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Power of attorney
The LPA fee reduction and exemption
Who pays half, who pays nothing, and the rules around both, from the Office of the Public Guardian's own form, with the date we read it.
The short answer
Registering a lasting power of attorney costs £92. On a low income it can cost £46, and on certain benefits it costs nothing. Both are on the Office of the Public Guardian's own form, and the reduced fee, like the full one, is charged per power of attorney.
The reduced fee, which is half
£46 to register one LPA or EPA with a 50% remissionA remission halves the fee. You pay £46 instead of the full fee, for each power of attorney.
Applies in: England and Wales.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
Ninety-two pounds registers one lasting power of attorney. Not one person, one LPA. That distinction is where the real bill hides, and the government's own page says so in the very next sentence.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 24 September 2026.
Everything on this page is about the donor, meaning the person making the power of attorney, not the attorneys. It is their benefits and their income that count, whoever fills the form in.
Paying nothing: the benefits that count
The exemption, which is no fee at all
No fee at all, for a donor on one of the means-tested benefits the form listsThe benefits on the form are the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Local Housing Allowance, and Working Tax Credit where it comes with Child Tax Credit or a disability or severe disability element. The Office of the Public Guardian wants a letter from the benefit provider showing the amount, for the right financial year, sent with the application.
Applies in: England and Wales.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
Universal Credit is not on that list
A donor on Universal Credit is assessed for the half fee, never for the full exemptionUniversal Credit is where some guides go wrong. On it, the donor can get the half fee if their income is at or below the line, but not the full exemption, and the form asks for twelve months of statements from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
Personal injury damages
More than £16,000 in personal injury damages, ignored in the benefit assessment, means a fee is dueThe one catch in the exemption. A donor on a qualifying benefit who was awarded more than £16,000 in personal injury damages, including for criminal or medical negligence, and had that ignored when the benefit was worked out, pays a fee after all.
Applies in: England and Wales.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
Paying half: the income line
The line, as the form words it
£12,000 or less a year before tax, the donor's income, on the form itselfIt is the donor's income that counts, meaning the person making the power of attorney, before tax, and it includes pensions, non-means-tested benefits such as Attendance Allowance and PIP, savings interest and rent. The form wants proof for the right financial year, which runs from April to March, and it will not take bank statements alone.
Applies in: England and Wales.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
The government's web page words the same line slightly differently: £12,000 a year, the income below which you can apply for a reduction. The two only disagree about an income of exactly £12,000. At that figure the form, which is the thing you actually send, says or less.
The web page's wording: Office of the Public Guardian, read 24 September 2026.
If the application comes back and has to go in again
£23 for a repeat application with a remission, where OPG agrees to oneThe remission carries over to a corrected application, where the Office of the Public Guardian agrees to one: half the repeat fee.
Applies in: England and Wales.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
If neither fits
A hardship application
If neither applies but paying would cause hardship, you can write and ask for a reductionThere is a third route. A donor who misses both lines but would struggle to pay can send a letter asking for a reduction, with the application and the form, and the Office of the Public Guardian will ask for what it needs. The form states no amount for it.
Applies in: England and Wales.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
It is on the same form as the other two, and it costs a letter to ask.
How and when to apply
Send it with the application, not after
The LPA120 form goes in with the power of attorney, because OPG does not refund afterwardsSend the help-with-fees form and the evidence in the same envelope as the power of attorney. The Office of the Public Guardian says it does not give refunds afterwards, so paying in full first and claiming later does not work. It will take scanned or photographed copies of the evidence.
Applies in: England and Wales.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
If the answer is no
28 days from the decision letter to ask for a review, and an answer within 21 daysIf the Office of the Public Guardian refuses and you think it is wrong, you can ask it to look again, in writing, with your reasons. You get one review per application.
Applies in: England and Wales.
Source: Office of the Public Guardian, read 28 September 2026.
The form is called LPA120, and it is linked from the source line above. It covers enduring powers of attorney as well as lasting ones.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Everything on this page is the Office of the Public Guardian's scheme for England and Wales. Scotland registers powers of attorney through its own Public Guardian and charges for the document rather than for each power, and Northern Ireland has enduring powers only. We have not read either nation's help with fees, so nothing here is offered for them. Their registration fees, where we have read them, are on the power of attorney cost page.
Questions people ask
Can I get a reduction on the LPA fee?
Yes, in England and Wales. If the donor's income before tax is at or under the line on the form, the fee is halved to £46 for each power of attorney. If they are on one of the means-tested benefits the form lists, there is no fee at all. Both are applied for on form LPA120, sent with the power of attorney.
Who is exempt from paying the LPA fee?
A donor receiving one of the means-tested benefits on the Office of the Public Guardian's form: the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Local Housing Allowance, or Working Tax Credit with Child Tax Credit or a disability element. Universal Credit gives the half fee, not the exemption.
Does Universal Credit mean I pay no LPA fee?
No. The Office of the Public Guardian says a donor on Universal Credit is assessed for the half fee remission and cannot be assessed for the exemption. The form asks for twelve months of statements from the Department for Work and Pensions.
Can I get a refund if I paid the full LPA fee and qualified for a reduction?
The Office of the Public Guardian's own page says retrospective refunds are not possible. The help-with-fees form and its evidence have to go in with the power of attorney itself.