than whether you owe a bond.
Pull your property value estimate from the petition
§ 20-502(d) bonds personal property plus D.C. real property. Have a court-issued figure already? Send it to us directly.
Apply with a carrier that files with DC Superior Court
We place the bond with a Treasury-certified surety experienced with the Probate Division’s forms and same-day filing.
File with the Register of Wills
An executed bond filed with the Register lets Letters of Administration issue and administration begin.
Have a Superior Court bond order or a property value estimate? We’ll write to that exact figure on a Treasury-certified carrier and file it fast.
Start my probate bond quoteOfficial District of Columbia Requirements
"Each personal representative shall execute a bond to the District of Columbia for the benefit of interested persons and creditors, unless excused from giving bond by the decedent's will or written waiver of all interested persons."Council of the District of Columbia, D.C. Law Library • D.C. Code § 20-502(a)
Conservators bond off a different formula than personal representatives
Everything above covers § 20-502, the bond a decedent’s personal representative posts with the Register of Wills. If you’re petitioning to manage property for a living incapacitated or disappeared adult, DC prices that bond differently: D.C. Code § 21-2058 lets the court size a conservator’s bond at the aggregate capital value of the estate under the conservator’s control, plus one year’s estimated income, minus securities locked behind a court order and land the conservator can’t sell without authorization — an estate-plus-income formula, not the § 20-502(d) value cap. See our dedicated conservatorship bond guide or guardianship bond guide for that framework, and get in touch for DC-specific guidance on either.
Continue with these fiduciary resources
DC fiduciaries often need more than one of these:
See how DC’s value-cap rule and person-by-person waiver system compare to Maryland’s nominal-bond ladder and every other state in our probate bond cost by state guide.
What DC fiduciaries ask about the probate bond
Does DC require a probate bond for every personal representative?
By default, yes. D.C. Code § 20-502(a) requires every personal representative to "execute a bond to the District of Columbia for the benefit of interested persons and creditors" unless the decedent's will expressly excuses it or every interested person signs a written waiver. That default applies the same way whether the Superior Court later orders supervised or unsupervised administration — the bond question and the supervision question are decided under two different sections of the code, and one doesn't control the other.
What's the difference between supervised and unsupervised administration, and does it change my bond?
It changes how closely the court watches your work, not whether you post a bond. D.C. Code § 20-401(b) makes unsupervised administration the automatic default the moment a personal representative is appointed — no inventories or accounts filed with the court, and no continuing supervision beyond narrow issues either side brings to the judge's attention. § 20-402 lets the court order supervised administration instead — a continuing in rem proceeding with ongoing filings — but only if the will directs it, or the court finds good cause "for the protection of persons interested in the estate." Either way, § 20-502's bond default still applies on its own terms. An interested person can also petition to convert an unsupervised case to supervised administration at any point before the proceeding closes.
All my siblings signed the bond waiver — am I actually bond-free?
Only if every interested person's waiver is on file, and even then only conditionally. D.C. Code § 20-502(a) requires bond "unless excused... by the written waiver of all interested persons" — not a majority, all of them. The Superior Court's own Waiver of Personal Representative's Bond form lets a competent adult heir, legatee, or a creditor with a claim over $500 waive bond protection for their own interest only, so a waiver signed by some but not all interested parties leaves the personal representative still bonded to protect whoever didn't sign. Even a complete waiver isn't final: § 20-502(a-1) lets any person with an interest worth more than $1,000, or any creditor with a claim over $1,000, file a written demand that reinstates the bond requirement at any point. And no one can waive on behalf of a minor or incapacitated interested person except through their own legal representative.
How does the DC Superior Court calculate my bond amount?
D.C. Code § 20-502(d) caps the penalty sum at "an amount not exceeding the probable maximum value of the personal and D.C. real property of the estate" that will pass through the personal representative's hands during administration — not a fixed multiplier the way Ohio (2x) or Illinois (1.5x for corporate sureties) apply. The court then has authority to reduce that figure by cash on deposit in a court-approved account and by the value of any property that can't be sold without prior court authorization. Because DC real property counts toward the base (unlike Maryland or Pennsylvania, which generally exclude real estate a fiduciary holds outright), an estate with a home in the District tends to bond higher than an equivalent estate concentrated in personal property alone.
Does DC's 2025 small-estate threshold increase change whether I need a bond?
It changes which estates qualify for the small-estate track in the first place, which is a separate filing path from the one that issues Letters of Administration and triggers § 20-502 bonding. The Strengthening Probate Administration Amendment Act of 2024 raised D.C. Code § 20-351's small-estate ceiling from $40,000 to $80,000, effective March 21, 2025 — doubling how many DC estates can use the simplified small-estate procedure, which doesn't issue Letters of Administration the way a standard or abbreviated probate does. If your estate is now under the new $80,000 line where it wasn't before, ask the Probate Division's small-estate specialists whether your case qualifies for that track before assuming a full § 20-502 bond applies.
Do I need a different bond as a conservator instead of a personal representative?
Yes — DC prices conservator bonds under a completely different formula than personal representative bonds. D.C. Code § 21-2058 lets the court require a conservator's bond sized at the "aggregate capital value of the property of the estate" under the conservator's control, plus one year's estimated income, minus the value of securities locked behind a court order and any land the conservator lacks power to sell without court authorization. That's an estate-plus-income formula, not the value-cap the personal representative bond uses under § 20-502(d) — so if you're managing property for a living incapacitated adult rather than administering a decedent's estate, expect a different number and a different form.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.
General information, not legal, tax, or underwriting advice. DC probate bond requirements, amounts, exceptions, and filing rules are set by statute (D.C. Code § 20-502, §§ 20-401 and 20-402 for the supervised/unsupervised administration framework, § 20-351 for the small-estate threshold, and § 21-2058 for conservator bonds) and administered by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia’s Probate Division, and they change over time. Confirm the current requirement with the Register of Wills or your Probate Division case, and request a quote for your specific bond amount.
Bond and supervision are two questions — we only need the answer to one
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