District of Columbia Ancillary Probate

When someone who lived in Maryland, Virginia or anywhere else dies owning a condo, a house or other property in the District of Columbia, the personal representative appointed back home does not need to open a second full estate in D.C. A foreign personal representative of a nondomiciliary "shall not be required to obtain letters in the District of Columbia for any purpose" (D.C. Code § 20-341(a)). What the representative does need to do is file authenticated copies of the appointment and any will with the Register of Wills (§ 20-341(b)), publish notice for 2 weeks (§ 20-343(a)), and then either post bond or wait out a 6-month creditor window before transferring D.C. real estate (§ 20-343(c)).

This is the most common estate question D.C. property raises, because so many owners of District homes and condos lived in the suburbs. Below you will find who the D.C. rules cover, the three steps in order, the 12-year creditor lien that catches people off guard, the District estate tax on D.C. real estate, and how planning avoids the whole process. If the person lived in the District, this page does not apply; start with the D.C. probate process instead.

One note before you start. The publication rule on this page currently reads as amended by D.C. Law 26-164, the Strengthening Probate Administration Temporary Amendment Act of 2026, which took effect August 14, 2026. Where a rule rests on that temporary text, the citation says so.

What Ancillary Probate Means in D.C.

Ancillary probate is the second, smaller proceeding in a place where the person owned property but did not live. The main proceeding runs where the person was domiciled. Land passes under the law of the place where it sits, so the home court's order alone does not clear title to a D.C. condo.

D.C. handles this with a foreign personal representative track in D.C. Code §§ 20-341 to 20-344. People often call it a foreign estate proceeding. Three terms do the work:

Foreign personal representative: the executor or administrator appointed by a court outside the District.
Nondomiciliary: a decedent whose home, legally speaking, was outside D.C. at death.
Authenticated copy: a court record certified in the form 28 U.S.C. § 1738 requires, so a D.C. office can accept it as proof.

The track reaches property located in the District: real estate, leasehold interests and personal property kept here. It does not reach property that passes outside probate. The D.C. Code defines estate "property" to exclude anything that passes at death "to another person by the terms of the instrument under which it is held, or by operation of law" (§ 20-101(l)). A condo held with a right of survivorship, a recorded transfer on death deed, or a payable-on-death account skips this process.

Do you need probate in District of Columbia?

Answer a few questions to see whether District of Columbia probate is required and which process applies.

Take the 2-minute assessment

On this page

Who Needs the D.C. Foreign Personal Representative Track

The rules apply when all three of these are true:

The decedent was domiciled outside the District.
A court in the home jurisdiction appointed a personal representative.
The decedent owned probate property located in D.C.

If the decedent lived in D.C. and owned land elsewhere, the direction flips. The D.C. estate runs in the Probate Division, and the other jurisdiction's court decides what its own ancillary step requires. Confirm that step with the court or a lawyer where the land sits.

Here is why the D.C. track is lighter than a full estate. Outside this track, "no person shall exercise the powers or assume the duties of a personal representative unless he has been appointed by the Court," and the Code carves out foreign personal representatives by name (§ 20-302(b)). Once the D.C. filings are made, the representative needs no other proceeding before the Register for assets subject to D.C. jurisdiction (§ 20-343(e)).

Step 1: File the Authenticated Appointment and Will With the Register

A foreign personal representative administering an estate with property located in the District "shall file with the Register a copy of the appointment as personal representative and a copy of the decedent's will, if any, authenticated pursuant to 28 U.S.C. sec. 1738" (§ 20-341(b)).

That federal statute sets the authentication format. A court record is proved "by the attestation of the clerk and seal of the court annexed, if a seal exists, together with a certificate of a judge of the court that the said attestation is in proper form" (28 U.S.C. § 1738). So ask the home court for a copy that carries all three: the clerk's attestation, the court seal, and the judge's certificate. A plain certified copy with only the clerk's stamp may not meet that wording.

The will filing matters for a second reason. Under D.C. law, a will "is ineffective to transfer property or to nominate a personal representative unless it is admitted to probate or recorded as provided in section 20-341(b)" (§ 20-302(a)). Filing the authenticated will under § 20-341(b) is what gives it effect over D.C. property.

The Register of Wills is an office inside the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (D.C. Code § 11-2101). We could not read the court's website to confirm its current filing fee, forms or counter address, so this guide publishes none of them. Use the Probate Division filing page and confirm the details with the Register before you send anything.

Step 2: Publish Notice for 2 Successive Weeks

Next comes the notice. A foreign personal representative of a decedent who owned any property located in the District must publish a notice once a week for 2 successive weeks in a legal periodical or newspaper of general circulation in the District, or another publication the Court provides by rule (D.C. Code § 20-343(a), as amended by D.C. Law 26-164, a temporary act effective until March 27, 2027). The permanent text, which returns when the temporary act lapses, allows only "a legal periodical of general circulation."

The notice must include:

An announcement of the appointment
The representative's name and address
The name and address of the representative's agent in D.C. for service of process, on file with the Register
The name of the court that made the appointment
A brief description of all D.C. real property the decedent owned
A statement that the decedent owned personal property in D.C., if that is the case

If the D.C. property is real property (not leasehold), the notice must also say that claims against the estate may be filed with the Register within 6 months from the date of first publication. After publishing, the representative records a certification with the Register that the notice ran (§ 20-343(a)).

Watch the clock. Every D.C. waiting period on this page runs from the date of first publication, not the date of death and not the date of the home-state appointment.

Step 3: Post Bond or Wait 6 Months Before Transferring

Let's break down when the representative can actually act on D.C. property. Section 20-343 sets different rules for real estate and for everything else.

D.C. property	Earliest transfer with bond	Transfer without bond
Real property (§ 20-343(c))	Post bond equal to the property's value and make the first publication	6 months after first publication, if no claims were filed with the Register or every claim was released or decided for the representative
Personal or leasehold property, letters from a Metropolitan Area jurisdiction (§ 20-343(b)(1)(A))	Not needed	On first publication
Personal or leasehold property, letters from outside the Metropolitan Area (§ 20-343(b)(1)(B), (b)(2))	Post bond equal to the property's value, running for the 6-month claim period, then act on first publication	6 months after first publication, on the same no-claims condition

The "Metropolitan Area" is a defined term. It means Prince Georges County and Montgomery County, Maryland, and Arlington County, Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax, the City of Falls Church and the City of Alexandria, Virginia (D.C. Code § 20-101(i)). Letters from Baltimore, Richmond or Loudoun County fall outside that list.

Notice the asymmetry. Even a Montgomery County or Fairfax County representative cannot sell or lease a D.C. house on first publication without bond. The Metropolitan Area shortcut covers only personal and leasehold property.

Creditor Claims and the 12-Year Lien on D.C. Real Estate

Creditors have 6 months from first publication to file a written statement of claim with the Register and send a copy to the representative (§ 20-343(d)). The Register records every claim and release.

This is the rule that catches nonresident families. Unless a claim is released or finally decided in the representative's favor, a validly recorded claim "shall constitute a lien against all real property owned by the decedent in the District of Columbia at death for a period of 12 years from date of death" (§ 20-343(d)). If the representative has power to sell the property, the lien attaches to the net sale proceeds instead.

So before closing on a sale of a D.C. home, check the Register's record for open claims and clear each one. The general D.C. creditor rules for resident estates are in D.C. creditor claims.

What the Foreign Personal Representative Can Do

Once qualified, a foreign personal representative "may exercise all the powers of such office and may sue and be sued in the District of Columbia, subject to any statute or rule relating to nonresidents" (D.C. Code § 20-342). The scope of those powers comes from the home appointment. If the home court limited the representative's authority to sell land, that limit travels with the appointment.

The personal representative duties guide covers the D.C. duties of a representative appointed by the Probate Division. A foreign representative answers mainly to the home court, with the D.C. filing, notice and claim rules above layered on top.

When the Foreign Personal Representative Does Not Transfer Title

Heirs and legatees have a remedy if the representative stalls. If a foreign personal representative fails to transfer title to D.C. real or leasehold property to the people entitled to it within a reasonable time, the Court may direct the transfer itself when three conditions are met (D.C. Code § 20-344):

The will, if any, or a copy authenticated under 28 U.S.C. § 1738, is filed in the Register's office.
Notice approved by the Court has been published stating that the decedent died owning the property.
All claims of creditors, if any, have been satisfied.

Small Estate Routes for a Nonresident

D.C. has two small estate routes, and each one reads differently for a nonresident.

The small estate proceeding. It applies when "the property of a decedent subject to administration in the District of Columbia has a value of $80,000 or less" (D.C. Code § 20-351). The test is the value of the D.C. property, and the section does not mention where the decedent lived. Ask the Register whether it fits your facts before you choose between it and the foreign personal representative track.
Transfer by affidavit. This route does not fit a nonresident who owned D.C. real estate. The affidavit must state that the entire probate estate, "wherever located," is worth no more than $40,000 and "does not include an interest in real property," and that no application for a personal representative "is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction" (D.C. Code § 20-361(a), as amended by D.C. Law 26-164, a temporary act effective until March 27, 2027). Once the home court appoints someone, the affidavit is closed.

Both routes are explained in D.C. small estate procedures.

The District Estate Tax Still Reaches D.C. Real Estate

The foreign personal representative track does not relieve the representative "of the responsibility for paying all death taxes due the District of Columbia" (§ 20-343(f)). D.C. has its own estate tax, separate from the federal one, and it reaches nonresidents.

What counts as D.C. property. Real property has its taxable situs where it sits. Tangible personal property has its situs where it was customarily kept at death. Intangibles, like bank and brokerage accounts, follow the decedent's domicile, unless used in a trade or business in the District (D.C. Code § 47-3701(12A)).
How the tax is figured. For a nonresident who died after December 31, 2015, the District computes the tax on the whole estate and multiplies it by the D.C.-situs share of the gross estate (D.C. Code § 47-3703(b-1)).
Who must file. No return is required if the gross estate does not exceed $1 million or the zero bracket amount, whichever is higher (D.C. Code § 47-3705(a)(2)). For deaths in 2026, the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue lists an exclusion amount of $4,988,400.
When. The return and payment are due within 10 months after death (§ 47-3705(a), (c)).
Who is responsible. If no personal representative is acting within the District, anyone in possession of D.C.-situs property included in the federal gross estate is treated as the personal representative for that property and its tax (§ 47-3701(9)).

Most estates fall under the filing line. The D.C. estate tax guide covers the threshold history and the federal return.

How to Avoid D.C. Ancillary Probate

The cleanest fix happens before death. Property that passes by its own title or instrument never becomes estate property under § 20-101(l), so no D.C. filing, notice or 6-month wait applies to it.

A transfer on death deed. D.C. allows one for real property, and it must be recorded before the owner's death. See avoiding ancillary probate with a TOD deed.
Survivorship title. A co-owner with a right of survivorship takes the property by operation of law.
A funded revocable trust. A deed into the trust during life moves the condo out of the probate estate.

Each option has trade-offs for taxes, creditors and control. The ways to avoid probate in D.C. guide compares them.

Where to File

D.C. has one court for every estate: the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (D.C. Code § 20-101(b)). There is no county court to choose. The Register of Wills, inside that Division, receives the § 20-341(b) filing, the publication certification and creditors' statements of claim. Find the Division's details on the D.C. probate court page and the District filing packet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a Maryland or Virginia executor need D.C. letters to sell a D.C. condo?

No. A foreign personal representative of a nondomiciliary needs no D.C. letters for any purpose (D.C. Code § 20-341(a)). The representative files an authenticated copy of the appointment and any will with the Register (§ 20-341(b)), publishes notice for 2 weeks (§ 20-343(a)), and then posts bond equal to the property's value or waits 6 months after first publication before transferring D.C. real estate (§ 20-343(c)).

How long does D.C. ancillary probate take?

Without bond, the earliest a foreign personal representative can transfer D.C. real estate is 6 months after the notice first runs, and only if no claims were filed or every claim was released or decided (§ 20-343(c)(2)). Posting bond equal to the property's value lets the representative act on first publication instead (§ 20-343(c)(1)).

Where is the notice published?

Once a week for 2 successive weeks in a legal periodical or newspaper of general circulation in the District, or another publication the Court provides by rule (D.C. Code § 20-343(a), as amended by D.C. Law 26-164, a temporary act effective until March 27, 2027).

Can a creditor still reach the D.C. property after the estate closes?

Yes, if the creditor filed a claim with the Register within 6 months of first publication. An unreleased, undecided claim is a lien on the decedent's D.C. real property for 12 years from the date of death, or on the net proceeds if the representative had power to sell (§ 20-343(d)).

Does the District tax a nonresident's D.C. house?

It can. Real property has its taxable situs where it sits (D.C. Code § 47-3701(12A)), and a nonresident's estate pays the D.C.-situs share of the tax (§ 47-3703(b-1)). No return is due if the gross estate does not exceed $1 million or the zero bracket amount, whichever is higher; for 2026 deaths the Office of Tax and Revenue lists $4,988,400.

This guide is general information about estates in the District of Columbia. It is not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects your situation with the Register of Wills, the Probate Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, or a licensed D.C. attorney.

Sources:

Title: D.C. Code § 20-341, Requirements. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/20-341
Title: D.C. Code § 20-342, Powers of foreign personal representative. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/20-342
Title: D.C. Code § 20-343, Publication and claims of creditors. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/20-343
Title: D.C. Code § 20-344, Right of heir or legatee. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/20-344
Title: D.C. Code § 20-302, Necessity for probate. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/20-302
Title: D.C. Code § 20-101, Definitions. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/20-101
Title: D.C. Code § 20-351, General. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/20-351
Title: D.C. Code § 20-361, Payment or delivery of small asset by affidavit. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/20-361
Title: D.C. Code § 11-2101, Continuation of office. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/11-2101
Title: D.C. Code § 47-3701, Definitions. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/47-3701
Title: D.C. Code § 47-3703, Tax on transfer of taxable estate of nonresidents; property of nonresident defined. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/47-3703
Title: D.C. Code § 47-3705, Filing returns; payment of tax due. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: Not listed. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/47-3705
Title: D.C. Law 26-164, Strengthening Probate Administration Temporary Amendment Act of 2026. Publisher: Council of the District of Columbia. Publication Date: August 14, 2026. URL: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/26-164
Title: 28 U.S.C. § 1738, State and Territorial statutes and judicial proceedings; full faith and credit. Publisher: U.S. Government Publishing Office. Publication Date: 2023 edition. URL: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title28/html/USCODE-2023-title28-partV-chap115-sec1738.htm
Title: 2026 D-76 Estate Tax Return Instruction Booklet. Publisher: D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue. Publication Date: 2026. URL: https://otr.cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/otr/publication/attachments/2026_D-76_v1.0_final.pdf

It is not legal advice.