DIY LPA Without a Solicitor in England

A solicitor typically charges £500 to £1,500 to draft and register a pair of lasting powers of attorney. The OPG registration fee is £92 per document — £184 for both a property and financial affairs LPA and a health and welfare LPA. The forms are the same regardless of who fills them in that difference goes straight to the solicitor's bill for work you can do yourself.

Making an LPA is an administrative exercise, not a complex legal one. Over a million people in the UK have successfully used DIY estate-planning tools. The OPG's own digital portal walks you through the process section by section.

When You Genuinely Do Need a Solicitor

Before going DIY, check whether your situation has any of these complications:

• The donor has a dementia diagnosis and there is any doubt about their current mental capacity
• The estate includes business interests, agricultural property, or trust assets that need specific Section 7 instructions
• There is a family dispute about who should be appointed as attorney
• The donor owns property abroad and needs coordinated cross-border powers

If none of those apply — and for most families they do not — the DIY route is straightforward.

The Step-by-Step DIY Process

Choose your route. You can use the OPG's online tool at lastingpowerofattorney.service.gov.uk or download paper forms LP1F and LP1H. The online tool guides you through the process and helps you review answers before submission, making it the easier option for most people.

Gather the information you need. Full legal names, addresses, and dates of birth for the donor, every attorney, every replacement attorney, the certificate provider, and anyone you want to list as a "person to notify." Decide whether attorneys should act jointly, jointly and severally, or jointly for some decisions and jointly and severally for other decisions.

Complete the form. The online tool guides you through each section. For paper forms, use black ink throughout and do not use correction fluid — cross out mistakes neatly and initial the correction.

Arrange the signing day. This is where DIY applications most commonly go wrong. The signing must follow a strict chronological order: the donor signs first (witnessed by an independent adult who is not an attorney), then the certificate provider signs (on the same day or later), then each attorney signs (on or after the certificate provider's date, witnessed by an adult who is not the donor).

Submit and pay. After using the online service, print, sign, and post the completed form to the OPG in Birmingham; paper forms follow the same route. Pay the £92 fee online or by cheque. If the donor's gross annual income is below £12,000, submit Form LPA120 at the same time to apply for a 50% fee remission; people receiving qualifying benefits can apply for a full exemption.

Wait for registration. The OPG processes error-free applications in 8 to 10 weeks. During peak periods this can stretch to 14 to 20 weeks. Once registered, the stamped original is returned by post; the registration letter contains the information needed to set up Use an LPA and generate an access code.

Common DIY Pitfalls to Watch

The 15% rejection rate for DIY applications comes down to a few recurring errors: signatures out of order, names that do not exactly match official ID, an ineligible certificate provider, Section 7 instructions that are too vague or legally impossible, and using blue ink or correction fluid.

Double-check every date before posting. Read any Section 7 instructions aloud and ask yourself whether a bank clerk could follow them. Keep a photocopy of the completed form.

For a complete walkthrough — including a signing-day tracker, certificate provider eligibility rules, and the OPG's current fee remission criteria — the Lasting Power of Attorney guide covers every section of the form in order.

See more England guides →