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<< back to all ArticlesAlberta’s Surrogate Digital Service: Digital Grants
The Surrogate Digital Service (SDS) is the Alberta Courts’ web-based platform for lawyers and qualifying self-represented applicants to electronically file applications for Grants of Probate, Administration, or Administration with Will Annexed.
What is a Grant of Probate, Administration, or Administration with Will Annexed?
A Grant of Probate is a Court order that confirms the legal authority of the personal representative (i.e., executor) named in a Will to manage the deceased’s estate.
A Grant of Administration is a Court order that is issued when no Will can be found, giving legal authority to the applicant to manage the deceased’s estate.
A Grant of Administration with Will Annexed is a Court order that is issued when the named personal representative in a Will can’t or won’t act or if no personal representative is named in the Will, giving legal authority to the applicant to manage the deceased’s estate.
Obtaining a Grant of Probate, Administration, or Administration with Will Annexed is typically one of the first steps in the estate administration process, as most (if not all) banks and financial institutions require a Grant prior to releasing funds solely held by the deceased at death.
Further, if the deceased was the sole owner of any real estate at death, the Land Titles Office will also require a Grant prior to permitting the transfer or sale of the property.
Who Can Use SDS?
As of September 13, 2022, it is mandatory for lawyers in Alberta to use SDS for any application that SDS is able to process. SDS has effectively replaced general paper application forms with digital ones for faster processing.
As of April 15, 2026, a person applying without a lawyer (i.e., a self-represented applicant) may also use SDS if they meet all of the following requirements:
- They have the legal right to apply (for e.g., as the named personal representative or alternate under the Will, or as a person with priority to apply under the Estate Administration Act if there is no Will).
- They are a resident of Alberta.
- They must log in using their verified alberta.ca account.
- They must have a credit card to pay the court filing fees online.
Further, as outlined on the Court’s information page, self-represented applicants must also have a desktop or laptop computer, reliable internet connection, and a way to scan documents and save them as PDF files.
If a self-represented applicant is unable to meet all of these requirements, they must continue to use the general application forms.
What Types of Applications can be Processed through SDS?
As of June 17, 2026, SDS is able to process most applications for Grants of Probate, Administration, or Administration with Will Annexed, but not applications that involve:
- Requests to validate or invalidate Wills (this requires a Court application, which SDS cannot process)
- Limited Grants or requests for full Grants after a limited Grant has been issued (relatively rare)
- Bonds
- Where a previous grant has been issued by the Court of King’s Bench (double probate or grant of unadministered property)
- Void gifts (e.g., where a gift made in a Will is invalid)
- If the deceased was a minor when the Will was made (relatively rare)
- Applicants whose appointment as personal representative or alternate personal representative is void due to a terminated marriage
- Applications from the Crown or Public Trustee for Grants of Administration
What is the General Process with SDS?
Many applications our office assists with are applications for a Grant of Probate (i.e., the deceased made a Will and properly named a personal representative in that Will).
We will first ask for the following documents and information from the personal representative:
- the original Will itself;
- a death certificate;
- information about the deceased’s known assets and liabilities; and
- contact information for the beneficiaries and potential claimants of the estate.
Our office will then draft the application through SDS, have the personal representative review the draft, and then submit the application digitally. This automatically generates an email to the personal representative from the Alberta Courts, requiring the personal representative to review the application through the SDS system and to click the “certification” button once they are satisfied the application is accurate and complete.
Once certified by the personal representative, the application is submitted to the Court clerks for administrative review. As outlined in the Alberta Court Services’ Overview of the Surrogate Digital Service informational PDF, the online web-based platform automatically checks data entry to ensure application forms are completed correctly, thereby reducing reasons for rejection.
At the time of submission to the Court, the application fee must also be paid online by credit card.
Once a Court clerk has reviewed and administratively approved the application, the beneficiaries of the estate and potential claimants are automatically served with Notices of the application by email.
The beneficiaries and potential claimants are then able to review all relevant details of the application online and must acknowledge service of the application by clicking a link. Once everyone has accessed their link (or once the Notice is served by registered mail, if the beneficiary or potential claimant does not have email), the application is automatically submitted to a Justice for review.
At this stage, our office must submit the original Will and any other testamentary documents to the Court for storage.
Once the original documents are received by the Court and a Justice has reviewed and approved the application, your lawyer receives an email notification that the Grant is ready. From there, a PDF copy of the signed Grant can be downloaded or printed and provided to the personal representative. The beneficiaries and potential claimants also receive automatic notification that the Grant has been issued by the Court.
If you or someone you know has any questions or requires assistance with estate administration matters, please reach out to our Wills and Estates Team and we would be happy to assist.
This post is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this post to be outdated.
