New York Probate Bond
Under SCPA § 710(1), New York does not require a bond of an executor unless the will requires one, unless the fiduciary is also acting as a testamentary trustee under § 806, or unless the Surrogate orders one under § 710 itself — most often because the fiduciary is a non-domiciliary. When a bond is required, its amount comes from a statutory formula in SCPA § 801, and it is filed with whichever of New York's 62 county Surrogate's Courts has the estate. This page covers all of it: the default rule, the three cases where a waiver gets overridden anyway, and what the bond actually costs.
“The will waives bond” is not the end of the New York analysis
Most probate content treats a will's bond waiver as final. New York's statute is more precise: SCPA § 710(1) makes no bond the default for a named executor unless the will requires one, § 806 requires one, or the Surrogate orders one under § 710 itself. That last clause matters — it is a live override the court can invoke even over a will that waived bond, and it happens in three specific situations:
Non-domiciliary fiduciary
SCPA § 710(2)An interested party objects that the named executor or administrator lives outside New York, and the court sustains it. The fiduciary still gets Letters — but only by giving a bond, regardless of what the will says.
Fiduciary relocates after appointment
SCPA § 710(3)A fiduciary who was exempt from bond at appointment later becomes a non-domiciliary. On objection and proof, the Surrogate can order a bond be filed mid-administration — the estate doesn't stay unbonded just because it started that way.
Ancillary New York estate
SCPA § 1608The decedent's primary estate is being probated elsewhere, but New York assets need an ancillary fiduciary here. The New York court sets its own bond — even if the out-of-state will waived bond — unless there's no New York creditor and no New York estate tax due.
If none of the three apply, a valid will waiver (or a written waiver from every distributee for an administrator) generally holds. But an out-of-state fiduciary, or an estate with New York property administered from another state, should plan for a bond from day one rather than assume the will settles it. See our national guide on when courts require a bond despite a waiver for how this compares to other states.
How the Surrogate calculates the amount
When a bond is required, SCPA § 801(1)(a) sets the penal sum — not less than three components added together: the value of personal property the fiduciary will receive, the estimated gross rents of real property the fiduciary will receive over the next 18 months, and the probable recovery on any lawsuit the estate is pursuing. Testamentary trustees and other fiduciaries under § 801(1)(c) are bonded “in such amount as the court directs” instead of the fixed formula.
SCPA § 801(1)(a) — executor and administrator bond amount
N.Y. SCPA § 801(1)(a). The Surrogate fixes the penal sum at not less than this sum; testamentary trustees are bonded in a court-directed amount under § 801(1)(c) instead.
That figure is the coverage amount, not what you pay — the premium is a small percentage set by underwriting, and it is reimbursable from the estate (see below). For how carriers price that percentage, see what determines your surety bond cost and our probate bond cost breakdown by state. Want the math on your own figures? Try the probate bond calculator.
The law is statewide. The filing is county by county.
SCPA §§ 710, 801, 805, 806, and 1608 apply identically whether the estate is in Manhattan or a rural county upstate — New York has one probate code, not 62 different ones. What differs by county is who administers it: each of New York's 62 counties, including the five New York City counties (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond), runs its own Surrogate's Court with its own elected Surrogate. That court is the bond's obligee, decides any discretionary bond request under §§ 710 or 805, and is where the executed bond gets filed — typically as a physical document bearing the surety's raised seal — before Letters can be issued.
Practically: bond amount and the underlying statute never change based on county, but the county determines the obligee named on the bond form and where the executed original has to be delivered. Get the county wrong and the bond has to be reissued — tell us the county at the start and we build the form correctly the first time.
Which SCPA section actually governs your bond
“New York probate bond” covers several distinct fiduciary roles, and the statute that controls waiver and amount changes depending on which one applies to you.
New York fiduciary bonds by role
The controlling SCPA section changes by role — not just the bond amount
| Fiduciary role | When it applies | Default waiver rule | Governing statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executor | Named in a valid will | None by default (§710(1)); reinstated by non-domiciliary objection (§710(2)) or a will that also names them trustee (§806) | SCPA §§ 710, 801 |
| Administrator | No will, or named executor cannot serve | Court sets amount unless all interested parties consent to dispense or reduce it | SCPA §§ 801, 805 |
| Testamentary trustee / executor-as-trustee | Will directs holding, managing, or investing property for a beneficiary | Required unless the will itself waives it for the trustee role specifically | SCPA § 806 |
| Ancillary fiduciary | Primary probate is out of state; decedent owned New York property | Court sets a sum it deems just, unless waived by will and no NY creditor/estate tax | SCPA § 1608 |
Non-domiciliary status (SCPA §710(2)) and post-appointment relocation (§710(3)) can override an executor or administrator waiver regardless of role. Guardianship-of-the-person and guardianship-of-the-property bonds for minors fall under separate SCPA Article 17 provisions, covered on our guardianship bond page.
Two ways an administrator's bond shrinks or disappears
All interested parties consent
SCPA § 805 lets the Surrogate dispense with a bond entirely, or fix it at whatever sum “adequately protect[s] the rights of all creditors,” when every interested person consents to the appointment or the appointee is entitled to the whole estate. If only some interested parties consent, they must specifically release their claims against the bond, and the court sets the amount to protect the non-consenting parties and creditors instead. Selling estate real property later still requires an additional bond covering the proceeds, unless dispensed with or the existing bond already covers it.
The estate qualifies as a small estate
SCPA § 801(1)(a) exempts an estate from bonding altogether if its assets don't exceed the small-estate threshold in SCPA § 1301 — currently $50,000 of personal property, excluding property set off to a surviving spouse or children (EPTL § 5-3.1(a)) and excluding joint accounts, trust accounts, and payable-on-death assets. Those estates typically use Article 13 voluntary administration instead of full Letters, and a voluntary administrator does not post a bond.
Official New York Requirements
"No bond shall be required of an executor unless required by the will or by 806 or by this section."New York State Senate — Laws of New York, SCPA • N.Y. SCPA § 710(1)
EPTL § 11-1.1 puts the premium on the estate's ledger, not yours
EPTL § 11-1.1(b)(22) lets a fiduciary pay “the reasonable expense of obtaining and continuing his bond” from estate property, right alongside reasonable counsel fees, as an ordinary administration expense. In practice you advance the first year's premium and are reimbursed from estate assets when the Surrogate approves your account.
Not filing the required bond has real teeth: under SCPA § 710(1), Letters do not issue without it, and SCPA § 711 lists failing to obey a lawful court order — including an order to file bond — among the grounds for suspending or revoking Letters altogether. Administer on time and this never becomes an issue.
From Decree to a bond your county Surrogate's Court will actually accept
Confirm whether a bond is actually required
Check the will's language against SCPA §§ 710 and 806, and whether non-domiciliary status or an ancillary filing overrides a waiver. If the decree already ordered a bond, we start from that figure.
Identify the county and the role
Which of New York's 62 Surrogate's Courts has the estate, and whether you're an executor, administrator, testamentary trustee, or ancillary fiduciary — each maps to a different SCPA section and bond form.
Apply with the fiduciary's details
A quick review of the fiduciary’s credit and the estate. Most probate bonds are approved fast with an admitted, Treasury-listed surety.
File the executed bond with the Surrogate
We issue the bond on the county's accepted form, with the physical raised seal that Surrogate's Courts require, so Letters can be issued.
Adjust when the estate changes
A real-property sale, an added asset, or a fiduciary relocating out of state can all trigger a new or increased bond under §§ 710(3) and 805 — send us the change and we handle the rider.
Have your Decree or an estate value? We'll write the bond to the Surrogate's figure and file it.
Start my probate bond quoteOther New York fiduciary bonds you may also need
Fiduciaries and estates in New York often need more than one of these:
Considering property in another state too? See how California's probate bond formula compares — the multiplier and waiver mechanics differ from New York's.
Massachusetts runs an even stricter version of New York's waiver caveats — under Massachusetts' probate bond rules, M.G.L. c. 190B §3-601 requires a bond filing in every case, and a will can only waive the sureties on it (§3-603), not the bond itself — a sharper line than SCPA §710's executor waiver draws.
Vermont goes even further than Massachusetts: 14 V.S.A. §906 requires a bond from every executor and administrator, with no will-based waiver at all — the only relief valve is a unanimous heir waiver of sureties on Form 700-00004, filed across Vermont's 14 elected Probate Divisions rather than New York's county Surrogate's Courts.
New York probate bond questions: waivers, counties, and cost
Does a will's bond waiver actually control in New York?
Usually, but not automatically. SCPA § 710(1) sets the default rule: "No bond shall be required of an executor unless required by the will or by 806 or by this section." So a will that waives bond generally works — unless the fiduciary is also acting as a testamentary trustee under SCPA § 806 (which requires a bond "unless the will provides otherwise," a separate waiver a testator has to grant), or unless one of § 710's own override conditions kicks in, most commonly non-domiciliary status. A waiver clause that only addresses the executor role does not automatically cover a trustee role the same person also holds under the will.
I live outside New York State — will the Surrogate still let me serve without a bond?
Not automatically, even with a will that waives bond. SCPA § 710(2) lets a person object that a named fiduciary is a non-domiciliary, and once that objection is established to the court's satisfaction, the fiduciary can still get Letters — but only by giving a bond "as prescribed by law." It works the other direction too: § 710(3) lets the court impose a bond on a fiduciary who was exempt when appointed but later moves out of state, once an objection is filed and proof is taken. Practically, any executor or administrator who lives outside New York should plan to be bonded regardless of what the will says.
My relative had property in New York but lived elsewhere — do I need a New York bond too?
Usually yes, and it's a separate bond from any bond you posted in the decedent's home state. Ancillary letters in New York — issued when the primary probate happened in another state or country but the decedent owned New York assets — are governed by SCPA § 1608. A fiduciary receiving ancillary letters must qualify the same way any New York fiduciary does, and the court sets the bond "in such sum as to the court seems just," unless the will dispensed with bond for that named fiduciary. The court can waive it entirely under § 1608(3) only if there's no New York domiciliary creditor and no New York estate tax due — a narrower exception than a simple will waiver.
Which Surrogate's Court sets and holds my bond?
Whichever of New York's 62 counties has jurisdiction over the estate — each county runs its own Surrogate's Court, including the five New York City counties (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, and Richmond), each with its own Surrogate. The statutes are identical statewide (SCPA is state law), but the court itself is the bond's obligee, reviews the underlying petition, and is where the executed bond — typically the physical document with a raised seal — gets filed before Letters issue. Confirm the correct county before applying; we can't file a bond with the wrong Surrogate's Court.
Is there a dollar threshold under which no bond is needed at all?
Yes. SCPA § 801(1)(a) exempts estates from bonding entirely if the assets to be administered don't exceed the small-estate threshold defined in SCPA § 1301 — currently $50,000 of personal property, excluding property set off to a surviving spouse or children under EPTL § 5-3.1(a) and excluding jointly-held, trust, and payable-on-death assets. Estates at or under that line generally use New York's Article 13 voluntary administration process instead of a full probate/administration proceeding with Letters — and voluntary administrators don't post a bond.
Can I pay the bond premium from the estate, or does it come out of my pocket?
It's an estate expense. EPTL § 11-1.1(b)(22) authorizes a fiduciary to pay "the reasonable expense of obtaining and continuing his bond" from estate property, alongside reasonable counsel fees, as part of ordinary administration expenses. In practice you typically pay the first annual premium yourself and are reimbursed from estate assets when the Surrogate approves your account — so budget for the upfront cost, but it isn't ultimately a personal expense.
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. New York probate bond requirements, amounts, forms, and waivers are set by the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act (SCPA §§ 710, 711, 801, 805, 806, 1301, 1608), the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL § 11-1.1), and each county Surrogate's Court, and they change over time. Confirm the current requirement with the Surrogate's Court handling your matter, and request a quote for your specific bond form and amount.
Bond the amount your Surrogate set — and get your Letters
Tell us your role, county, and the figure on your Decree (or your estate value). We write the bond to the Surrogate's exact penal sum on the county's accepted form, file it fast, and handle riders when a sale, a relocation, or an ancillary filing changes the number — free quote, no obligation.
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