Granting advice and assistance: timescales for notifying us

You must submit the online advice and assistance application within 14 days of commencing advice and assistance.  (Additional information is not necessary, unless you need our approval, or need to give us information your client’s financial circumstances.)  If you do not send us the form on time, your account is ineligible for payment.  We can only accept late notification if we consider there is special reason.

Telephone grants of advice and assistance
Identifying case types where A&A is appropriate: distinct and reasonably ancillary matters

In this section

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Completing the advice and assistance application form

Find out about the process for completing a civil Advice and Assistance application, including what you need to tell, how, and when.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Advice and assistance and the assessment of financial eligibility

Read about how your client’s financial eligibility is assessed for the purposes of civil advice and assistance, including information on client contributions.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Financial eligibility of children for advice and assistance (non-criminal matters)

Find out about how we assess the financial eligibility of children applying for A&A, including a definition of ‘child’ and a discussion of resource aggregation.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Advice and assistance for reciprocal enforcement of maintenance orders: special eligibility arrangements

Information about special arrangements for client eligibility for A&A under Reciprocal Enforcement orders

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Financial eligibility for advice and assistance: evidence you must supply

Find out about the types of income and capital verification required for the admittance to Civil Advice and Assistance.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Advice and assistance applications: the applicant’s declaration

Read about the importance of obtaining your client’s signed declaration as part of the A&A application and what they should understand when signing.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Telephone grants of advice and assistance

Information on when clients may be admitted to Civil Advice and Assistance over the telephone.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Identifying case types where A&A is appropriate: distinct and reasonably ancillary matters

Read about how to determine if you need to make a fresh grant of Civil A&A and distinct and ‘reasonably ancillary’ matters across various case types.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Advice and assistance and the basic limits of expenditure: which level applies?

What initial authorised expenditure limit applies to a grant of A&A in various circumstances?

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Authority to exceed the initial expenditure limit for advice and assistance: template increases

Read about the process for gaining authority to exceed the initial limit of expenditure: the use of templates for increases in certain cases.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Advice and assistance: non-templated increases

This page includes information on how to apply for non-templated increases in expenditure under civil A&A. It covers the information you should provide us with; case-related factors to address in your application; the process for reconsideration of refused increases; the process for urgently needed increases; whether authority for retrospective increases is available; and other guidance you may wish to consider.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Providing advice and assistance to children

Read about provision of A&A to children, including who may apply on a child’s behalf, and your role in assessing a child’s ability to instruct.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Advice and assistance and changes of nominated solicitor

Read about arrangements for changes of nominated solicitor in A&A, including criteria we apply to requests, and procedure for changes or transfers.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Second solicitor giving advice and assistance on the same matter: prior authority required

Learn about the criteria that must be met for us to give our approval for a second solicitor to give advice and assistance on the same matter.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Procedure for withdrawing from giving advice and assistance

Find out what you need to do if you wish to withdraw from providing Civil Advice and Assistance

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Private client charging after a grant of advice and assistance has ended: what you must do

Find out about arrangements for charging a client after a grant of A&A has ended, and what you must make sure the client agrees to.

Advice and Assistance application procedures

Rule on the simultaneous provision of A&A and civil legal aid

This page sets out the prohibition on the simultaneous provision of A&A and civil legal aid