The short answer
- An LPA is always cheaper, if there's still timeRegistering a lasting power of attorney costs £92. A deputyship application only exists because that window has closed.
- Government fees alone start past four hundred poundsThe Court of Protection charges £432 to apply, before any doctor's fee or solicitor.
- A solicitor helps but the form doesn't require oneYou can complete and file the application yourself. Many families still use a solicitor, especially for a property and affairs application.
- Budget four to six months, often longerThat is the usual timescale once the papers are in and nobody objects. A contested case, or one needing a hearing, takes longer.
Figures below are UK government fees and market rates for the private work around them, checked September 2026. PrimeCarers does not handle deputyship applications or give legal advice; a solicitor or the Court of Protection can confirm what applies to your situation.
LPA or deputyship
Why a lasting power of attorney is worth checking for first
Before you start an application, it is worth being certain a deputyship is what your parent needs. Two different legal tools cover the same ground, and only one of them is available once someone has lost capacity.
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is something your parent sets up themselves, while they still understand what they are agreeing to, naming someone they trust to manage their property and money, their health and welfare, or both, once they can no longer decide for themselves. An older Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), made before October 2007, still works the same way if it was registered. Either one means the family never needs to go near the Court of Protection. Gov.uk explains how to set up and register an LPA.
A deputyship is different, and it exists for exactly the situation an LPA was meant to avoid: your parent has already lost the capacity to manage their affairs, and no LPA or EPA was ever put in place. Nobody can now ask them to sign one, so the only way to get legal authority to act for them is to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as their deputy.
| Lasting power of attorney | Deputyship | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets it up | Your parent, while they still have the mental capacity to choose | The Court of Protection, on an application from a family member or a professional |
| Government fee | £92 per LPA | From £432, before any medical or solicitor's fee |
| Whose judgement decides who acts | Your parent chooses the attorney themselves | A judge decides, and can refuse or limit the application |
| Typical time to get it in place | 8 to 10 weeks to register | No published timescale |
Who sets it up
- Lasting power of attorney
- Your parent, while they still have the mental capacity to choose
- Deputyship
- The Court of Protection, on an application from a family member or a professional
Government fee
- Lasting power of attorney
- £92 per LPA
- Deputyship
- From £432, before any medical or solicitor's fee
Whose judgement decides who acts
- Lasting power of attorney
- Your parent chooses the attorney themselves
- Deputyship
- A judge decides, and can refuse or limit the application
Typical time to get it in place
- Lasting power of attorney
- 8 to 10 weeks to register
- Deputyship
- No published timescale
Court of Protection and OPG fees from gov.uk/become-deputy/fees; LPA fee from gov.uk/power-of-attorney. Both checked September 2026.
If you are not yet sure what a deputyship covers or what you are and are not responsible for as a family member, Am I legally responsible for my elderly parent? is a good place to start, and our elderly care guide covers the rest of arranging their care alongside the legal side.
What it costs
Every fee, from the court, the doctor and the solicitor
The Court of Protection and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) charge fixed government fees. On top of those, most applications need a paid capacity assessment, and many families choose a solicitor to prepare the forms, both of which are private market fees rather than court charges.
To apply and get appointed
A one-off cost, paid once for this application.
- Court application fee
- £432
- Capacity assessment (form COP3)
- £150 to £300
- A solicitor to prepare and file it (optional)
- £1,200 to £3,500 + VAT
- Hearing fee
- £266
- Assessment fee
- £100
Paid once, when you submit the application. You'll pay it twice over if you're applying to be both a property and affairs deputy and a personal welfare deputy.
A GP or other practitioner completes this alongside the form. Not every GP will do the work, and the fee is set by the practice rather than the court. Some practices will do it without charge, so it is worth asking before you assume the cost.
Not required. Many families still use one, especially for a property and affairs application, because a form the court rejects has to be corrected and resubmitted.
Only charged if the court decides your case needs a hearing, which is unusual unless someone raises an objection.
Charged once, in your first year as deputy, after the court has appointed you.
Every year, once you're appointed
Ongoing costs for as long as you act as deputy.
- Supervision fee
- £320 or £35
- Security bond
- Set by the court
Paid to the Office of the Public Guardian every year. Most new deputies pay the general rate in their first year; it drops to the minimal rate if you manage less than £21,000 of the person's money and the OPG has no concerns.
An annual insurance-style payment, only for property and affairs deputies, sized to the value of the estate you control. It protects the person's money if a deputy misuses their position.
For a property and affairs deputyship, once the court has appointed you, its order usually lets you repay yourself the application fee, the assessment fee and a solicitor's costs from the money you are now managing on your parent's behalf, so the outlay does not have to come from your own savings for good. Alzheimer's Society explains how reimbursement works. A personal welfare deputyship works differently: there is no money to draw on in the same way, so you cover the whole cost yourself.
The medical evidence
Getting the capacity assessment done
Every application needs form COP3: a professional's assessment that your parent can no longer make the decision themselves. Without it, or a good reason for its absence, the court can reject the application outright.
- 1
Ask your parent's own GP first
Step 1A GP who already knows your parent is often the right person to ask, but the assessment sits outside NHS-funded work, so it is a private fee the practice sets itself, and not every practice takes the work on. Some do it without charge, so it is worth asking rather than assuming a fee. - 2
Try a specialist if the GP declines
Step 2A psychiatrist, a memory clinic, or another suitably qualified professional can complete the same form. If your parent is already under a memory service, ask the clinic running their care. - 3
If nobody can complete it in time
Step 3The court can accept a written statement explaining why the assessment could not be obtained, rather than refusing the application outright, but this is the exception rather than something to plan around. - 4
Send it in with the rest of the forms
Step 4COP3 goes in alongside the application form (COP1, or COP1A and COP1B) and the deputy's declaration, form COP4.
Every current Court of Protection form is listed on gov.uk, including COP1, COP3 and COP4. Dementia is the most common reason a family ends up applying for a deputyship, but the same route applies after a stroke, a serious brain injury, or any condition that has left someone unable to manage their own affairs, including a learning disability, where parents applying for an adult son or daughter also need to plan for what happens to the deputyship when they die. If dementia is what has brought you here, our dementia care guide covers the wider picture beyond the legal side.
How long it takes
What happens between sending the forms and getting an order
The process has fixed steps with their own deadlines, and then a review period the court does not put a fixed timescale on. Gov.uk publishes no overall time, so start early and put care in place in the meantime.
- Before you apply
Get the capacity assessment and other forms ready
Form COP3 needs to be completed alongside the rest of the application, not sent on separately.
- Day 1
Tell your parent, and notify at least three connected people
You must tell your parent you are applying, and notify at least three people connected to them, such as close family, asking them to complete the relevant forms.
- Within 14 days
Notified people return their forms
If the forms have not come back within 14 days, you can carry on with the application without them.
- Within 3 months of notifying
Send the completed application and fee to the court
Miss this window and you have to start the notification process again from the beginning.
- No fixed time
The court reviews the papers and issues an order
Gov.uk does not publish how long this takes. A personal welfare application is granted in narrower circumstances than a property and affairs one.
- If someone objects
A hearing may be listed
This turns the case into a contested one and typically adds several more months.
- After the order
Register it and begin your first year of supervision
Banks and other organisations will want to see the sealed court order before they deal with you as deputy.
Getting help with the cost
Ways to reduce what you pay
The fees are real, but there are several ways to bring them down or spread who pays them, and it is worth checking all of them before you assume the full amount falls on you.
Help with the annual supervision fee
Help with the application fee
Reimbursement, for a property and affairs deputyship
A free first conversation with a solicitor
A deputy for property and affairs often ends up handling the practical side of paying for care too, once appointed. If that has not been settled yet, how council funding for care is means-tested and paying for care privately are both worth reading alongside this.
Your duties once appointed
What being a deputy involves after the order arrives
Getting appointed is the beginning, not the end. The Office of the Public Guardian expects specific things from every deputy, every year, and getting them wrong can put the deputyship itself at risk.
What's expected of you
- Keep to exactly what the court order allows, and nothing more
- Keep the person's money in an account in their name, separate from your own
- Keep receipts and a record of every decision you make on their behalf
- Send the annual deputy report to the OPG, explaining what you have done
- Tell the OPG if the person's circumstances change significantly, such as moving into a care home
What gets deputies into trouble
- Spend the person's money on anything the order does not cover, even if it seems reasonable at the time
- Mix their money with your own accounts
- Miss the annual report, which can trigger a review of the deputyship
- Make a decision for them without first checking whether they can make it themselves that day
- Assume a property and affairs deputyship covers welfare decisions, or the other way round
None of this replaces the everyday care your parent may need while all this gets sorted out. You can search vetted carers near them or use the care cost calculator to see what help in their area typically costs, while the legal side is settled separately.
Questions
Questions families ask about deputyship applications
A lasting power of attorney is set up by your parent themselves, while they still have the mental capacity to choose who should act for them. A deputyship is applied for by someone else, through the Court of Protection, after that capacity has already been lost and no LPA or EPA was ever registered. Gov.uk covers how an LPA is set up and registered.
The Court of Protection charges £432 to apply, plus £100 once you are appointed. A capacity assessment from a GP or specialist commonly costs £150 to £300, and a solicitor to prepare and file the application, if you use one, commonly charges £1,200 to £3,500 plus VAT. After appointment there is an annual supervision fee of £320 or £35, and a security bond for property and affairs deputies, set by the court.
No. The forms can be completed and filed without one, and gov.uk lets you apply online. Many families still choose a solicitor, particularly for a property and affairs application, because the court can return a form that is filled in incorrectly, which costs more time than getting it right first time.
Gov.uk does not publish how long the court takes once the forms and fee arrive. The fixed points it gives are the 14 days people have to reply and the three months you have to send the forms, and the capacity assessment and notifying people take time before that. An application that is contested and needs a hearing takes longer. The Court of Protection sets out the steps in order.
For a property and affairs deputyship, yes, once you are appointed. The court's order usually lets you repay yourself the application fee, the assessment fee and a solicitor's costs from the money you are now managing on your parent's behalf. A personal welfare deputyship does not work this way, so you cover the cost yourself.
The application fee and the annual supervision fee are assessed separately, so ask about both. Help with the supervision fee looks at whether your parent gets certain means-tested benefits or has an income below £12,000 a year. Help with the application fee is a different assessment, made on form COP44A, which looks at savings, certain means-tested benefits and monthly income; the Court of Protection page sets out the 2026 limits. Citizens Advice can also point you toward free or reduced-cost legal help if paying privately is not possible.
No. A registered LPA covering the right area, property and financial affairs, or health and welfare, already gives someone the legal authority to act, so there is nothing for the Court of Protection to decide. A deputyship is only needed where no valid LPA or EPA exists once capacity has been lost.
You must act within exactly what the court order allows, keep the person's money separate from your own, keep records of what you decide, and send an annual report to the Office of the Public Guardian explaining what you have done. The OPG places every new deputy under supervision, at a general or minimal level depending on how much money you manage.