The Office of the Public Guardian has announced a scheme to allow applicants to claim part of their application fee back if they applied to register a power of attorney between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2017.
This scheme applies to Lasting Powers of Attorney and Enduring Powers of Attorney in England and Wales.
Who can claim a refund?
You can make a claim if you are:
- the ‘donor’ – the person who made the power of attorney
- an ‘attorney’ – appointed by the donor in an LPA or EPA to make decisions on their behalf
If you were appointed as a replacement attorney, you can only claim when you’ve been formally appointed as an attorney and are now able to make decisions on the donor’s behalf.
The refund must be paid to the donor. You only need to make one claim per donor, even if you made more than one power of attorney.
How much will I get?
How much you get depends on when you paid the fees. You’ll also get 0.5% interest.
You can still claim a refund even if you don’t know when you paid the fees.
| When you paid the fee | Refund for each power of attorney |
| April to September 2013 | £54 |
| October 2013 to March 2014 | £34 |
| April 2014 to March 2015 | £37 |
| April 2015 to March 2016 | £38 |
| April 2016 to March 2017 | £45 |
How do I claim?
It takes about 10 minutes to claim online. You must claim your refund by 31 January 2021.
Before you claim you’ll need:
- the donor’s UK bank account number and sort code
- a copy of the LPA (if you have it)
You must claim by phone if:
- the donor doesn’t have a UK bank account
- you’re a court-appointed deputy for someone who previously had a registered LPA or EPA
- you have a trust organisation as the attorney
For more details, visit GOV.UK here.
