To set up a lasting power of attorney (LPA) in England and Wales, you choose your attorney, fill in the forms online or on paper, get them signed, and register the LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian. Registration takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes in the application. You do not need a lawyer unless you have unusual or specific requirements.
Key points
✓You can make and register an LPA yourself, online or on paper, and you do not need a lawyer unless you have unusual or specific requirements.
✓Registering costs £92 for one LPA and £184 for both types. You can apply for a reduction if you earn less than £12,000, or for an exemption on certain benefits.
✓The online service lets you review your answers and fix any mistakes, and you print and sign the forms when you finish.
✓Your certificate provider must be at least 18 and either have known you well for at least two years or have the professional skills to judge whether you understand what you are doing. They cannot be an attorney or a member of your or your attorney's family.
✓You must register your LPA or your attorney will not be able to make decisions for you.
Before you start
You must be 18 or over and have mental capacity, which is the ability to make your own decisions, when you make your LPA. Decide these things before you fill anything in.
1
Who your attorneys will be
An attorney must be 18 or over and have the mental capacity to make their own decisions. They could be a relative, a friend, a professional such as a solicitor, or your husband, wife or partner. For a property and financial affairs LPA you cannot choose someone who is bankrupt or subject to a Debt Relief Order.
2
How more than one attorney will act
If you appoint more than one attorney, you decide whether they make decisions separately, which is called jointly and severally, or together, which is called jointly. You can also let them make some decisions jointly and others jointly and severally. If your attorneys must always make decisions together and one can no longer act, your LPA will stop working unless you have appointed replacement attorneys.
3
Whether to name replacements
You can name replacement attorneys to take over if an attorney can no longer act for you. Without replacements, your LPA will no longer work if you have only one attorney and that attorney can no longer act.
4
Which type or types you need
There are two types of LPA, health and welfare and property and financial affairs, and you can make one type or both. Each LPA has its own form, so to choose both you fill in both forms.
5
Any preferences or instructions
Preferences are what you would like your attorneys to think about when they decide for you, and they do not have to follow them. Instructions tell your attorneys what they must do. Complicated or badly worded instructions or preferences can make an LPA unworkable.
What each type covers
A health and welfare LPA covers decisions about things like your daily routine, medical care, moving into a care home and life-sustaining treatment, and it can only be used when you are unable to make your own decisions.
A property and financial affairs LPA covers decisions about money and property, such as managing a bank or building society account, paying bills, collecting benefits or a pension and selling your home.
With a property and financial affairs LPA, you choose whether your attorneys can act as soon as the LPA is registered or only if you can no longer understand and make decisions.
Making the LPA, online or on paper
You can make an LPA online or on paper. You can also get someone else, for example a family member, friend or solicitor, to use the online service or fill in the paper forms for you.
1
Online
The online service gives you help and guidance at each step, lets you save your forms and complete them later, and lets you review your answers and fix any mistakes. You need to print out the forms and sign them when you have finished. It is usually quicker if you make your LPA and pay online.
2
On paper
Download the forms and print them out. Use form LP1F for property and financial affairs and form LP1H for health and welfare.
The Office of the Public Guardian can tell you about help if you do not have a computer or printer, or if you want to use the online service but need some help. Our LPA cost guide covers the fee, and our guide to lasting powers of attorney explains the two types.
The certificate provider
The certificate provider is an impartial person who confirms that you understand what you are doing and that nobody is forcing you to make an LPA. They must confirm that you understand the significance of the LPA, that you have not been put under pressure to make it, that there has been no fraud involved in making it and that there is no other reason for concern.
A certificate provider must be at least 18 and either:
✓Yes: A friend, colleague or someone you have known well for at least two years, who must be more than just an acquaintance.
✓Yes: Your doctor or lawyer, or someone with the professional skills to judge whether you understand what you are doing and are not being forced to make an LPA.
Someone with relevant professional skills would usually be a registered healthcare professional such as your GP, a solicitor, barrister or advocate, a registered social worker or an independent mental capacity advocate, and you may have to pay a professional to act as your certificate provider.
Your certificate provider cannot be:
✗No: An attorney or replacement attorney for the LPA.
✗No: A member of your or your attorney's family.
✗No: An unmarried partner, boyfriend or girlfriend of yours or of any of your attorneys.
✗No: Your business partner or one of your attorneys' business partners.
✗No: Your employee or one of your attorneys' employees.
✗No: An owner, manager, director or employee of a care home where you live, or a member of their family.
✗No: Anyone running or working for a trust corporation appointed as an attorney in a property and financial affairs LPA.
Signing and registering
You must sign the LPA in the right order or the Office of the Public Guardian cannot register it. Everyone must sign the same original document, and they cannot sign copies or use digital signatures.
1
You sign first
You, the donor, must sign your LPA before anyone else.
2
A witness signs
The independent witness who watches you sign must sign straight after you.
3
The certificate provider signs
The certificate provider signs after you but before the attorneys.
4
The attorneys sign
Your attorneys and replacement attorneys sign after the certificate provider.
5
You or an attorney sign to register
Lastly, the donor or an attorney signs section 15 when you are ready to apply to register.
A witness cannot be aged 17 or under, or be one of your attorneys or replacement attorneys. Your attorneys and replacement attorneys can witness each other's signatures, but you cannot witness theirs, and your certificate provider can be a witness.
Registering the LPA
You must register your LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian or your attorney will not be able to make decisions for you. You can apply to register your LPA yourself if you are able to make your own decisions, or your attorney can register it for you, in which case you will be told and can object to the registration.
1
Tell the people to notify
If you listed people to notify in the LPA, send each of them form LP3 before you register, and they have 3 weeks to raise any concerns with the Office of the Public Guardian. The online service creates and fills in the LP3 forms for you. The Office of the Public Guardian's own guide also describes a legal four-week wait before it can register an LPA, which gives people to notify a chance to object.
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Send it with the fee
Sign your completed LPA form and send it to the Office of the Public Guardian, and make sure you include the original LPA form and the fee. Applying to register an LPA costs £92, or £184 in total if you want both a personal welfare LPA and a property and affairs LPA. You can apply for a reduction if you earn less than £12,000, and you might also be able to apply for an exemption if you are on certain benefits, such as Income Support.
3
Wait 8 to 10 weeks
It takes 8 to 10 weeks to register an LPA if there are no mistakes in the application. Depending on the type of mistake, the Office of the Public Guardian may let you correct it and apply again within 3 months for £46.
4
Register as soon as it is signed
If you apply to register as soon as the LPA is signed, the Office of the Public Guardian can check it for potential errors while the donor still has mental capacity, and some errors can be fixed before registration. You do not have to register straight away, but if you delay and the donor loses mental capacity, the attorneys can still apply to register and it will not be possible to correct any mistakes.
Your LPA will be legally binding only in England and Wales. In Scotland, you use a continuing power of attorney for financial and property affairs and a welfare power of attorney for health and care, and these cannot take effect until they are registered with the Office of the Public Guardian. In Northern Ireland, an Enduring Power of Attorney covers financial matters only, and it must be registered with the Office of Care and Protection if you become incapable. See the main power of attorney guide.
Can I set up a power of attorney without a solicitor?
Yes. You do not need a lawyer to make an LPA unless you have unusual or specific requirements. You can also get someone else, for example a family member, friend or solicitor, to use the online service or fill in the paper forms for you.
How long does it take to register an LPA?
It takes 8 to 10 weeks to register an LPA if there are no mistakes in the application. People to notify have 3 weeks to raise any concerns with the Office of the Public Guardian. If you apply to register as soon as the LPA is signed, the Office of the Public Guardian can check it for potential errors while the donor still has mental capacity.
Do I need a certificate provider for an LPA?
Yes. The forms must be signed by a certificate provider, who confirms you are making the LPA by choice and you understand what you are doing. They must be at least 18 and either have known you well for at least two years or have the professional skills to judge whether you understand what you are doing. They cannot be an attorney or a member of your or your attorney's family.
Can I make a power of attorney online?
Yes. You can make an LPA online, and the service gives you help and guidance at each step and lets you review your answers and fix any mistakes. You need to print out the forms and sign them when you have finished.
Know Your Rights UK. "How to Set Up a Power of Attorney (LPA): Step by Step 2026." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/power-of-attorney/how-to-set-up