Guidance

Deputy court order: valid example

Official sample of a deputy order from the Court of Protection and an explanation of what makes the document valid.

• From: Office of the Public Guardian
• Published: 30 August 2016
• Last updated: 25 October 2022 — See all updates

Documents

Deputy court order: registered sample

PDF, 453 KB, 2 pages

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Details

The document on this page is a sample of a deputy order from the Court of Protection and is for reference only.

Deputy orders are legal instruments giving one or more people (the ‘deputy’ or ‘deputies’) authority to make decisions for another person who lacks ‘mental capacity’.

Mental capacity means the ability to make certain decisions for yourself.

Deputy orders cover decisions about either:

• property and financial matters – called ‘property and affairs’ on the court order
• health and personal care – called ‘personal welfare’ on the court order

The same person can act as deputy for both kinds of decisions but, in that case, they will have two separate orders.

To be valid, Property and affairs deputy orders will have the court’s raised, round embossed seal on all pages. There will also be an ink seal (visible) on the front page which shows the date that the court has issued (sent out) the order. The only difference with a welfare order is where we place a round ink seal of the Court of Protection (visible) instead of an embossed seal. The round seals are usually placed at the bottom right hand corner.

The order will also show both the:

• name of the deputy or deputies
• name of the person they are making decisions for

The order then lists the kinds of decisions the deputy or deputies can make for the person without mental capacity and those they can’t make.

You can also search the Office of the Public Guardian register to confirm that someone has a deputy acting for them.

See these pages on acting as a deputy for more information about the power a deputy order gives someone to make decisions for another person.

There are separate pages showing examples of lasting powers of attorney and enduring powers of attorney, which are other legal instruments for making decisions for someone else.

Published 30 August 2016
Last updated 25 October 2022 + show all updates

1. 25 October 2022

   Update to guidance on what deputy orders should look like and the difference between the two types.

2. 13 January 2017

   Added translation

3. 13 January 2017

   Added translation

4. 30 August 2016

   First published.