OPG Fee Remission Universal Credit 2026

Universal Credit No Longer Means Automatic Fee Exemption

Before February 2, 2026, claiming Universal Credit entitled you to a full exemption from the OPG's £92 LPA registration fee. That rule changed. Universal Credit claimants are now assessed under the fee remission criteria rather than the exemption criteria.

The practical difference: instead of paying nothing, you may now pay £46 per document (50% remission) or the full £92, depending on your income. If you are registering both a Health and Welfare LPA and a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, the potential cost increased from £0 to between £92 and £184.

The Current Fee Structure

Full exemption still applies if the donor receives certain means-tested benefits: Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit. These benefits trigger an automatic fee waiver.

50% remission applies if the donor's gross annual income is below £12,000. This is the category where most Universal Credit claimants now fall. Universal Credit itself is no longer a qualifying benefit for full exemption — it only qualifies you for remission if your income meets the threshold.

What Evidence You Need

To claim fee remission, you must submit Form LPA120 alongside your LPA registration application. Not before. Not after. At the exact same time.

The OPG requires 12 months of consecutive Universal Credit statements as evidence of your income. These are the monthly statements from the DWP/HMRC that show your Universal Credit payments and any declared earnings.

What the OPG is looking for is your gross annual income — the total income before deductions. This includes earnings, other benefits, and any regular income. If this figure exceeds £12,000, the remission application will be rejected and you will owe the full £92.

The Retrospective Application Ban

This is the rule that catches most people. The OPG does not accept retrospective fee remission applications. If you submit your LPA registration without Form LPA120 and the required evidence, and then later realise you could have claimed a reduction, you cannot go back and request it.

The full fee is charged, and there is no refund mechanism.

This means you need to have your evidence prepared before you submit the LPA, not as an afterthought. Collecting 12 months of Universal Credit statements takes time if you have not been saving them — you may need to download them from your Universal Credit online account, where historical statements are available.

Timing the Application

If you are close to the £12,000 threshold, timing matters. The OPG assesses your gross annual income based on the evidence you provide. If your income fluctuates — seasonal work, variable hours, a partner's earnings changing — choose the 12-month period that best supports your remission claim.

You can only claim remission at the point of registration. Since LPA registration takes 8 to 12 weeks for online applications, plan the fee assessment and evidence collection well in advance of when you need the LPA to be active.

The Cost of Not Applying

For a couple registering both types of LPA, the financial difference is meaningful:

A couple on Universal Credit who would previously have paid nothing might now face a £184 to £368 bill. For households where Universal Credit is a lifeline rather than a supplement, this is a substantial barrier to getting the legal protection an LPA provides.

The alternative — not registering an LPA and relying on the "next of kin" assumption — carries no upfront cost but can result in a Court of Protection deputyship application costing several thousand pounds if the donor loses capacity.

Our England Advance Directive guide includes a step-by-step walkthrough of the Form LPA120 process, the exact evidence requirements under the 2026 rules, and a fee calculator that helps you determine whether remission, exemption, or standard payment applies to your situation.

See more England guides →