Attorneys Need to Register with Office for the Public Guardian
Published / Last Updated on 19/07/2023
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is where someone (the donor) appoints others (usually relatives or friends) to make decisions about their health or their wealth if they lose physical or mental capacity. LPAs, which can be completed online, then need to be registered with the Office for the Public Guardian (OPG).
Attorney Confirmation
- When each LPA has been registered, all appointed attorneys will receive a confirmation letter in the post from the OPG.
- The letter says you can use the paper version of the LPA for organisations that want to see it, but the easiest way is to use the online service called “use a lasting power of attorney”. This allows attorneys to share proof of them being appointed as an attorney to act on another’s behalf.
- This can then be shared online with organisations that need to see the LPA and they should accept the online summary without needing to see the paper version.
- The online service lets you give organisations access to an online summary of the LPA, keep track of organisations who have access to the LPA and see how the donor and other attorneys are using the service.
Attorney Registration
- Each attorney needs to create their own account to use the service at https://www.gov.uk/use-lpa
- When you have your account set up, you need to add each LPA to it.
- To do this, you need your letter from the OPG confirming the LPA is registered and you are appointed as attorney.
- Your letter from the PGG contains the LPA reference number and an activation key.
- The activation key is unique to you and should not be given to anyone else.
- Donors and attorneys get their own letter and their own activation key.
Activation keys expire after a year, and you will need to request a new one through the “Use a Lasting Power of Attorney” service online if your activation key has expired.
Telephone number for the OPG is 0300 456 0300.
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