The Court of Protection is responsible for making decisions for adults in England and Wales who lack sufficient mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves. It is important to understand that a person should be able to make decisions for themselves in relation to some matters but not in relation to others. If you’re applying to the Court for a loved one, managing long term care, or appealing a decision, calculating Court of Protection costs can be complicated.
The Court of Protection can either make decisions directly on a decision-by-decision basis or they can appoint a “Deputy” to make decisions for a person who is assessed to lack capacity in relation to certain aspects of their life. A Deputy is more commonly appointed for a person who needs decisions to be made about their property and finances, although sometimes the Court will appoint a Deputy to make certain decisions about health and care matters. A person may need the Court or a Deputy to make certain decisions for them when they lack the capacity for many reasons, such as they are living with dementia, they have a temporary or permanent injury or illness, or they have never had the capacity to make some decisions.
When you are faced with an application to the Court of Protection, it will be important for you to understand how much it will cost.
There are fees payable to the Court of Protection to make an application, fees payable to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for administration and supervision, the cost of a Deputy security bond and, if you choose to take legal advice on an application, professional legal fees.
A Deputy security bond is where the Court sets a level of security that must be given by the Deputy and the Deputy takes out a bond to pay out that amount of security in the event that they cause any loss to the person that they act as Deputy for. The level of security depends on the amount of assets that the person has. For example, suppose a person has a house and some savings and the Court sets the security at £200,000. In that case, a bond must be taken out to provide this amount of cover and the premium is paid annually from the funds of the person who lacks capacity.
Court & OPG Fees
Detailed information about these fees can be found on the Government website here.
In summary, the fees as of January 2025 are as follows:
| Court of Protection application fee | £408.00
|
|
| Court of Protection hearing fee | £494.00 | If the Court decides there must be a hearing, this is only usually if a dispute arises. |
| Deputy security bond premium | £50.00 to £500.00 approx | Dependent on the level of security set by the Court
|
| OPG: Supervision fee | £320.00
£35.00 |
General supervision
Minimal supervision (for some deputies where the person’s assets are less than £21,000.00) |
| Assessment fee | £100.00 | New deputies only |
There is help with these fees if the person who lacks capacity has a low annual income or receives certain benefits.
Legal fees
If you wish to instruct a specialist Court of Protection lawyer to prepare the application for you, or if a person who lacks capacity to make certain decisions requires a professional Deputy, the fees will be standard across all law firms and they depend on the location of your chosen law firm, how complex the case is and how experienced the lawyer who deals with your case is.
Hourly rates
Hourly rates for this type of work are usually calculated in accordance with the Guideline Hourly Rates (GHR) which are set by the Advisory Committee on Civil Costs.
The GHR sets out the hourly rates that can be charged depending on the level of experience that the lawyer working on your matter has. This ranges from grade A (senior lawyers) to Grade D (junior lawyers and trainee solicitors). VAT is added to the GHR so when you are budgeting for legal advice, ensure that you take into account VAT at the rate of 20%.
It is important to note that the national GHR are subject to review and are increased periodically.
| Grade | Fee earner | London 1 | London 2 | London 3 | National 1 | National 2 |
| A | Solicitors and legal executives with over 8 years’ experience | £566 | £413 | £312 | £288 | £282 |
| B | Solicitors and legal executives with over 4 years’ experience | £385 | £319 | £256 | £242 | £242 |
| C | Other solicitors or legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience | £299 | £269 | £204 | £197 | £196 |
| D | Trainee solicitors, paralegals and other fee earners | £205 | £153 | £143 | £139 | £139 |
These are the guideline rates in effect from 1 January 2025. Details of which areas of the country fall into which band can be found online here.
In the event that a lawyer deals with complex issues beyond those that they would usually expect to deal with, an enhanced hourly rate may be allowed to reflect the added complexity.
Fixed costs
A straightforward application to the Court of Protection and subsequent management of a person’s financial affairs may come within a fixed cost.
The fixed costs apply to solicitors, trust corporations, chartered legal executives and other deputies who have specific authority by a court order to take costs at the solicitors’ rates:
The cost of work up to and including the date upon which the court makes an order appointing a deputy for property and affairs is £1,204.00 (+ VAT).
The cost of a professional Deputy who has been appointed and manages a person’s financial affairs is calculated as an annual fee for each management year. The fixed cost for the first year is £2,116.00 + VAT, and for each subsequent year, it is £1,672.00 + VAT.
The fees for other transactions, such as the sale of a property or the preparation of an annual tax return, together with details of how fees are calculated in hardship cases, can be found within Practice Direction B.
Alternatively, if the time spent by your legal advisor exceeds the fixed costs, they will charge an hourly rate in accordance with the GHR and apply a detailed assessment of the time they have spent on your case once it has been completed.
Contact us
If you’re worried about Court of Protection costs, making an application, or if you need any other support, our specialist Court of Protection team is on hand to discuss your circumstances. If you’d like to get in touch, give us a call on 0330 111 3131 or fill out our online contact form.