Registering an LPA:
the process
explained

Why registration matters

A Lasting Power of Attorney that has not been registered is, for most practical purposes, worthless. Banks will not act on it. Doctors will not consult the named attorney. HMRC will not correspond with them. The document exists, but it has no legal effect until the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has reviewed it, approved it, and stamped each page.

This surprises many people who assume that signing in front of witnesses is the end of the process. In fact, the signing - known as execution - is only the beginning. Registration typically takes several weeks, and during that time the LPA cannot be used at all. If a health crisis or financial emergency arises before registration is complete, the attorney is powerless to act.

The implication is clear: LPAs should be registered promptly after they are executed, not held in a drawer until they are needed. The OPG places a waiting period at the start of the registration process specifically to allow anyone with concerns to raise them - and that waiting period cannot be shortened simply because circumstances have changed.

Step one: completing and executing the LPA

Before registration can begin, the LPA must be properly completed and signed by all required parties. The form has several sections, each of which must be signed in a specific order.

First, the donor - the person making the LPA - must sign to confirm their identity and the names of their chosen attorneys and replacement attorneys. Next, the certificate provider signs. Then the attorneys themselves sign to confirm they understand their responsibilities and agree to act. Only once all parties have signed can the application for registration be submitted.

The signing sequence matters. An LPA signed in the wrong order is invalid and cannot be corrected after the fact - it would need to be started again from scratch. This is one of the most common errors in self-completed LPAs.

The certificate provider

Every LPA requires a certificate provider - an independent person who confirms that the donor understands what they are signing, has not been pressured or coerced, and has the mental capacity to make the LPA. The certificate provider must be someone who knows the donor personally or is a professionally qualified person (such as a solicitor, doctor, or social worker).

The certificate provider cannot be a family member of the donor, an attorney named in the LPA, a business partner of any attorney, or a care worker for the donor. The independence requirement is deliberate: the certificate provider is the primary safeguard against abuse of the LPA process.

Their role is not to approve the LPA or to judge whether the donor is making wise choices. It is solely to confirm that the donor's decision is free, informed, and capacitated. This is an important distinction - a certificate provider who refuses to sign simply because they disagree with the donor's choice of attorney is not fulfilling their role correctly.

Notifying people before registration

The LPA form allows the donor to name up to five people who must be notified before the application to register is submitted. These are called named persons (previously known as persons to be told). They are given the opportunity to raise concerns with the OPG before registration is completed.

Naming people to notify is optional. Some donors choose to include family members who are not themselves attorneys, to provide an additional layer of oversight. Others, particularly where family dynamics are straightforward, choose not to name anyone.

Where people are named, the applicant sends each of them an LP3 notification form before the registration application is submitted. Recipients then have three weeks in which to raise any concerns with the OPG. The registration process cannot proceed until that period has elapsed, whether or not any concerns are actually raised.

Submitting the application to the OPG

Once the LPA has been executed and any named persons have been notified, the completed form is submitted to the Office of the Public Guardian along with the registration fee. Either the donor or the attorneys can apply to register, though it is most common for the donor to initiate this during their lifetime while they retain capacity.

The OPG checks the form for errors, confirms that the execution sequence was correct, and checks the certificate provider's details. If there are any issues - missing signatures, incorrect dates, inconsistencies between sections - the OPG will return the form with a note explaining what needs to be corrected. This can delay the process by several additional weeks.

The registration fee

The OPG charges a fee for registering each LPA. The fee applies per LPA - so registering both a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Welfare LPA means paying the fee twice. The current fee is £92 per LPA (£184 for both). Fees can change, so we always confirm the current OPG fee before submission.

Fee remission and exemption is available for people on certain means-tested benefits or with low income. Those whose gross annual income is below the current threshold may qualify for a 50% remission, and in some cases the fee may be waived entirely. The relevant form must be submitted with the registration application.

How long registration takes

At the time of writing, GOV.UK says registration takes around 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes, though delays can occur if forms are completed incorrectly or demand is high.

This is precisely why early registration matters. If a person is in good health at 65 and registers their LPA promptly, there is no urgency - the document will be registered and ready long before it is likely to be needed. If they wait until a diagnosis prompts them to act, they may face a situation where they urgently need an attorney to manage their affairs but the LPA is still sitting with the OPG being processed.

What the OPG sends back

Once registration is complete, the OPG returns the original LPA form with a stamp on every page confirming registration. This stamped document is the only version that has legal effect. Copies of the original, unsigned form are not valid for use by attorneys - only the stamped registered document.

Keep the stamped LPA in a safe, known location. Attorneys should know where it is. If it is lost, the OPG can produce an office copy, but this takes time and requires a formal application. Ideally, keep a certified copy with a trusted person as a precaution.

After registration: what attorneys can and cannot do

Once the Property and Financial Affairs LPA is registered, the attorney can in principle use it immediately - they do not need to wait for the donor to lose capacity. Most donors, however, include instructions or preferences in the LPA limiting when attorneys can act, such as confirming that the donor should be consulted on all decisions for as long as they are able.

The Health and Welfare LPA is different: it can only be used once the donor lacks capacity to make the specific decision in question. An attorney cannot use a Health and Welfare LPA to override the wishes of a donor who is still capable of expressing a preference, even if the donor's health is deteriorating.

Attorneys must always act in the donor's best interests, following the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They must keep the donor's money separate from their own, maintain records of decisions made, and avoid conflicts of interest. These obligations are ongoing - they do not reduce once the LPA is registered and in use.