How long does an LPA take to make?
Preparing the document takes most people under an hour. Registration is the slow part: there is a statutory four-week notice period and then the Office of the Public Guardian's own processing time, so plan on roughly eight to ten weeks from posting the signed forms to a usable LPA.
Make your LPA online for £49
Answer simple questions. We prepare your LPA documents from your answers, ready for the next steps.
- £49 per LPA, or £79 for both types
- No solicitor required for straightforward LPAs
- Plain English questions, one screen at a time
- Save your progress and come back to it
- Checked for common completion errors as you go
- Review everything before you pay
The Office of the Public Guardian charges a separate £92 to register each LPA.
How this differs from asking whether you can finish something today
This page sets out the full schedule from a standing start to a registered document. If your question is narrower — what you can actually complete this afternoon, versus what has to wait for signatures and the OPG — see can I make an LPA online today, which focuses only on the same-day part of the process.
The timeline
| Stage | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Choose your LPA | About a minute |
| Answering the questions | 30-60 minutes, save and return as you like |
| Getting everyone to sign in order | Days to a couple of weeks, depending on people |
| Statutory notice period after signing | 4 weeks minimum |
| OPG registration once received | A further 4-6 weeks, longer at busy times |
Until the OPG has registered it, an LPA cannot be used for anything at all. That is why LPAs are made in advance rather than in a crisis.
Why the notice period exists
The four-week wait is not administrative padding; it is the window during which any person named to be notified can raise an objection to the OPG before the LPA is registered. It runs the same length whether the donor is 40 or 90, whether the attorneys are family or professionals, and whether the LPA was prepared for free or by a solicitor. There is no version of the process, from any provider, where this step is skipped or shortened.
What slows things down
- Signing out of order, which means starting the paperwork again
- An ineligible certificate provider, which invalidates the certificate
- Missing dates, initials or continuation sheets
- Waiting on a GP appointment for a professional certificate
- Attorneys in different places posting the form back and forth
The signing guide exists for this
We name every signatory, the pages they sign and the order, so the paperwork does one circuit rather than three.
Same-day preparation vs the total timeline
| What can happen today | What cannot be rushed |
|---|---|
| Answering all the questions online | The four-week statutory notice period |
| Reviewing and downloading the document | The OPG's own processing time |
| Printing and arranging signing | Postal time between attorneys, if they are not together |
What causes real delay beyond the standard schedule
Beyond the fixed statutory stages, most delay comes from people rather than paperwork: a certificate provider who is on holiday, an attorney abroad whose signed pages take a fortnight to post back, or a GP surgery that needs three weeks' notice for a capacity assessment appointment. None of these are unusual, but they are all avoidable with a little planning — deciding on a certificate provider and checking their availability before you start the online questions removes one of the most common holdups entirely.
A dated example, start to finish
James decides on Monday 1 April to make an LP1F for his mother, Eileen. He chooses his LPA that evening and answers the online questions over two sittings by Wednesday 3 April. Eileen and her two attorneys arrange to sign together on Saturday 6 April: Eileen signs first, witnessed by a neighbour; the certificate provider, a family friend who is a retired teacher, signs the same day after speaking with Eileen alone; the attorneys sign last, each with their own witness. The statutory four-week notice period runs from 6 April to 4 May. James posts the forms with the £92 fee on 5 May. The OPG logs receipt within a couple of weeks and, after its own checks, registers the LPA on 30 June — just under thirteen weeks after James first sat down to start it, of which the online preparation took under two hours.
Start now rather than later
Because the registration stages cannot be shortened, the only part of the timeline you actually control is when you start. You can begin today: the check is free, and you can make your LPA online for £49, or £79 for both types. The OPG's £92 per document is payable to them when you register. For a page focused specifically on what you can finish in a single sitting today, rather than the full end-to-end schedule, see can I make an LPA online today.
Common questions
Can registration be expedited?
The four-week notice period is statutory and cannot be shortened. The OPG does not offer a general fast-track.
Can attorneys act while registration is pending?
No. The LPA has no effect until it is registered.
Does using a guided service speed up registration itself?
No, the OPG's own processing time is the same regardless of who prepared the document; a guided service mainly reduces the risk of a delay caused by rejection.
Does making both LPAs together take longer than making one?
The online preparation takes a little longer since there are two sets of questions, but signing and registration can happen in the same sitting and the same notice period runs alongside itself for each document, so the overall timescale is barely different from making one.
What is the single biggest cause of delay in practice?
Signing out of order or using an ineligible certificate provider, both of which mean starting the signing process again from scratch and effectively restarting the clock.
Read next
Where this fits
This page is part of LPA basics. 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.
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 Lasting Powers of Attorney in England and Wales. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice about your situation. What we do and do not do.