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This paper addresses the application of the boundary element method (BEM) to plane problems in probabilistic fracture mechanics. BEM stands out as an interesting technique for crack propagation analysis, leading to a robust modelling of stress concentration in singular regions, besides attenuating remeshing aspects. The alternative BEM formulation employed herein is built in terms of a set of self-equilibrated forces, called dipole, which describes the cohesive zone. Regarding the nonlinear solution, the tangent operator is used to make it faster. The probabilistic assessment of the crack propagation analysis is carried out in two stages: the first consists of a simulation-based estimation of the random values of cohesive parameters and elastic modulus, by an inferential approach; and in the second, the influence of these parameters on the structural response is evaluated. The statistical correlation between the …