District of Columbia probate leads and inheritance data, by county.
If you are researching District of Columbia probate leads, the public court file is only one part of the inherited-property market. USLeadList starts with death and property records, typically about five weeks after death, and generates an average of 84 records a month across District of Columbia.
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District of Columbia counties
Browse 1 counties.Every District of Columbia county has its own page. Highlighted counties currently generate the largest monthly record volume.
How inherited property moves in District of Columbia
Verified state rules behind the county data.Probate rules matter because they determine when a public court record appears and which inherited properties never appear in an ordinary probate case.
What changes for an heir
The District attaches a large recurring cost to holding an empty inherited house. An inherited single family house is Class 1A or 1B residential property, taxed for tax year 2025 at $0.85 per $100 of assessed value, or $1.00 per $100 above $2,500,000 for Class 1B, with the Mayor recomputing both rates annually from tax year 2026 (D.C. Code 47-812(b-12), 47-813(c-9)). A registered vacant building is Class 3 at $5 per $100, a blighted one Class 4 at $10 per $100 (47-812(b-10)). Occupancy governs the homestead deduction rather than the class: an heir loses the decedent's deduction (47-850) and the owner occupant assessment cap credit (47-864) unless the heir moves in and claims the homestead. The pressure is deferred rather than absent: 42-3131.06a(b)(3) shelters a building from the vacant rates for up to 3 tax years while it is the subject of a probate proceeding and (b)(2) gives a single family home half a tax year while listed for sale, though (d) caps subsection (b) exemptions at 5 tax years in any 12 year period. The estate tax exclusion is $4,988,400 for 2026 deaths and $4,873,200 for 2025 deaths, and there is no inheritance tax for deaths on or after April 1, 1987.
Where probate records appear
Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Probate Division DC Courts Superior Court Case Search, using the Portal tool, which covers the Probate Division and can be searched anonymously with no registration or sign in. The separate eAccess tool covers criminal, criminal tax and domestic violence cases only.
Ways property can avoid ordinary probate
Transfer on death deed under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, D.C. Code 19-604.01 through 19-604.19, enacted by D.C. Law 19-230 effective March 19, 2013 and recorded with the Recorder of Deeds before the transferor's death. Also revocable living trusts, joint ownership with right of survivorship, and the small asset affidavit at D.C. Code 20-361.
Small-estate route
Small estate administration where the property of the decedent subject to administration in the District has a value of $80,000 or less (D.C. Code 20-351, raised from $40,000 by D.C. Law 25-302, effective March 21, 2025). Separately, a successor may collect a small asset by affidavit where the probate estate does not exceed $40,000, contains no interest in real property, and at least 60 days have elapsed since death (D.C. Code 20-361).
Timing investors should understand
Statutory floor: a claim is barred against the estate, the personal representative and the heirs and legatees unless presented within 6 months after the date of the first publication of notice of the appointment of a personal representative (D.C. Code 20-903(a)(1)). The personal representative must publish that notice once a week for 2 successive weeks, within 20 days after appointment (D.C. Code 20-704). The small asset affidavit under D.C. Code 20-361 cannot be used until 60 days after death. No District source publishes a typical duration.
District of Columbia inheritance volume
Updated monthly · September 2026 edition.Newly inherited residential properties recorded in District of Columbia, from the same database that builds the lists. Published nationally in the Inheritance Property Index.
Biggest District of Columbia counties by volume
- Washington 1,188
Free to cite with attribution: USLeadList Inheritance Property Index, September 2026 edition. See every state and download the data.
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