Maryland Probate Bond
In Maryland, a will’s bond waiver almost never means no bond — it usually means a smaller one. Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102(a) requires a full bond by default, and even when the will excuses it or every heir signs a waiver, § 6-102(b)(1) still requires a nominal bond sized to cover the estate’s debts and Maryland inheritance tax. The county Register of Wills sets the figure either way. Only two paths lead to a true zero-bond outcome: a bank or trust-company personal representative, or a small estate under $10,000. Here’s exactly where your case lands on that ladder.
A waiver downgrades your bond — it doesn’t erase it
Most states treat a will’s bond waiver as a light switch: on or off. Maryland runs it as a dimmer. Under § 6-102(a), every personal representative posts a bond “unless a bond is expressly excused by the will of the decedent or by the written waiver of all interested persons.” That sentence is where most out-of-state guides stop — but Maryland keeps going. Subsection (b)(1) requires that even when the standard bond is excused or waived, “a bond shall be given in an amount that the register or the court considers sufficient to secure the payment of the debts and Maryland inheritance taxes” the estate owes. That smaller bond is what practitioners and Registers of Wills call the nominal bond.
The practical effect: a waiver in the will lowers your bond amount and your premium, but it almost never takes your executor or administrator off the hook for posting something. First-time fiduciaries who read only the waiver clause in the will are frequently surprised when the Register still asks for a bond order.
Maryland's Probate Bond Ladder
What you actually post, from full bond down to genuinely bond-free
| Scenario | What Triggers It | What You Post | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| No waiver (default) | Will is silent on bond, or the estate is intestate | Full bond — penalty sum tied to probable maximum personal property value | Est. & Trusts § 6-102(a), (e) |
| Will excuses bond, or every interested person waives in writing | Testator’s will names an excused PR, or all interested persons sign a written waiver | Nominal bond — sized only to secure debts and Maryland inheritance tax, not the full estate | Est. & Trusts § 6-102(b)(1) |
| Bank or Maryland trust company is the PR | A national bank or MD-chartered trust company serves as personal representative | No bond of any kind | Est. & Trusts § 6-102(c)(1) |
| Small estate — gross value under $10,000 | Estate qualifies for small-estate administration after allowances and expenses | No bond required, and no PR commission either | Est. & Trusts § 5-604(a)(1)–(2) |
'Nominal bond' is industry and Register-of-Wills shorthand for the § 6-102(b)(1) reduced bond — it is not a fixed dollar figure; the register or court still sizes it to the estate's actual debts and Maryland inheritance tax exposure.
§ 6-102(e) subtracts collateral and cash deposits before setting your bond
Maryland doesn’t apply a flat multiplier to estate value the way Ohio (2x) or Illinois (1.5x) do. Instead, § 6-102(e) caps the penalty sum at “the probable maximum value of the personal property” that will come under the fiduciary’s control during administration — then lets two offsets shrink that number further: the market value of any collateral the personal representative has posted with the court, and the amount of cash on deposit in a register-approved banking account. Real estate the estate holds outright generally isn’t part of the base figure at all, absent a power of sale.
How the Register of Wills sizes a Maryland probate bond
Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102(e). The register or court fixes the penalty sum 'not exceeding the probable maximum value of the personal property' during administration, less collateral posted and approved cash deposits, and may increase or decrease it for good cause at any time.
The figure isn’t locked at filing. § 6-102(e) lets the register or court revisit the penalty sum “for good cause” at any point during administration — most often when the formal inventory shows more (or less) personal property than the initial petition estimated. Budget for the possibility your bond changes once the inventory is on file, especially on estates where the opening estimate was rough.
That penalty sum is coverage, not premium. Maryland probate bond premiums typically run about 0.5% to 1% of the bond amount per year for applicants with strong personal credit, higher for thinner credit files — on the $500,000 example above, that’s an annual premium of roughly $2,500 to $5,000, and considerably less on a nominal bond. See what determines your surety bond cost and the probate bond cost breakdown by state. Want the math on your own estate figure? Try the probate bond calculator.
Why your bond secures the inheritance tax bill, not just the estate
Almost no probate-bond guide connects these two facts, but they explain each other. Maryland is the only state that levies both a separate inheritance tax and an estate tax. Under Md. Code, Tax-Gen. § 7-203, spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents, and stepchildren are exempt — but a collateral heir (a niece, nephew, cousin, or unrelated friend) owes the flat 10% rate Tax-Gen. § 7-204 sets for everyone outside that exempt list. That inheritance tax isn’t collected by the Comptroller alone: the same county Register of Wills office that sets your bond also processes the inheritance tax return and payment. That’s exactly why § 6-102(b)(1) names “the Maryland inheritance tax” explicitly as something the nominal bond has to secure — the office writing your bond order is the same office that will come looking for that tax payment.
If your estate has collateral heirs in the mix — a niece, nephew, or a longtime friend named in the will — flag it early. The bond figure, and the tax exposure it secures, can run higher than an estate that passes entirely to a spouse or children.
The two paths to a genuinely bond-free Maryland estate
Outside of these two exemptions, expect at least a nominal bond — there is no general “resident executor named in the will” waiver in Maryland the way some states offer:
Bank or Maryland trust company
§ 6-102(c)(1) exempts a national banking association or any trust company serving as personal representative from bonding entirely — their own regulatory capital substitutes for a surety bond.
Small estate under $10,000
§ 5-604(a)(1)–(2) drops the bond requirement entirely once the estate’s gross value, after expenses and allowances, is under $10,000 — and waives the personal representative’s commission along with it.
One more date-based exemption applies to everyone: § 6-102(c)(2) ends the bond requirement once the register or court gives final approval to the final administration account — no bond is required for any period after that point, regardless of how the case started.
Court paperwork calling you a “personal representative” instead of an executor or administrator? See what that umbrella term means nationally and how Maryland’s nominal-bond rule compares to the Uniform Probate Code states that treat a waiver as an all-or-nothing switch.
Getting your Maryland probate bond filed
Confirm your role and jurisdiction
Executor, administrator, or successor personal representative — and which of Maryland’s 24 Register of Wills jurisdictions (23 counties plus Baltimore City) your matter is filed in.
Find out which side of the ladder you’re on
A will’s waiver or unanimous heir consent gets you to a smaller § 6-102(b)(1) nominal bond — it does not usually get you to zero.
Read the personal property value off your petition
§ 6-102(e) bonds personal property under your control, minus any collateral or cash you’ve already posted. Have a Register-issued figure? Send it to us directly.
Apply with a carrier that files with MD Registers of Wills
We place the bond with a Treasury-certified surety experienced with Maryland Register of Wills filings across all 24 jurisdictions.
File at the Register of Wills counter
Executed bond filed with your county (or Baltimore City) Register lets Letters of Administration issue. Inheritance tax exposure gets settled through the same office.
Have a Register of Wills bond order or a personal property figure? We’ll write to that exact amount — full or nominal — on a Treasury-certified carrier and file it fast.
Start my probate bond quoteOfficial Maryland Requirements
"Even if a personal representative is excused from giving bond, a bond shall be given in an amount that the register or the court considers sufficient to secure the payment of the debts and Maryland inheritance taxes payable by the personal representative."Maryland General Assembly, Estates and Trusts Article • Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102(b)(1)
Guardians and trustees bond under a different Maryland framework
Everything above covers § 6-102, the bond a decedent’s personal representative posts with the Register of Wills. If you’re bonding as a guardian of property for a minor or incapacitated adult, or as a trustee, your bond runs through a separate part of Maryland law and a different court track. See our dedicated guardianship bond guide or trustee bond guide for that framework, and get in touch for Maryland-specific guidance on either.
More estate and fiduciary bond guides
Maryland fiduciaries often need more than one of these:
See how Maryland’s nominal-bond rule compares to Pennsylvania’s personal-estate standard and every other state in our probate bond cost by state guide.
What Maryland fiduciaries ask about the probate bond
My mother’s will says no bond is required — do I still need one in Maryland?
Probably, just a smaller one. Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102(a) requires every personal representative to post a bond unless it’s expressly excused by the will or waived in writing by every interested person. But § 6-102(b)(1) doesn’t stop there: even when bond is excused or waived, the Register of Wills or the court still must set a bond “in an amount that the register or the court considers sufficient to secure the payment of the debts and Maryland inheritance taxes” owed by the estate. Surety agents and Registers call this the nominal bond. It’s usually far smaller than a full § 6-102(a) bond because it only has to cover outstanding debts and inheritance tax exposure, not the entire personal estate — but it isn’t zero. The only ways to a genuine zero-bond outcome are a bank or trust-company personal representative, or a small estate under $10,000.
How does the Maryland Register of Wills calculate my bond amount?
Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102(e) fixes the penalty sum “not exceeding the probable maximum value of the personal property” that will pass through the estate during administration, minus two offsets: the market value of any collateral posted with the court, and any cash the personal representative has deposited into a register-approved account. Real property the estate holds outright generally isn’t part of that base figure unless the personal representative has a power of sale over it. So on a $620,000 estate with $580,000 in probable personal property, $80,000 pledged as court collateral, and no cash deposit, the penalty sum lands near $500,000 — not the full estate value. The register or court can revisit that number for good cause at any point during administration, not just at filing.
Is there a dollar threshold under which Maryland skips the bond entirely?
Yes — but it’s narrow. Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 5-604(a)(1)–(2) exempts a personal representative from bond only when the estate’s gross value is under $10,000 after expenses and allowances are paid; at $10,000 or above, bond reverts to the standard § 6-102 rules. That $10,000 figure is a gross-value test measured after deductions, not a simple asset count, so a modest estate with heavy debts or funeral/family-allowance costs can qualify even if the decedent’s assets initially looked larger. Small estates administered under this section also carry no personal representative commission — a tradeoff for the simplified, low-cost process.
Do banks and trust companies serving as personal representative need a Maryland bond?
No. Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102(c)(1) exempts a national banking association and any trust company serving as personal representative from bonding entirely — their federal or state regulatory capital substitutes for a surety bond, the same logic most states apply to institutional fiduciaries. Section 6-102(c)(2) adds a second, date-based exemption that applies to every personal representative regardless of institution: once the register or court gives final approval to the final administration account, no further bond is required for any period after that approval.
What exactly does my Maryland probate bond protect against?
Two things by statute, and they map directly onto the office that sets your bond. Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102(b)(1) ties even a nominal bond to securing “the payment of the debts and Maryland inheritance taxes payable by the personal representative.” That inheritance-tax language isn’t boilerplate — Maryland is the only state that levies both a separate inheritance tax and an estate tax, and the same county Register of Wills office that sets your bond also collects the inheritance tax return and payment (Md. Code, Tax-Gen. § 7-203 exempts spouses, children, parents, and siblings; collateral heirs like nieces, nephews, and friends owe the flat 10% rate set by § 7-204 on what they inherit). A full § 6-102(a) bond additionally protects general creditors and interested persons against mismanagement of the whole personal estate — the nominal bond is a narrower slice of that same protection.
Can the Register of Wills change my bond amount after it’s already set?
Yes. Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102(e) lets the register or court increase or decrease any bond’s penalty sum at its discretion, for good cause, at any time during administration — not only at the initial filing. This comes up most often when an inventory filed after appointment reveals more (or less) personal property than the petition estimated, or when the register requires additional security under a separate court order. If your bond was set from an early, rough estate estimate, budget for the possibility the Register revisits the figure once the formal inventory is on file.
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. Maryland probate bond requirements, amounts, exceptions, and filing rules are set by statute (Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 6-102 and § 5-604, and Md. Code, Tax-Gen. § 7-203 and § 7-204 for inheritance tax exemptions and rate) and administered by each county Register of Wills, and they change over time. Confirm the current requirement with the Register of Wills handling your matter, and request a quote for your specific bond amount.
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