Legal aid

If you need help with the costs of legal advice, you can apply for legal aid. Whether you receive it depends on:

• the type of legal problem you have;
• your income (how much you earn) and how much capital (money, property, belongings) you have;
• whether there is a reasonable chance of winning your case and whether it is worth the time and money needed to win.

The Legal Services Commission ("LSC") runs legal aid in England and Wales and helps people in need to receive quality legal advice, assistance and representation. 

LSC runs two legal aid schemes:

• Community Legal Service ("CLS") provides advice and legal representation for people involved in civil cases;
• Criminal Defence Service ("CDS") provides advice and legal representation for people facing criminal charges.

You can find out whether you're eligible for these services on the Community Legal Advice website.

Types of assistance provided

If you qualify for legal aid, you will be offered different types of assistance depending on the type of case you're involved in.

1. Legal Help
2. Help at Court
3. Family Help
4. Family Mediation
5. Controlled Legal Representation
6. Legal Aid for Criminal cases

Each category of assistance is examined in turn below:

1. Legal Help

Legal Help covers all the help you might need from a solicitor in preparing your case for court. This may include getting general advice on any legal problems, writing letters, negotiating, getting a barrister's opinion and preparing a written case. Legal Help can also cover the costs of mediation in non-family cases.

Legal Help won't pay for the costs of starting or taking a case to court and it won't pay for a lawyer to represent you in court or at a tribunal (you may be able to get help for this under the other legal aid schemes, such as Help at Court, Controlled Legal Representation, or Legal Representation).

Legal Help covers advice on general legal problems including advice about:

• housing law;
• consumer law;
• court procedures;
• family law;
• a discrimination case;
• an adoption, but only if there's a dispute about adoption;
• how to prepare for a tribunal hearing\medical negligence cases;
• personal injury cases, but only when the injury is the result of an assault or deliberate abuse;
• making a will, but only if you're over 70, disabled or a parent making provision for a disabled child.

If your gross monthly income is over £2,657 you will not get Legal Help.

If your gross monthly income is £2,657 or less, your solicitor will then calculate your disposable income to see whether you're eligible for Legal Help. To qualify for Legal Help, your disposable monthly income cannot be more than £733.

• Note: 'Disposable income' is the amount of income you have left after deductions have been made for national insurance, child support and tax. If you have a partner who isn't earning or if you have children, a certain amount of your income will not be taken into account. Your partner's income will be taken into account, however, unless your partner is the person with whom you are in dispute with.

If you win or keep money or property in a family case , a medical negligence case , or a personal injury case , you may have to pay towards the Legal Help provided. Your solicitor or adviser must use this money to pay their bill and you will receive whatever is left.

2. Help at Court

In some cases, you can get help from the LSC to pay for a solicitor to speak for you in court.

You must meet certain financial conditions to get Help at Court. These conditions are the same as for the Legal Help scheme. There are also other conditions that must be met. You can get Help at Court only:

• where it can be shown that having someone to speak on your behalf is appropriate and of real benefit to you;
• if it is reasonable for Help at Court to be provided;
• if it is considered to be cost-effective to attend a hearing, rather than simply to write a letter on your behalf.

3. Family Help

You may be entitled to family help if you have a serious family dispute, which needs sorting out through negotiation or some other means (including mediation). Family Help covers all forms of legal help or representation, except representation at a defended final court hearing or appeal (for this you need Legal Representation help).

In most cases, you must meet certain financial conditions to qualify, which are the same as for Legal Help, you don't need to meet these financial qualifications if you are a parent, expectant parent or person with parental responsibility and the local authority is intending to start care or supervision proceedings.

4. Family Mediation

If you decide to go to family mediation for a family dispute you may be able to get legal aid help to pay for the costs of mediation.

Again you must meet certain financial conditions, which are the same for Legal Help.

5. Legal Representation

You may get legal aid to help with all the costs of taking certain types of civil (non-criminal) cases to court, which includes representation by a solicitor or barrister. To get Legal Representation, you must meet certain financial conditions and meet other conditions.

Also, you may get Legal Representation for the time it takes your solicitor to look into your case. If the solicitor doesn't think your case is strong enough, then Legal Representation can be stopped.

The types of case that you might be able to get help with under Legal Representation include:

• housing cases;
• debt cases;
• consumer problems;
• an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (but not for representation at an Employment Tribunal);
• a judicial review case in the High Court;
• mental health review proceedings;
• an immigration or asylum case before the First-tier Tribunal and in some High Court cases.

Legal Representation will not usually pay for the costs of taking a personal injury case to court.

6. Legal Aid for Criminal Cases

(a) Free legal advice at the police station

You have the right to free independent legal advice from a duty solicitor at the police station regardless of your financial circumstances. Alternatively, you can choose your own solicitor and if they have a contract with the Criminal Defence Service ("CDS") legal aid will cover their costs.

(b) Help before you're charged with a criminal offence.

If you have not yet been charged with a criminal offence you can get help to pay for the costs for asking your solicitor for general advice. You will get what is called 'Advice and Assistance' if you get Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit. If you get Working Tax Credit, you still might get Advice and Assistance depending on your income and personal circumstances.

If you are not getting one of these benefits or Working Tax Credit, you will only get Advice and Assistance if your income and savings are below a certain amount.

(c) Help with representation at court

There are three ways you could be helped if you need to be represented in court for a criminal offence.

• Representation Order : covers representation by a solicitor and, if necessary, by a barrister in criminal cases. You must meet certain financial conditions to qualify. Also, if you are found guilty and have capital over £30,000, you may be asked to pay a contribution from your capital.
• Advocacy Assistance : covers the costs of a solicitor preparing your case and initial representation in certain cases such as:
  • prisoners facing disciplinary charges;
  • prisoners with a life sentence who are referred to the Parole Board;
  • warrants of further detention.

You do not have to meet any financial conditions to qualify for Advocacy Assistance, unless it is a prison hearing.

• Free advice and representation at the magistrates' court : If you have a case before the Magistrates' Court you can get free legal advice and representation by the court duty solicitor if you have never received legal aid previously. You do not have to meet any financial conditions to get free advice and representation at the magistrates' court.

Further help

For further information and help about legal aid, visit the Legal Services Commission .

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