How to object to an LPA registration
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Written and legally reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner·Last reviewed 13 August 2026
The four-week waiting period exists so that objections can be made. Here is who can object and on what basis.
Why the waiting period exists
Once a donor and their attorneys have signed an LPA, the OPG sends a notice to everyone entitled to it before it registers the document. That gap — usually a few weeks — is deliberate. It is the only point at which someone outside the household gets a formal opportunity to say the LPA should not go ahead, whether because something has changed since signing or because something was wrong with the signing itself. Once the LPA is registered, objecting becomes far harder: the document is presumed valid and the burden shifts to whoever wants it removed.
Who can object
- Anyone named in section 6 as a person to notify of the application.
- The donor themselves.
- An attorney or replacement attorney named in the LPA.
- Anyone else with a genuine concern can raise it with the OPG, though the formal route is narrower and the OPG decides whether to act on it.
Two kinds of ground
| Type | Examples | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Factual grounds | The donor or an attorney has died; a married attorney has divorced the donor; an attorney is bankrupt or lacks capacity | Office of the Public Guardian, form LPA007 |
| Prescribed grounds | The LPA is not legally valid; fraud or undue pressure; the attorney is unsuitable or acting beyond their authority | Court of Protection, form COP7, plus notice to the OPG on LPA008 |
Factual grounds are things the OPG can check itself against a death certificate, a decree absolute or the insolvency register, so it can act on them directly and refuse registration. Prescribed grounds are disputed questions of fact — was there pressure, did the donor understand what they signed — so only the Court of Protection can rule on them. The OPG will pause registration once it is told a court application has been made, but it will not investigate the substance itself.
A worked example
Priya is named as a person to notify on her father Ranjit's LPA. She receives the notice and is uneasy: her father has been increasingly forgetful, and the attorney named is a recently-met acquaintance rather than either of his two children. Priya cannot prove fraud, but she can raise a prescribed-ground objection that Ranjit lacked capacity to understand the LPA when he signed it. She applies to the Court of Protection on form COP7, sends a copy to the OPG using form LPA008, and the OPG suspends registration while the court considers medical evidence. If the court agrees, the LPA is never registered; if it does not, registration proceeds.
The deadline
Three weeks from the notice
An objection must normally reach the OPG within three weeks of the date on the notice you received. Late objections can still be considered, but registration may already have happened — after which the route is an application to remove the attorney rather than an objection to registration.
What happens after you object
- The OPG acknowledges the objection and, for a factual ground, checks the underlying record before deciding whether to refuse registration.
- For a prescribed ground, the OPG halts the application and waits for the outcome of the Court of Protection case, which can take several months.
- If the court sets the LPA aside, the OPG will not register it and will confirm this to everyone who was notified.
- If the court dismisses the objection, or no application follows within a reasonable time, the OPG can proceed to register the LPA as originally submitted.
Common questions
Does objecting stop registration?
A valid factual objection can. A prescribed-ground objection requires a Court of Protection application, and the OPG will hold registration while it is decided.
Is there a fee?
OPG objections are free. A Court of Protection application carries a court fee, currently £408, with remission available on a low income.
What if I was not sent a notice but still have concerns?
You can still contact the OPG. It cannot always accept a formal objection from someone outside the notified list, but it can record the concern and may investigate once the LPA is registered.
Can an objection be withdrawn?
Yes. If the concern turns out to be unfounded — for example the attorney's bankruptcy has since been discharged — the objector can withdraw and registration continues normally.
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
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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