The short answer
Virgin Money's bereavement page says it needs a Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration or a Certificate of Confirmation when the balance of the person's Virgin Money accounts is £50,000 or more. Below £50,000, if you do not have one of those documents, Virgin Money gives you a form to complete instead. Accounts held under the Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank brands are all within Virgin Money and handled under the same bereavement process. The figure was £35,000 until 2025, so older guides still quote that.
Probate Checker
Will you need probate for Virgin Money?
Answer a few questions about the accounts, sole or joint, the balance, and whether there is a will, and get the verdict for Virgin Money and your next steps. Verified May 2026.
How Virgin Money's limit works
There is no figure set in law, but Virgin Money is one of the banks that states its own. Its bereavement page says the grant (or Confirmation in Scotland) is only needed when the balance is £50,000 or more; below that, a form does the job. This is the same figure as most other high-street banks. Virgin Money's page gave £35,000 as recently as April 2025, so if you see that number elsewhere it is out of date. The bereavement team can still ask for more in an unusual case.
Virgin Money acquired Clydesdale Bank in 2019 and all three trading names, Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, sit within Virgin Money UK PLC. Accounts held under any of those names are looked at together when the bereavement team reviews the estate. A joint account usually passes to the surviving account holder by survivorship, whatever the balance.
Below the limit: what you need
Where the Virgin Money balance is under £50,000 and you do not already have a grant, Virgin Money provides a form to complete instead, and releases the funds against that form and the documents below.
For a smaller estate you will usually need:
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- Identification for the person dealing with the estate
- Virgin Money's completed bereavement form, and any small-estate declaration it provides
If you are not sure which side of the line the estate falls, the Probate Checker shows Virgin Money's current position in a couple of clicks.
Above the limit: what changes
Where the balance is £50,000 or more, Virgin Money asks to see an original or certified copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration before it releases the money. In Scotland the equivalent is a Certificate of Confirmation.
Our guide to how to apply for probate walks through the forms, fees and timelines, and probate in Scotland covers the Confirmation process if the death was registered there.
Funeral costs before probate
Virgin Money can consider paying a funeral director's invoice directly from the account before probate, reviewed case by case. Ask the bereavement team to confirm what it can release toward the funeral, and provide the invoice rather than an estimate.
How to notify Virgin Money
You notify Virgin Money's bereavement team, who open a case and confirm what they need for the accounts involved.
- Phone: 0800 012 1590 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, Saturday, 8am to 3pm, and Sunday, 10am to 1pm)
- Online: uk.virginmoney.com bereavement support
Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank are trading names of Virgin Money UK PLC. Accounts held under any of the three names are dealt with by the same bereavement team. There is no separate process for legacy Clydesdale or Yorkshire Bank customers.
For the full picture on what to send and what to expect back, see our guide to notifying banks after a death.
Step by step
- Register the death and order extra certified copies of the death certificate, as several organisations will want one.
- Note which brand the accounts are held under: Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank or Yorkshire Bank. All are handled together.
- Call Virgin Money's bereavement team to open a case and ask what the current figure and forms are for the accounts involved.
- Gather the documents: a death certificate, your own identification, and the completed bereavement form.
- If a funeral is being arranged, ask whether Virgin Money can pay the funeral director's invoice from the account.
- Keep a note of your case reference and what Virgin Money has asked for next.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland
In Scotland there is no Grant of Probate. The equivalent is a Certificate of Confirmation from the sheriff court. Where Virgin Money would otherwise ask for a Grant, it asks for Confirmation instead.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland follows a process close to England and Wales, with a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration issued by the Probate Office. Several Northern Ireland banks assess release case by case, so confirm the position with the bereavement team.