A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you choose someone you trust to make decisions on your behalf if you're ever unable to make them yourself. Once you've signed your LPA, though, there's one more important step before it can be used: registration.

An LPA has no legal power until it's registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG). This guide walks through the registration process from start to finish, how long it takes, what it costs and what "activating" an LPA actually means once it's in place.

What does it mean to register a lasting power of attorney?

Registering a lasting power of attorney means submitting your signed LPA form to the Office of the Public Guardian so it can be checked and added to the official register. The OPG is the government body responsible for overseeing attorneys and deputies and protecting people who may lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions.

Registration is a legal requirement. It's what turns a signed piece of paper into a valid, usable power of attorney. Banks, hospitals, care providers and other organisations will only accept an LPA once it carries the OPG's official stamp of registration.

There are two types of LPA and each one needs to be registered separately:

• A property and financial affairs LPA, which covers decisions such as managing bank accounts, paying bills and dealing with property.
• A health and welfare LPA, which covers decisions about medical treatment, daily care and where you live.

How do you register a lasting power of attorney?

The registration process follows a set order and missing a step or getting the paperwork wrong is one of the most common reasons applications are delayed.

Step 1: choose your attorney and complete the LPA form

You'll first need to decide who your attorney (or attorneys) will be and complete the relevant LPA form, either online through the government's online service or using the paper forms LP1F (for property and financial affairs) or LP1H (for health and welfare). You can appoint more than one attorney and decide whether they must act jointly or whether they can make decisions independently of one another.

Step 2: sign the form in the right order

Every LPA needs to be signed by the donor (the person the LPA is for), the certificate provider and each attorney in a specific order set out in the form. The certificate provider is an independent person who confirms that the donor understands what they're signing and hasn't been pressured into it. This is usually someone who has known the donor personally for at least two years or a professional such as a GP or solicitor.

Step 3: submit your application to the Office of the Public Guardian

Once the LPA form is fully completed and signed, it's sent to the OPG along with the registration fee. You can do this online or by post, depending on how you made the LPA.

Step 4: wait out the statutory notice period

Before the OPG can register your LPA, there's a statutory waiting period during which anyone named on the form as a "person to be told" has the chance to raise an objection. This is a legal safeguard designed to protect the donor and stop an LPA being misused. Once this period has passed and there are no issues with the application, the OPG will register the LPA and return it to you.

Registering online or by paper form

How you submit your application depends on how your LPA was made in the first place.

Using the online service

If you made your LPA using the government's online service, you'll have an online account for the LPA and each attorney and certificate provider will use an access code to sign their section digitally. Registration is submitted as part of the same process, so there's no separate form to send off once everyone has signed.

Using paper forms

If you used the paper LP1F or LP1H forms, you'll need to complete a separate registration form once everyone has signed, and post the full application, along with your fee, to the OPG. Paper applications tend to take a little longer to process than online ones, partly because of postal times and partly because handwritten forms are more prone to small errors.

How long does it take to register a lasting power of attorney?

According to guidance on GOV.UK , registering an LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian takes 8 to 10 weeks if there are no mistakes in the application. That said, the government’s guidance for attorneys notes it can take up to 16 weeks in practice, so it's worth building in some contingency, particularly if you're registering an LPA in response to a specific health concern rather than well in advance.

This is one of the main reasons solicitors recommend registering an LPA as soon as it's signed, rather than waiting until it's needed. If a donor loses mental capacity before their LPA is registered, their attorney can still apply to register it, but any mistakes on the form can no longer be corrected. If the application is then rejected, the family may need to apply to the Court of Protection instead which is a longer and more expensive route to getting the same legal authority.

What is the fee for registering a lasting power of attorney?

There's a government registration fee for each LPA you register, payable to the Office of the Public Guardian. Some donors on a low income or receiving certain benefits, may be eligible for a reduced fee or a full exemption. You can find our current fixed fees for setting up and registering an LPA with Switalskis on our wills and probate fees page .

What could delay your registration?

Most delays come down to small mistakes on the completed form, so it's worth taking care over the details before you submit.

Mistakes on the completed form

Missing signatures, dates that don't match up or sections completed out of order are common reasons an application gets sent back. If the OPG finds an error, the whole form has to be corrected and resubmitted, which can add several weeks to the registration process.

Problems with the certificate provider section

The certificate provider section is one of the areas most likely to cause issues, particularly if the certificate provider doesn't meet the eligibility requirements or leaves part of the section incomplete. Getting legal advice when choosing a certificate provider and completing this section can help you avoid this kind of delay.

How do you activate a lasting power of attorney?

"Activating" an LPA simply means the point at which your attorney can start using it to make decisions on your behalf. What that looks like depends on which type of LPA you have.

Activating a property and financial affairs LPA

A property and financial affairs LPA can be used as soon as it's registered, with the donor's permission, even if the donor still has full mental capacity. Many people choose to let their attorney start helping with day-to-day financial decisions straight away, for example if they're finding it harder to manage on their own, while others prefer their attorney to wait until it's genuinely needed.

Activating a health and welfare LPA

A health and welfare LPA works differently. It can only be used once the donor has lost the mental capacity to make the relevant decisions for themselves. Even after registration, the attorney can't step in on medical treatment or daily care decisions while the donor is still able to make those choices independently.

Do you have to register a power of attorney with the bank?

Once your property and financial affairs LPA is registered, most banks will ask to see the original document, or a certified copy of it, before your attorney can start managing your accounts. Each bank has its own process for this, so it's worth contacting the donor's bank directly to find out what they need. Some banks also allow attorneys to register the LPA through an online portal once they've verified the original documents.

Can a family member register an LPA on your behalf?

While the donor can register their own LPA, an attorney (who is very often a family member) can also submit the registration application, provided the LPA has already been signed by everyone required. This is particularly useful if the donor has since lost mental capacity, as it means the LPA can still be registered and used, so long as the form itself doesn't contain errors that need the donor's input to correct.

Why it pays to plan ahead

Registering a lasting power of attorney while the donor is in good health and has full mental capacity gives everyone more options. It means mistakes on the form can be corrected easily, the donor can be closely involved in choosing their attorney and there's no risk of the application stalling at exactly the moment a family needs it most.

Without a registered LPA in place, a family that suddenly needs to make decisions for a loved one may have no automatic legal authority to do so, even for a spouse or child. In some cases, this means involving social services or a social worker to arrange care in the short term, while a longer application to the Court of Protection makes its way through the system. Having a trusted attorney set up in advance, with clear legal authority, also reduces the risk of financial abuse, since it's clear from the outset who is responsible for looking after a vulnerable person's money and affairs and on what terms.

How Switalskis can help

Registering a lasting power of attorney involves a large amount of paperwork, and getting a detail wrong can mean weeks of delay at a time that may already be stressful. Our lasting power of attorney solicitors can guide you through completing the form correctly, choosing the right certificate provider and submitting your application, so you can be confident it's done right the first time.

If you'd like help registering a lasting power of attorney or want to talk through your options with our wider wills and probate team , call us on 0800 138 0458 or get in touch through our website .