Who can witness an LPA?
Guidance from Estate Advisory Group
Written and legally reviewed by Ramani Gill TEP, Solicitor and private client practitioner·Last reviewed 13 August 2026
Any adult who is not an attorney or replacement attorney in the same document, and who actually watches the signature being made.
Requirements
- Aged 18 or over.
- Present in person and watching the signature happen.
- Willing to print their full name and address on the form.
- Not an attorney or replacement attorney in that LPA.
Who should not witness
- Any attorney or replacement in the same LPA.
- The donor, for an attorney's signature.
- Anyone who cannot be contacted later — the OPG occasionally queries signatures.
There is no rule against a witness being a relative. That restriction applies to the certificate provider, not to witnesses.
Practical points
Witnessing over video call is not accepted for LPAs — signatures must be made in person, in wet ink, on the same document. If attorneys live far apart, the form can travel between them by post, provided every signature is dated after the certificate provider signed. Our signing pack tells you exactly who signs which page, in what order, and who witnesses each one.
A worked example
Tom is completing his LPA at his kitchen table with his wife Sarah, who is one of his attorneys. Sarah cannot witness Tom's signature, so they ask their next-door neighbour, Fatima, to come round. Fatima watches Tom sign, then prints her name and address on the form. Later that week Tom's daughter, who lives two hours away and is his replacement attorney, signs her own attorney section with a colleague from work witnessing it — a different witness to Fatima is perfectly fine.
Signing when people live apart
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Donor and attorneys in the same house | Sign in the correct order, in front of separate witnesses for each signature |
| Attorneys live in different towns | Post the signed form on; each person signs and is witnessed locally, in the right order |
| An attorney is temporarily abroad | Wait if possible, or seek advice — remote or video witnessing is not valid for an LPA |
Order matters as much as witnessing
The certificate provider must sign after the donor and before any attorney. Getting the order wrong is a separate, equally common rejection reason — see LPA signing order.
Common questions
Does the witness need to read the LPA?
No. They are only confirming that they saw the person sign, not endorsing the contents.
Can a care home employee witness?
For a witness, yes. But a care home owner, manager or employee cannot be the certificate provider where the donor lives there.
Do the donor and attorneys need the same witness?
No. Each signature just needs its own qualifying witness present at the time; using the same person throughout is convenient but not required.
What details must the witness provide?
Their full name and a current address, printed clearly, next to their signature. Illegible or incomplete details are a common reason the OPG queries a form.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of Attorneys and certificate providers. The pages below take it further.
- Make an LPA online
The whole journey end to end: questions, documents, signing and registration.
- The LPA forms explained
LP1F, LP1H and LP3 — what each section asks and where people go wrong.
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
Making your own LPA?
Name your attorneys, set how they must decide together, and we prepare the forms for £49.
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