The LPA signing order
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Written and legally reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner·Last reviewed 13 August 2026
Donor, certificate provider, attorneys. In that order, with dates that prove it. This is where most rejected LPAs fail.
The order
- Donor signs section 9, witnessed by an adult who is not an attorney.
- Certificate provider signs section 10, on the same day or later — never earlier.
- Attorneys and replacements sign section 11, on the same day as the certificate provider or later, each witnessed.
- Applicant completes and dates the registration pages last.
Why it is strict
Wrong order means starting again
The certificate confirms the donor understood the LPA when they made it, so it cannot predate the donor's signature. If an attorney signed before the certificate provider, the OPG will reject the application and everyone must sign fresh forms.
Managing it in real life
- Best case: donor, witness and certificate provider in one room, then post to attorneys.
- Write the intended date order down before anyone picks up a pen.
- Use black ink and print names clearly; do not use correction fluid.
- Check every date before posting — including the year, which people get wrong in January.
Our signing pack is personalised: it names each person, the page they sign, who witnesses them, and the earliest date they may sign.
Worked example: a family spread across three towns
Priya lives in Leeds, her certificate provider (a long-standing friend, Helen) lives in Manchester, and her two attorney sons, Raj and Anand, live in Bristol and London. Priya signs section 9 on 3 June, witnessed by her neighbour. She posts the form to Helen, who signs section 10 on 7 June, confirming she believes Priya understood what she was doing. Helen posts it on to Raj, who signs section 11 on 10 June, then couriers it to Anand, who signs on 12 June. Every date runs forward, never backward, so the sequence is valid even though four weeks and three cities separate the first and last signature. If Anand had signed before Helen, the whole form would need to be redone from Priya's signature onward.
Table: who can act as each role
| Role | Who cannot fill it |
|---|---|
| Witness to the donor | An attorney or replacement attorney named on the same LPA |
| Certificate provider | A relative of the donor, or someone connected as described in certificate provider |
| Witness to an attorney's signature | That same attorney (they cannot witness themselves), though another attorney can witness them |
Getting these roles right is as important as the order itself — see who can witness an LPA for the full eligibility rules.
Common questions
Can everyone sign on the same day?
Yes, provided the sequence within the day is correct: donor, then certificate provider, then attorneys.
Does the donor sign every page?
No, only the signature sections and any continuation sheets that apply to them. Our pack marks the exact pages.
What if the donor cannot physically sign?
Someone else can sign at the donor's direction, in the donor's presence, using continuation sheet 3, with two witnesses instead of one.
Does it matter if attorneys sign weeks apart?
No, as long as each attorney signs on or after the certificate provider's date. There is no deadline between signatures, only a required order.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Forms, wording and signing. The pages below take it further.
- The LPA forms explained
LP1F, LP1H and LP3 — what each section asks and where people go wrong.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
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
Skip the blank forms
We ask plain-English questions and prepare the LP1F or LP1H wording from your answers, checked for common completion errors.
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