Are you owed a deputyship fee refund?

Why is this happening?

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) registers powers of attorney and supervises deputies and guardians appointed by the Court of Protection.

The Ministry of Justice sets OPG’s fees. It reduced the fees for applying for a power of attorney and the assessment and supervision fees for deputyship, because it turned out to be cheaper to provide these services than predicted. The reductions in fees happened at different times.

Who can claim?

Deputyship fees

If you had a deputy or you were acting as a deputy for someone between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2015, you may be eligible for a partial refund.

If you’re still acting as a deputy, you don’t need to apply. You’ll get any overpaid fees back automatically.

Power of attorney fees

The deadline for claiming a refund for power of attorney fees was 31 January 2021, so you can no longer make a claim. If you've already claimed a refund, it can take up to 12 weeks to process your claim.

How much can I reclaim?

Certain deputyship fees were reduced on 1 April 2015. How much you get will depend on:

• how much you paid and at what rate
• how long you paid for
• whether you have unpaid fees.

Most refunds will be less than £200. You'll also get 0.5% interest.

How do I claim?

For deputyship fee refunds, you will need to claim your refund by 4 October 2022. 

You can fill in the form online and email it to the OPG, or print it and send it back by post. You’ll need to send proof of:

• your name
• your address
• your right to apply for the refund.

You'll also need the details of the person who had the deputy. Gov.uk has more information on what you'll need to claim.

If you need help

If you can’t claim by email or fill in the form yourself, you can call the Refunds Helpline on 0300 456 0300 (choose option 6). You will still have to provide the documents they ask for.

Claims can take up to 12 weeks to process.