Guide · rules for England and Wales, checked 2 October 2026

How to fill in a lasting power of attorney, step by step

There are two forms: LP1F for property and financial affairs, and LP1H for health and welfare. Each has 15 sections. Most are simple. The ones that catch people out are the choices in sections 3 and 5, and the order in which everyone signs. Here is each section in turn, in plain English.

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First, some words the forms use

• Donor: the person making the lasting power of attorney (LPA).
• Attorneys: the people you choose to make decisions for you. They must be 18 or over. For the money LPA they cannot be bankrupt or under a debt relief order.
• Certificate provider: someone who confirms you understand the LPA and nobody is pressuring you.
• Mental capacity: being able to make a particular decision yourself, at the time it needs making.

Not sure whether you need one or both? Our guide to the two types explains the difference.

Online or on paper

You can make an LPA with the GOV.UK online service or on the paper forms. GOV.UK says the online route is usually quicker: it guides you through each step, helps you fix mistakes, and lets you pay online. But it does not replace signing. Once you have finished online, you print the LPA, and everyone signs the printed pages in ink. Copies and digital signatures are not accepted.

The current paper forms are the August 2025 editions (the footer says “08.25”). Download them, and the LP12 guide that explains every section, from GOV.UK’s forms page. Old copies printed years ago may be out of date, so start from a fresh download.

The Powers of Attorney Act 2023 allows for LPAs to be made and registered fully online in future. As of October 2026, GOV.UK still says the forms must be printed and signed by hand.

The forms, section by section

Sections 1 and 2: you and your attorneys

Use full names, never initials, and give the same name in every place it appears. The forms ask for capital letters and a black pen. If you make a mistake, do not use correction fluid or stickers. Cross it out, write the correction nearby, and have everyone involved in that section initial the change.

Section 3: how decisions are made

• Jointly and severally: attorneys can act together or on their own. GOV.UK says most people choose this because it is the most practical.
• Jointly: every attorney must agree on every decision. If one dies or can no longer act, the LPA may stop working unless there is a replacement.
• Jointly for some decisions, jointly and severally for others: you list the decisions that need everyone, on a continuation sheet. Word this carefully. Unclear wording is a common reason for problems.

Section 4: replacement attorneys

A replacement steps in only if an attorney dies, loses capacity, withdraws, divorces you or ends a civil partnership with you (unless you say otherwise), or (for LP1F) goes bankrupt. They cannot stand in while an attorney is on holiday. They are optional, but without one an LPA can stop working when you most need it.

Section 5: the big choice

On LP1F you choose when attorneys can act. “As soon as my LPA has been registered” means they can help now, with your consent, and carry on if you lose capacity. The form says most people choose this. “Only when I don’t have mental capacity” can make the LPA much less useful, because attorneys may be asked to prove it each time.

On LP1H you sign either Option A, giving attorneys authority to accept or refuse life-sustaining treatment for you, or Option B, keeping that decision with your doctors. Sign one option only, in front of a witness, at the same time as section 9. A health and welfare LPA can only be used when you cannot make the decision yourself.

Sections 6 and 7: people to notify, and your wishes

People to notify are told when the LPA is being registered, so they can raise concerns such as fraud or pressure. They cannot be your attorneys. Preferences (“I would like”) are guidance. Instructions (“must”) are binding. If an instruction is not legally workable, OPG may have to ask the Court of Protection to remove it, which delays registration, so most people leave section 7 blank and simply talk to their attorneys.

Who can be your certificate provider

Someone who has known you personally for at least two years, such as a friend, neighbour or former colleague. Or someone with relevant professional skills, such as your GP or a solicitor. They must be 18 or over. They cannot be:

• an attorney or replacement attorney in this or any other LPA for you;
• a member of your family or an attorney’s family, including in-laws and step-relatives;
• your or an attorney’s unmarried partner, business partner or employee;
• an owner, manager, director or employee of a care home where you live, or one of their family.

The signing order

This is where many LPAs go wrong. Everyone signs the same original pages, in this order:

1. The donor signs section 9 (and section 5 on LP1H, and any continuation sheets), in front of a witness who then signs. The witness must be 18 or over and must not be an attorney or replacement attorney. The certificate provider may act as the witness.
2. The certificate provider signs section 10, after the donor.
3. Every attorney and replacement attorney signs section 11, after the certificate provider, each in front of a witness. The donor cannot witness them.
4. The applicant signs section 15, after all the others, to register it.

Everything can happen on the same day, but the order must be right and the dates must show it. A certificate provider dated the day before the donor, for example, can stop the LPA being registered.

Registering it: sections 12 to 15

An LPA cannot be used until the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has registered it. Either the donor or the attorneys can apply, not both together. If attorneys were appointed jointly, they all sign section 15.

• Fee: £92 for each LPA, so £184 for both. It rose from £82 on 17 November 2025.
• Half fee (£46): if the donor’s income is under £12,000 a year before tax.
• No fee: if the donor gets certain means-tested benefits, such as the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Income Support. Attendance Allowance, PIP and the State Pension do not count, and Universal Credit can only get the half fee. Use form LPA120 and send evidence.
• Time: GOV.UK says 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes. That includes a waiting period in which people can object.

Register straight away rather than keeping the forms in a drawer. If there is a mistake, OPG may let you correct it and apply again within three months for £46. If the donor has already lost capacity, mistakes cannot be fixed, and the family may need to go to the Court of Protection instead.

Using it once registered

OPG sends back the registered LPA. For LPAs registered since 2016, attorneys can also use the GOV.UK “use a lasting power of attorney” service to give banks and care providers an access code, instead of posting the paper original. Attorneys must always act in your best interests.

When a solicitor is worth it

Many people fill these forms in themselves. A solicitor is worth considering if you own a business, have complex finances or property abroad, want detailed instructions in section 7, or expect a family disagreement. This page is information, not legal advice.

Thinking about care costs too? Read who pays for care and when the house counts, or see how The House Plan maps both forms field by field.

Common questions