California Form DE-140, the Order for Probate, is the proposed order you complete for the judge’s signature at the probate hearing to appoint you as executor, administrator, administrator with will annexed, or special administrator. Fill in every item to match what the court actually rules, submit it under your county’s local procedure, and then request Letters (Form DE-150), because a warning printed on DE-140 itself states that the appointment is not effective until Letters have issued.
Get the Current Version of the Form
Download DE-140 from the California Courts self-help site or pick up a blank copy at your superior court clerk’s window.1California Courts | Self Help Guide. Order for Probate (DE-140) Check the revision date in the bottom-left corner and confirm it against the current Judicial Council version.2Judicial Council of California. Order for Probate (Form DE-140) Clerks reject prior revisions even when the content looks nearly identical, and that rejection costs you another hearing date.
How to Complete Each Item
DE-140 is a proposed order. You fill it out to reflect what the judge ruled, the judge signs it, and the clerk files it. Every checkbox and blank has to line up with the court’s oral ruling on the record. If anything is inconsistent, expect it back.
Header and Case Information
The Judicial Council header block at the top takes the attorney’s name and bar number (or your own name if you are self-represented), the superior court’s name and county, and the case number assigned when the Petition for Probate (DE-111) was filed. Enter the decedent’s full legal name exactly as it appears on the death certificate and the petition. A small spelling difference between these documents is enough for the clerk to bounce the order.
Hearing Details (Item 3)
Enter the date, time, department, and room number of the probate hearing, along with the name of the judicial officer who presided. If your court wants the proposed order submitted before the hearing, leave these fields blank and fill them in at the hearing itself or right after the ruling.
Appointment Type (Item 2)
Check one box, and only one, matching the type of personal representative the court is appointing:
- Executor — the person named in the decedent’s will to manage the estate.
- Administrator with will annexed — appointed when there is a will but the named executor cannot or will not serve.
- Administrator — appointed when there is no will. California law gives priority to the surviving spouse or domestic partner, then children, then grandchildren, and so on through a statutory list.3California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 8461
- Special administrator — a temporary appointment, usually made before the full probate hearing when the estate needs immediate attention.
Match the box to what the court actually ordered, not what you originally requested in the petition. If you petitioned as executor but the court appointed you as administrator with will annexed (because a contest was resolved, for example), the order has to reflect the ruling.
Independent Administration Authority (Item 4)
This section records whether the court granted authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA). Check one of two boxes:
- Full authority lets you handle most estate transactions, including selling real property, without going back to court for approval each time.
- Limited authority requires court supervision before you sell, exchange, or encumber real property.4California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 10501
Even with full authority, certain actions still need court approval: paying your own compensation, settling your accounts, making preliminary or final distributions, and any transaction between you (or your attorney) and the estate.4California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 10501 If the court denied IAEA authority entirely, leave both boxes unchecked and note that the estate will proceed under full court supervision.
Bond (Item 5)
Every personal representative must post a bond before Letters issue unless the will waives the bond or all beneficiaries waive it in writing with those waivers attached to the petition.5California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code – Bond On the form you will either:
- Check the waiver box and note the basis (will provision or beneficiary consent), or
- Enter the bond amount the court set. The judge calculates this based on the estimated value of personal property, the decedent’s interest in real property (if full IAEA authority is granted), and the estate’s probable annual gross income.6California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 8480
Even when the will or the beneficiaries waive the bond, the court can still require one for good cause, so confirm the judge’s actual ruling before checking the waiver box.5California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code – Bond A bond amount left blank when the court set one is a guaranteed rejection.
Blocked Accounts (Item 5c)
If the court orders estate funds deposited into a blocked account, meaning an account that requires a separate court order before any withdrawal, enter the name and location of the financial institution on the form. Blocked accounts are common when the personal representative is not bonded, or when the court wants extra protection for a beneficiary who is a minor or an incapacitated adult.
Probate Referee
The State Controller appoints probate referees to appraise non-cash estate assets.7Justia. California Probate Code 400-408 – Appointment and Revocation The form has a space for the referee’s name. In most counties the court assigns a referee through a standing order or rotation, so the name may already be determined before your hearing. If the court waived the referee appointment (allowed in limited situations, such as when all assets are cash), check the appropriate box instead. Check this field against the judge’s oral ruling; an incorrect entry here delays the entire inventory and appraisal that follows.
Submitting the Completed Order
How and when you submit DE-140 depends on your county’s local rules. Two patterns are common:
- Pre-hearing submission. Some courts require the proposed order to be filed electronically through an approved e-filing service provider, or delivered to the clerk several days before the hearing date. Leave the hearing details blank and fill them in afterward.
- Post-hearing submission. In many courtrooms you hand the completed proposed order to the courtroom clerk immediately after the judge announces the ruling, and the clerk routes it to the judge for signature.
If you file a paper copy, bring at least two extra copies so the clerk can conform them (stamp them to match the filed original) and return them to you. Some courts want three or four. Call the clerk’s office in your county before the hearing to confirm the local expectation. This is one of the most common sources of delay for self-represented filers.
After the Judge Signs
Once the judge signs DE-140, the clerk files it into the permanent case record. Processing time varies by county, from a day or two in smaller courts to several weeks in busy jurisdictions like Los Angeles. The signed order by itself does not give you authority to act. A warning at the top of the form states that the appointment is not effective until Letters have issued.2Judicial Council of California. Order for Probate (Form DE-140)
Request Letters (Form DE-150)
The signed DE-140 is the legal basis for the clerk to issue Letters, either Letters Testamentary (if there is a will) or Letters of Administration (if there is not). Letters are the document banks, brokerage firms, the county recorder, and other third parties actually require before they will recognize your authority over estate assets. Request Letters at the same time you submit or retrieve the signed order. You will need to post the required bond, if one was ordered, and sign an oath before Letters can issue.
Order Enough Certified Copies
Request multiple certified copies of both the signed DE-140 and the Letters. Every institution you deal with — each bank, each brokerage, the county recorder, insurance companies — will ask for a certified copy and many will keep it. The per-copy fee is set by California statute; the current amount is available from your court clerk. Ordering too few and having to return to the clerk’s office repeatedly is a common time sink.
Common Mistakes That Get the Order Rejected
Clerks see the same errors on DE-140 repeatedly, and each one means another trip to the courthouse or another round of e-filing.
- Mismatched names. The decedent’s name on DE-140 must match the death certificate, the petition (DE-111), and any will exactly. Clerks compare these documents.
- Wrong appointment type. Checking “executor” when the court actually appointed you as administrator with will annexed, usually because the will’s named executor was unavailable, gets the order bounced.
- Bond amount left blank. If the court set a bond, the dollar figure must appear on the form.
- IAEA box unchecked or wrong. If you requested full authority and the court granted only limited authority, or the other way around, the form must reflect the ruling.
- Outdated form version. The Judicial Council revises its forms periodically; a prior version gives the clerk grounds to reject the filing.
The simplest way to avoid all of these is to complete DE-140 at the hearing itself, confirm every checkbox against what was said on the record, and hand it to the courtroom clerk before you leave.
What the Appointment Triggers
Once Letters issue, deadlines start running. You must give notice to known and reasonably ascertainable creditors and publish general notice; creditors then have four months from the date Letters first issued, or 60 days from the date you mailed or delivered notice to them, whichever is later, to file claims.8California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 90509California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 9100 You must file an Inventory and Appraisal (Form DE-160) within four months of Letters issuing, valuing cash yourself and sending everything else to the probate referee named on DE-140.10State Controller’s Office. The Probate Referee Guide The referee has 60 days after receiving the inventory to complete the appraisal.11Justia. California Probate Code 8940-8941 Distributing assets to beneficiaries before creditors are properly noticed can leave you personally responsible for unpaid debts. Finishing DE-140 correctly is what puts you in a position to meet those deadlines cleanly.