Legal aid helps pay for legal advice, mediation or representation in court. In England and Wales the Legal Aid Agency administers the scheme in accordance with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). You will usually need to show that both your income and your savings are below set limits. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different legal aid rules.
Key points
✓You will usually need to show that you and your partner either have a joint monthly income of £2,657 or less, or get a qualifying benefit such as Universal Credit.
✓You will not usually be eligible if you and your partner have assets of over £8,000.
✓You cannot get legal aid for debt problems (unless you might lose your home), employment disputes (unless you are being discriminated against) or appealing benefits decisions (unless you are appealing to the Upper Tribunal, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court).
✓You cannot apply for legal aid on your own: a legal adviser applies for you.
✓You can use the 'Check if you can get legal aid' service, or call Civil Legal Advice on 0345 345 4345 if you cannot use the online service.
✓If you have been arrested and held at a police station, a police custody officer will help you get legal aid, and you will be offered free advice.
✓Scotland and Northern Ireland have different legal aid rules, covered below.
What legal aid is
Legal aid helps pay for legal advice, mediation or representation in court. You can also get someone to speak or negotiate for you at a court or tribunal. In England and Wales the Legal Aid Agency, an executive agency sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, administers the legal aid scheme in accordance with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
The 2 main categories of law paid for by the Legal Aid Agency are civil (including controlled work) and criminal. There is a different way to get legal aid if you have been arrested or charged with a crime.
What you can and cannot get legal aid for
You might be able to get civil legal aid for problems like:
✓Yes: Homelessness, eviction, losing your home, or serious disrepair
✓Yes: Protecting yourself or a child from abuse or harassment, for example domestic abuse or forced marriage
✓Yes: Poor quality care you or a family member are getting due to age, disability or special educational needs
✓Yes: Needing advice on finances, children or divorce if you have been in an abusive relationship
✓Yes: A child in your family being at risk of being taken into care
✓Yes: Family mediation, for example if you are deciding on child arrangements
✓Yes: Discrimination
✓Yes: Challenging the way the government has made a decision about you
✓Yes: Seeking asylum, or if you have been the victim of human trafficking
✓Yes: Needing advice if a family member's death is going to a coroner's inquest
You cannot get legal aid for:
✗No: Debt problems, unless you might lose your home
✗No: Employment disputes, unless you are being discriminated against
✗No: Appealing benefits decisions, unless you are appealing to the Upper Tribunal, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court
To get legal aid, you will usually need to show that both your income is below a certain amount and the value of your savings, investments and property are below a certain amount.
Income
You will usually need to show that you and your partner either have a joint monthly income of £2,657 or less (before tax and other deductions) or get a qualifying benefit. Qualifying benefits are Universal Credit, the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and Income Support. You might still be eligible if you have a higher income and your case is about domestic abuse or forced marriage.
Savings and property
You will not usually be eligible if you and your partner have assets of over £8,000, which are savings and investments and any equity in your home over £100,000. You might still be eligible if you have assets worth more than £8,000 if you are over State Pension age, you are disputing ownership of your home, or your case is about domestic abuse or forced marriage.
You can be eligible for legal aid whatever your financial circumstances if your case is about children in care or being taken into care, heard by a mental health tribunal, or about a child being abducted and taken out of the UK or brought into the UK.
Paying towards the cost of your case
Legal aid might not cover all the costs of your case. You may have to pay some of the costs upfront, or pay back some of the cost if you win money or property from your case. Your legal adviser will explain what will happen if this applies to you.
How to apply for civil legal aid
A legal adviser will apply for legal aid for you, and you cannot apply for legal aid on your own. You will not be charged for checking your eligibility.
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Check your eligibility
Use the 'Check if you can get legal aid' service to check your eligibility and find out how to apply. You are asked about your legal problem, your income and your savings, and told what to do next. You might speak to someone who can arrange for you to get legal advice by phone, be told how to find a legal adviser near you, or be told how to find a mediator near you.
2
Or call Civil Legal Advice if you can't use the online service
You can contact the Civil Legal Advice helpline to check if you can get legal aid: 0345 345 4345 (Relay UK: 18001 then 0345 345 4345), Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm, Saturday 9am to 12:30pm. You can also ask for support in British Sign Language and other languages.
3
The adviser tells you whether you can get legal aid, and applies for you
The phone adviser, legal adviser or mediator will tell you whether you can get legal aid. When a legal adviser has checked your eligibility for civil legal aid they can apply online through the Client and Cost Management System (CCMS), or fill in the civil means-testing forms and the appropriate civil application forms.
The Legal Aid Agency says 85% of applications for civil legal aid are processed in 20 working days.
If you cannot get legal aid, you may be able to get free advice from the Law Centres Network, Citizens Advice or AdviceNow, and you can also pay for advice from a legal adviser or solicitor.
Exceptional Case Funding
You could get legal aid for cases that would not usually be eligible if your human rights are at risk. This is known as exceptional case funding (ECF). You need to show that you are financially eligible, and that being refused legal aid would infringe your rights under the European Convention on Human Rights or your retained EU rights to legal representation.
When you apply you might need to show how your human rights would be affected by not getting legal aid, that you are not able to deal with the case yourself, for example because you find it difficult to read or write, the case or evidence is complicated or the case is difficult to prove, and that the outcome is extremely important.
Most people use a lawyer to apply for exceptional case funding, but you can apply yourself by completing the relevant forms for your case. If you are applying for legal help with a coroner's inquest, you must apply through a lawyer. You will usually get a decision within 25 working days, and if your case is urgent the Legal Aid Agency will prioritise it and aim to make a decision within 10 working days.
If you have been arrested and held at a police station, a police custody officer will help you get legal aid, and you will either be offered free advice by phone, from the police station's duty solicitor, or from your own legal adviser.
A solicitor will check if you qualify for legal aid if you are charged with a crime or have to go to court. You can then get advice from the same organisation that helped you at the police station, ask to speak to the court duty solicitor, or find your own criminal legal aid solicitor.
You will automatically get legal aid for legal representation in court if you are:
✓Yes: Under 16
✓Yes: Under 18 and in full-time education
✓Yes: On certain benefits
Scotland
In Scotland, legal aid is help you may be able to get towards legal costs when you cannot afford to pay for a solicitor yourself. To apply, you need to find a solicitor that does legal aid work, who will talk you through your options, let you know if you are likely to get legal aid and help you with the application process. You will usually need to show that you cannot afford to pay for legal help yourself and that you need legal support, and you may have to pay some money towards the legal costs of your case, or pay costs back later. Scottish legal aid only funds cases covered by the law in Scotland.
The type of legal aid you apply for depends on the type of legal help you need, and includes advice and assistance, which can help with the costs of getting legal advice from a solicitor. Your solicitor may also be able to help you prepare and represent you for a civil case, a Children's Hearing or a criminal case.
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, all applications for legal aid should be made by a solicitor, who can tell you if you might qualify once they know the circumstances in your case. Legal aid is available through three different schemes: legal advice and assistance, civil legal aid and criminal legal aid.
For representation in the Higher Courts, the decision to give you legal aid is made by the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland, and any contributions you need to pay towards your case are paid to the Legal Services Agency. For exceptional funding, the Legal Services Agency also decides, but any contributions are paid to your solicitor. An application for criminal legal aid must be made to the Court. Depending on your financial circumstances you may have to pay something towards advice and assistance or representation in the Lower Courts, but this will be no more than £134. If you are refused legal aid, you can ask for the decision to be looked at again.
Contacting the Legal Aid Agency
For a question about getting legal aid, or to check your eligibility, you can contact Civil Legal Advice on 0345 345 4345 (Relay UK, if you cannot hear or speak on the phone: 18001 then 0345 345 4345), Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 12:30pm. If you are not satisfied with the service the Legal Aid Agency has provided, you can submit a complaint, and if you are dissatisfied with its stage two response you have the right to ask your MP to refer your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
The 'Check if you can get legal aid' service asks about your legal problem and your income and savings, and tells you what to do next. You will not be charged for checking your eligibility, and the phone adviser, legal adviser or mediator will tell you whether you can get legal aid.
How much can you earn and still get legal aid?
You will usually need to show that you and your partner either have a joint monthly income of £2,657 or less (before tax and other deductions) or get a qualifying benefit such as Universal Credit. You might still be eligible if you have a higher income and your case is about domestic abuse or forced marriage.
Can I get legal aid for a family court case?
You might be able to get legal aid for family mediation, for example if you are deciding on child arrangements, for advice on finances, children or divorce if you have been in an abusive relationship, and for a child in your family being at risk of being taken into care. You can be eligible whatever your financial circumstances if your case is about children in care or being taken into care, or about a child being abducted and taken out of the UK or brought into the UK.
Is legal aid available if I've been arrested?
If you have been arrested and held at a police station, a police custody officer will help you get legal aid, and you will either be offered free advice by phone, from the police station's duty solicitor, or from your own legal adviser. If you are charged, a solicitor will check if you qualify for legal aid, and you will automatically get legal aid for legal representation in court if you are under 16, under 18 and in full-time education, or on certain benefits.