Legal Aid: Eligibility and How to Apply

Legal aid helps pay for legal advice, mediation or representation in court. In England and Wales it is administered by the Legal Aid Agency, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice, in accordance with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

There are two broad kinds: civil legal aid, for problems like housing, family and immigration cases, and criminal legal aid, for people who are arrested, charged or prosecuted. The eligibility rules and how you apply are different for each, and covered separately below.

You might be able to get civil legal aid for problems including:

• ✓Yes: Homelessness, eviction, losing your home, or serious disrepair
• ✓Yes: Protecting yourself or a child from abuse or harassment, including 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: Advice on finances, children or divorce if you've been in an abusive relationship
• ✓Yes: A child in your family being at risk of being taken into care, or a case about children in care or a child being abducted
• ✓Yes: Cases heard by a mental health tribunal
• ✓Yes: Challenging the way the government has made a decision about you, seeking asylum, or if you've been a 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're being discriminated against
• ✗No: Appealing a benefits decision, unless you're appealing to the Upper Tribunal, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court

To get legal aid, you'll usually need to show that both your income and the value of your savings, investments and property are below a certain amount.

Income. You'll 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: Universal Credit, the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Income Support. You might still be eligible on a higher income if 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 (savings, investments, and any equity in your home over £100,000). You might still be eligible above £8,000 if you're over State Pension age, you're disputing ownership of your home, or your case is about domestic abuse or forced marriage.

You can be eligible whatever your financial circumstances if your case is about a child in care or being taken into care, heard by a mental health tribunal, or about a child being abducted and taken out of or brought into the UK.

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.

You cannot apply for legal aid on your own; a solicitor or legal adviser applies for you once they've checked your eligibility. You will not be charged for checking your eligibility.

You might be able to get legal aid for a case that would not usually be eligible if your human rights are at risk and being denied legal aid would breach them, for example because the case or evidence is complicated or the outcome is extremely important. This is known as Exceptional Case Funding (ECF). Most people apply through a lawyer; you can also apply yourself for some case types by completing the relevant forms.

Criminal legal aid works differently from civil legal aid. If you've been arrested and held at a police station, a police custody officer will help you get legal aid, and you'll be offered free advice by phone, from the police station's duty solicitor, or from your own legal adviser.

If you're charged with a crime or have to go to court, a solicitor will check if you qualify for legal aid. You can 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'll automatically get legal aid for legal representation in court if you're:

• ✓Yes: Under 16
• ✓Yes: Under 18 and in full-time education
• ✓Yes: On certain benefits

Scotland runs its own legal aid scheme, separate from England and Wales, and only funds cases covered by the law in Scotland. To apply, you find a solicitor who does legal aid work; they'll tell you if you're likely to get legal aid and help with the application. As in England and Wales, you'll usually need to show that you can't afford to pay for legal help yourself, and you may have to pay some money towards the costs, or pay costs back later, depending on your financial position.

Scottish legal aid comes in different types depending on what you need, including advice and assistance for help with the costs of getting legal advice, and separate schemes for civil and criminal cases.

Northern Ireland also runs its own scheme. All applications for legal aid should be made by a solicitor, who can tell you if you might qualify once they know the circumstances of your case. Legal aid in Northern Ireland is available through three schemes: legal advice and assistance, civil legal aid, and criminal legal aid. Decisions on funding under some of these schemes are made by the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland, and any contributions you need to pay towards your case are paid to them or, for Exceptional Funding cases, to your solicitor.

The Legal Aid Agency does not run a general public enquiry line separate from Civil Legal Advice: for a question about getting legal aid, or to check your eligibility, call 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 already have an open case, your solicitor is normally the quickest way to get an update, since they can see it on the Client and Cost Management System.