A Lasting Power of Attorney only works if it is in place before you need it, and the Office of the Public Guardian currently takes 8 to 10 weeks to register one once you apply. That timeline alone is reason enough to get the process right the first time rather than discovering a mistake halfway through.
This guide walks through the actual steps involved in setting up an LPA in England and Wales: choosing your attorneys, completing the forms, registering with the Office of the Public Guardian, and using the document once it exists.
It also covers the specific mistakes that most often cause delays, since these rarely come up in generic overviews of the process.
What Is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you, the donor, appoint one or more people, known as attorneys, to make decisions on your behalf if you lose the mental capacity to make them yourself. LPAs are governed in England and Wales by the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which sets out both the legal test for capacity and the safeguards attorneys must follow when acting for someone else.
Without a registered LPA, your family cannot simply step in to manage your affairs if you become unable to do so yourself. They would instead need to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship, a process that is slower, more expensive, and supervised far more closely by the court.
The Two Types of LPA
There are two separate LPAs, and most people setting up an LPA for the first time need to decide whether they want one, or both.
| Type | What it covers | When it can be used |
| Property and financial affairs | Managing bank accounts, paying bills, collecting a pension or benefits, selling property | Can be used as soon as it is registered, with the donor’s consent, even before capacity is lost |
| Health and welfare | Daily routine, medical treatment, care home decisions, life-sustaining treatment | Can only be used once the donor has lost the capacity to make that decision themselves |
Each is a separate legal document with its own registration fee. Most people setting up an LPA choose to register both, since they cover entirely different aspects of a person’s life and one does not substitute for the other.
Step 1: Confirm Eligibility and Choose Your Attorneys
To make an LPA, you must be 18 or over and have mental capacity at the time you make it. Capacity is assessed at the point of signing, not at the point the LPA is later used, which is why LPAs need to be set up while the donor is still able to understand and make the decision to appoint an attorney.
If a parent or relative has already lost capacity, it is too late to make an LPA on their behalf. The only route at that stage is an application to the Court of Protection for a deputyship, which is a separate and more involved process outside the scope of this guide.
Choosing your attorney is the most consequential decision in the process, since they will have significant authority over your money, property, or welfare. You can appoint more than one attorney, and decide whether they must act jointly on every decision or can act independently of one another.
You can also name replacement attorneys, who step in only if your original choice is unable or unwilling to act later on.
Step 2: Complete the LPA Forms
You can complete an LPA online through the GOV.UK service or on paper. The online service is generally faster to complete and reduces the risk of the form errors covered further down this guide.
Every LPA requires a certificate provider: an independent person who confirms that you understand what you are signing and are not being pressured into it. A certificate provider must either have known you personally for at least two years, or be a professional such as a solicitor, doctor, or another person qualified to assess capacity. They cannot be a relative of yours or your attorneys, and they cannot be a business partner of either.
The signing order matters and is checked by the Office of the Public Guardian: the donor signs first, then the certificate provider, then each attorney. Signing out of sequence is one of the most common reasons applications are sent back.
For straightforward situations, most people complete this step themselves without a solicitor. Where a situation is more complex, such as a blended family, a business interest that needs specific provisions, or a concern about undue influence from a family member, a solicitor drafting the LPA can prevent problems that only surface later, when the document is being relied on.
Step 3: Decide Whether to Notify Anyone
You can name up to five people, known as “people to be told,” who will be notified when your LPA is registered. Anyone named has three weeks to raise an objection with the Office of the Public Guardian if they have concerns.
This step has been optional rather than compulsory since 2023, and many people now skip it. It remains a useful safeguard where family relationships are more complicated, since it gives someone outside the immediate arrangement a formal opportunity to flag a concern before the LPA takes effect.
Step 4: Register the LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian
An LPA cannot legally be used until it has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. Registration currently costs £92 per LPA, so registering both types costs £184 in total for one person.
- Standard fee: £92 per LPA
- Reduced fee: 50% reduction if your gross annual income is under £12,000
- Exemption: No fee if you receive certain means-tested benefits
Fee reductions and exemptions are checked directly against current eligibility criteria on GOV.UK, since qualifying benefits do change from time to time.
Registration takes 8 to 10 weeks if the application contains no errors. Given how many applications are delayed by avoidable mistakes, it is worth reviewing the next section closely before submitting.
Common Reasons LPA Applications Are Delayed or Rejected
The Office of the Public Guardian returns applications regularly, almost always for the same handful of administrative reasons rather than anything wrong with the substance of the LPA itself. The most frequent causes include:
- Signing out of order: The donor, certificate provider, and attorneys must sign in that specific sequence. Signing even one stage early invalidates it.
- An ineligible certificate provider: Using a relative, a business partner, or someone who has known the donor for less than two years and is not a qualifying professional.
- Mismatched personal details: Names, addresses, or dates of birth that do not match exactly across the LPA forms and supporting identification.
- Missing signatures or dates: Every signatory box must be completed in full, including the date next to each signature.
- Using an outdated form version: The Office of the Public Guardian periodically updates its forms, and applications submitted on a superseded version are returned.
Each of these is avoidable with careful preparation, but any one of them can add weeks to a process that already takes 8 to 10 weeks when everything is correct the first time.
Do You Need a Solicitor to Set Up an LPA?
No. Anyone with mental capacity can complete and register their own LPA without involving a solicitor, and the GOV.UK online service is designed for exactly this.
A solicitor becomes worth involving where the situation carries more risk of a dispute or a mistake: business interests that need specific handling, a blended family where attorney choices might be contested, or simply wanting professional oversight of a document that will carry significant authority over your affairs.
Our Lasting Power of Attorney solicitor service supports exactly these situations, drafting and reviewing LPAs before they go to the Office of the Public Guardian.
Using Your LPA Once It’s Registered
Once your LPA is registered, your attorney will often need to show it to banks, care providers, or other organisations. Handing over the original document each time is impractical and risky if it were ever lost, so attorneys typically provide a certified copy instead.
This is a separate step from the registration process itself: a certified copy confirms that the copy matches the original document, and it needs to be produced correctly for the receiving organisation to accept it. Our guide to getting documents certified sets out who can certify a copy and what the process involves, and our page on attesting documents covers the wider process in more detail.
If the LPA needs to be used or presented outside the UK, for example alongside an overseas property transaction, the requirements are different again and usually involve notarisation rather than standard certification.
Setting Up an LPA If You’re Housebound or Can’t Travel
Not every donor is able to attend a solicitor’s office or sit at a computer to work through the online service unassisted. Where age, illness, or mobility makes travel difficult, a solicitor or certificate provider can attend the donor at home instead, completing the same identity checks and capacity assessment in person.
This is one of the most common reasons families bring in professional support rather than relying purely on the DIY route, particularly where a parent’s health has already prompted the decision to set up an LPA in the first place.
Our mobile notary service covers exactly this kind of appointment, visiting donors at home or in a care setting where a trip to an office isn’t realistic.
Getting Help Setting Up Your Lasting Power of Attorney
Setting up an LPA is a process most people can complete themselves. The parts that tend to go wrong, such as an ineligible certificate provider, a signature out of sequence, or an outdated form, are exactly the details a second pair of experienced eyes catches before submission rather than after a rejection letter arrives.
At MSC Notaries, our solicitors can draft your LPA before it goes to the Office of the Public Guardian, our mobile service can attend a donor who isn’t able to travel, and once your LPA is registered we can certify the copies your attorney will need for banks, care providers, and other organisations. You can find out more about our team or get in touch to discuss what you need.
Call us on 0208 907 2699 or email info@mscnotaries.com, or contact us to arrange an appointment at our Central London or Harrow offices.
