Who Can Be a Certificate Provider on an LPA?
Your certificate provider is the independent safeguard at the heart of every Lasting Power of Attorney. Choosing the wrong person is the most common reason an LPA is rejected — here is exactly who qualifies and what they have to do.
Last reviewed: June 2026 · Written by Eleanor Whitfield, LPA & Estate Planning Specialist
What a certificate provider is, and why every LPA needs one
A certificate provider is an independent adult who confirms, in writing, that you genuinely understand what you are signing when you make a Lasting Power of Attorney and that nobody is pressuring you into it. Every LPA in England and Wales must have one. Without a valid certificate, the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) will not register the document, and an unregistered LPA cannot be used.
The role exists because an LPA is a powerful document. When you make one you are handing another person — your attorney — the authority to make decisions about your money, your property or even your medical treatment. The law, under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, builds in an independent check at the moment of signing. The certificate provider is that check. They sit between you (the donor) and your attorneys and give the OPG an honest, impartial assurance that the LPA reflects your true wishes.
If you are still getting to grips with the basics, our guide to what a Lasting Power of Attorney is explains the two types — property and financial affairs (the LP1F form) and health and welfare (the LP1H form) — and how they fit together. Whichever type you make, the certificate provider rules are the same.
The full eligibility rules: who can be a certificate provider
To act as a certificate provider, a person must be at least 18 years old and have the mental capacity to carry out the role. Beyond that, they must fall into one of two categories. They only need to satisfy one of these — not both.
Category 1: Someone who knows you personally
A person who has known you personally for at least two years. This is a genuine personal relationship, not a passing acquaintance — someone who knows you well enough to judge that you understand the LPA and are acting of your own free will. Common choices include:
- A long-standing friend
- A neighbour you have known for years
- A work colleague (but not a business partner)
- A member of a club, church or community group you belong to
Category 2: A relevant professional
A person whose professional skills mean they can judge whether you understand the LPA, even if they have never met you before. They do not need to have known you for two years. This category includes:
- A registered medical doctor, such as your GP
- A solicitor or barrister
- A registered social worker
- An independent mental capacity advocate (IMCA) or advocate
- Another professional who believes they are competent to certify
A professional may charge a fee for their time, particularly a GP or solicitor, so it is sensible to ask about cost in advance.
Who cannot be a certificate provider
The exclusions are strict, and they exist to keep the certificate genuinely independent. A surprising number of people are ruled out. The following can never be your certificate provider, no matter how well they know you:
- ✕Any member of your family, including your spouse, civil partner, partner, parent, child, grandchild, sibling or step-relative
- ✕Any of your attorneys or replacement attorneys named in the LPA
- ✕A member of the family of any of your attorneys or replacement attorneys
- ✕Your business partner, or anyone you run a business with
- ✕Your paid carer
- ✕Anyone who owns, runs, manages or works for a care home where you live, or a member of their family
- ✕Anyone under 18, or anyone who lacks the mental capacity to act in the role
The family exclusions are the ones that trip people up most often. Because so many of us instinctively turn to a relative for something this important, family members are responsible for a large share of the LPAs the OPG sends back. They are also why this single section produces more rejections than any other part of the form.
Personal versus professional: which should you choose?
Both routes carry exactly the same legal weight, so the right choice comes down to your circumstances.
A personal certificate provider — the friend, neighbour or colleague who has known you for two years or more — is the option most people use. It is free, it is straightforward, and the person already knows you well enough to be confident you understand what you are doing. For the vast majority of healthy adults making an LPA as part of sensible planning, a personal certificate provider is all that is needed.
A professional certificate provider — a GP, solicitor, registered social worker or advocate — makes sense when there is any question over your mental capacity, for example if you have an early dementia diagnosis, or where you simply do not have a suitable friend or contact who has known you long enough and is willing to help. A professional brings the expertise to assess capacity formally, which can head off challenges to the LPA later. The trade-off is that they often charge for their time.
What the certificate provider must do
Being a certificate provider is not simply a matter of adding a signature. Before they sign, the person must take genuine steps to satisfy themselves that the LPA is sound. In practice this means:
- Read the LPA. They should look through the form so they know what you are granting and to whom.
- Discuss it privately with you. The conversation should happen with you alone — not with your attorneys in the room — so you can speak freely without anyone influencing what you say.
- Confirm you understand it. They must be satisfied you grasp the purpose of the LPA and the scope of the power you are giving away.
- Check you are not under pressure. They must be confident no one is forcing or unduly influencing you, and that there is no fraud involved.
- Sign the certificate. Once satisfied, they sign the certificate section of the form. On the LP1F and LP1H this is the part completed after you (the donor) sign and before your attorneys sign — sometimes referred to as the certificate provider section, Part B, or Section 10 depending on the version of the form.
The order of signing matters: the donor signs first, then the certificate provider, then the attorneys. Our step-by-step signing guide walks through exactly who signs what, in which order, and where the certificate provider fits in.
What they confirm by signing
By putting their name to the certificate, the certificate provider is making a formal statement to the Office of the Public Guardian. They are confirming that, in their judgement:
- You understand the purpose of the LPA and the powers it grants
- No fraud or undue pressure is being used to make you create it
- There is nothing else that would stop the LPA from being created
This is exactly why the role has to be independent. The certificate is the OPG's assurance that the document genuinely reflects your wishes, which is meaningless if it comes from one of the people who stands to gain from it.
If your certificate provider refuses or turns out to be ineligible
A certificate provider can decline. If, after reading the LPA and talking to you, they are not satisfied that you understand it or that you are acting freely, they should not sign — and a responsible one will not. That is the safeguard doing its job. If this happens, you will need to find another eligible person, and it is worth reflecting on why they had concerns.
The more common problem is discovering, after the LPA has been submitted, that the certificate provider was never eligible — most often because they were a relative or related to an attorney. In that situation the OPG will reject the LPA. You cannot patch it by crossing out one name and writing in another: the entire LPA must be made again and re-signed by a valid certificate provider, you and your attorneys, and the registration fee re-paid if it has already been charged. This is precisely why checking eligibility before anyone signs is so important — getting it wrong can cost weeks of delay.
Common mistakes to avoid
Because this is where most LPAs come unstuck, it pays to know the usual pitfalls. The most frequent errors are:
- Asking a family member — by far the number one cause of rejection, even when the relative has known you for life.
- Asking the spouse or partner of one of your attorneys, which is also barred.
- Naming someone who is also an attorney on the same LPA.
- Using a paid carer or a member of staff at the care home where you live.
- Choosing a friend who has not quite known you for two full years.
- Not asking the person whether they are willing before naming them, only to find they would rather not.
Our wider guide to common LPA mistakes covers the other slip-ups that lead to rejection, and our article on who can be a certificate provider works through more borderline examples.
Certificate provider FAQs
Who can be a certificate provider on an LPA?
A certificate provider must be at least 18 and have mental capacity. They must either have known the donor personally for at least two years, or be a relevant professional such as a GP, solicitor, registered social worker, barrister or independent mental capacity advocate.
The role is set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the same rules apply to both the property and financial affairs LPA (LP1F) and the health and welfare LPA (LP1H).
Can a family member be my certificate provider?
No. Members of your family cannot act as your certificate provider, even if they have known you all your life. Family members of your attorneys are also barred.
This includes spouses, partners, parents, children, siblings, grandchildren and step-relatives. Choosing a relative is the single most common reason LPAs are rejected by the Office of the Public Guardian.
Can one of my attorneys be the certificate provider?
No. Your attorneys and replacement attorneys cannot be your certificate provider. The certificate provider has to be independent of the people who will hold the power.
The whole point of the certificate is an impartial check that you understand the document and are not being pressured, so the people who stand to benefit cannot provide it.
Does a certificate provider need any qualifications?
Not necessarily. A personal certificate provider needs no qualifications at all — they simply need to have known you well for two or more years. A professional certificate provider relies on their professional skills instead of a personal relationship.
Either route is equally valid in law. Most people use a friend, neighbour or colleague rather than paying a professional.
What is the difference between a personal and professional certificate provider?
A personal certificate provider is someone who has known you personally for at least two years. A professional certificate provider has the skills to judge whether you understand the LPA, such as a GP, solicitor or registered social worker, and does not need to have known you beforehand.
A professional may charge a fee for their time. A personal certificate provider almost never does.
What does the certificate provider actually have to do?
They must read the LPA, discuss it privately with you, satisfy themselves that you understand it and are not under pressure or being defrauded, and then sign the certificate section of the form to confirm this.
On the LP1F and LP1H this is the certificate section completed before the attorneys sign — often referred to as Part B or Section 10.
Can my doctor be my certificate provider?
Yes. A GP or other registered doctor can act as a professional certificate provider, which is a common choice where there is any doubt about the donor’s mental capacity.
Some GPs charge for this, as it falls outside their NHS work, so it is worth asking about any fee in advance.
What happens if my certificate provider turns out to be ineligible?
The Office of the Public Guardian will reject the LPA. You cannot simply swap in a new name — the LPA has to be made again and signed afresh by a valid certificate provider, the donor and the attorneys.
Because the certificate provider is the most common cause of rejection, it is worth double-checking eligibility before anyone signs.
Can a paid carer or care home worker be my certificate provider?
No. Your paid carer, and anyone who owns, runs or works in a care home where you live, cannot be your certificate provider.
This rule protects donors who may be dependent on the people providing their care from any conflict of interest.
How many certificate providers do I need?
You normally only need one certificate provider for each LPA. A second is only required in the specific case where you tell the OPG, in the application, that there is no one to notify when the LPA is registered.
Most people appoint a single certificate provider and choose to skip the optional people-to-notify section.
Related guides
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