How to check an LPA is genuine
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Written and legally reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner·Last reviewed 13 August 2026
Anyone being asked to act on an LPA is entitled to check it. Here is how.
What to look at on the document
- The OPG registration stamp, applied to every page.
- Section 5 — how the attorneys must act together.
- Section 7 — any instructions restricting what the attorney can do.
- Whether it is LP1F (finances) or LP1H (health), because that decides the scope.
Online verification
Attorneys can generate a code through the OPG's Use a Lasting Power of Attorney service and give it to an organisation, which then views a summary online. It confirms the LPA is registered, current and shows who the attorneys are. See the OPG use an LPA service.
If something looks wrong
You can ask the OPG to search the register
The OPG operates a register search on form OPG100 which confirms whether a person has a registered LPA and whether it has been revoked. Where you suspect abuse, report it rather than simply refusing to act. See financial abuse by an attorney.
Three ways to verify, compared
| Method | Who can use it | What it confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Registration stamp on the paper document | Anyone shown the LPA | It was registered at some point, but not whether it is still current |
| OPG online access code | Attorney generates it; organisation views it | Registered, current status and who the attorneys are, viewed in real time |
| OPG100 register search | Anyone with a valid reason, such as a bank or concerned relative | Whether a registered LPA exists and whether it has since been revoked |
A certified copy carries the same weight as the original for most purposes, but it still will not tell you whether the LPA has since been revoked — only the OPG's own systems do that.
Common red flags
- No OPG registration stamp on any page, or a stamp that looks copied or altered.
- Signatures that appear inconsistent with the donor's usual signature on other documents.
- An attorney who is reluctant to provide an access code or arrange a register search.
- A document dated after the donor is already known to have lost capacity, which raises questions about how it was validly signed.
- Pages missing, particularly the certificate provider's section or the attorneys' signature page.
None of these automatically means the LPA is fraudulent, but any of them is a reasonable basis to ask for further verification before relying on the document. Banks in particular tend to have their own internal LPA verification teams for exactly this reason, and a request to pause and verify should not be taken personally by the attorney presenting the document — it protects the donor as much as the organisation asking, and a genuine attorney will usually welcome the extra scrutiny rather than resist it.
Worked example
A residential home is asked by a woman named Denise to accept her authority over her uncle Frank's care fees, using an LPA she brings in on paper. The home's finance manager notices the document has no OPG registration stamp on any page and politely explains that, without it, she cannot treat the LPA as valid. Denise contacts the OPG, discovers the LPA was in fact registered two years earlier, and instead asks her co-attorney to generate an online access code through the OPG's Use a Lasting Power of Attorney service. The care home views the online summary, confirms Denise is a registered attorney with authority over property and affairs, and accepts her instructions from that point on.
Common questions
Can I refuse to accept an LPA?
An organisation should accept a valid registered LPA covering the decision, but it can reasonably ask for verification first.
How do I know it has not been revoked?
Use the online service or the OPG register search — the paper document itself cannot tell you.
Is there a fee to check the register?
The OPG100 register search is free for most enquirers, though the OPG may ask for proof of why you need the information.
What if the attorney refuses to give me an access code?
You can still make an OPG100 register search yourself, or, where you have genuine concerns about abuse, report them directly to the OPG rather than relying on the attorney to cooperate.
Does a solicitor-prepared LPA need checking any differently?
No. Whether the LPA was made through a solicitor or an online service, the same registration stamp and OPG verification checks apply, because it is the OPG's registration that makes the document usable, not who drafted it.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Disputes and safeguards. The pages below take it further.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
- Solicitor, GOV.UK or online?
An honest comparison, including when you genuinely should pay a solicitor.
Review and sources
Reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner. Last reviewed 13 August 2026. We recheck fees, forms and Office of the Public Guardian guidance whenever they change — see our editorial policy.
Official sources
Ready to make your LPA?
Choose one LPA or both, then start online for £49 per LPA.
The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
This is general information about how Lasting Powers of Attorney work in England and Wales. It is not legal advice about your situation. What we do and do not do.
Published by Estate Advisory Group