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Data & Research

How Many Lasting Powers of Attorney Are Used in the UK?

The clearest official measure is the number of lasting powers of attorney held on the public register. Here is what the latest data shows, and where it stops short.

7 min read · Written by the Fairchild Oldfield team · Last reviewed: July 2026

9,340,910
Lasting powers of attorney and enduring powers of attorney recorded as current on the register in England and Wales, the closest published measure of how many are in use.
Source: OPG Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 2025, gov.uk, figure as at 31 March 2025. Figures may be revised.

There were 9,340,910 lasting powers of attorney and enduring powers of attorney recorded as current on the register in England and Wales as at 31 March 2025, according to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk).

That register total is the most reliable published answer to how many lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) are in use, though as this page explains, being on the register is not quite the same as being actively relied on. All figures below come from named official statistics and are current at their stated reference periods.

How many lasting powers of attorney are used?

The Office of the Public Guardian recorded 9,340,910 LPAs and enduring powers of attorney as current on the register in England and Wales as at 31 March 2025 (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). No single statistic counts how many of those are being acted on at any moment, so the register total is generally treated as the headline figure.

An LPA lets someone you choose, an attorney, make decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself. There are two types in England and Wales: one for property and financial affairs, and one for health and welfare (gov.uk, power of attorney, as at July 2026). The register counts documents rather than people, and one person may hold both types.

The headline numbers

Key figures at a glance

The single most cited figure is the register total: 9,340,910 LPAs and EPAs current in England and Wales as at 31 March 2025, up by 1,301,364 in a year (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). The table below sets each statistic beside its source and reference period.

StatisticFigureReference period & source
LPAs and EPAs current on the register (England & Wales) 9,340,910 As at 31 March 2025. OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk
Power of attorney applications received in the year 1,367,053 2024 to 2025. OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk
Net increase in the register over the year +1,301,364 Year to 31 March 2025. OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk
Applications in the first year over one million 1,073,032 2022 to 2023. OPG Annual Report 2022 to 2023, gov.uk
Fee to register one LPA with the OPG £92 As at July 2026, subject to change. gov.uk, register an LPA

All figures reproduced from the named gov.uk sources at their stated reference periods. Official statistics may be revised, and fees are subject to change.

LPA applications and register totals over time

Demand has climbed steeply. The OPG received power of attorney applications above one million for the first time in 2022 to 2023, at 1,073,032, and the register has grown by well over a million entries in each of the two years since (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). The three most recent published years sit side by side below.

Financial yearApplications receivedOn the register at year end
2022 to 20231,073,0326,850,834 (31 Mar 2023)
2023 to 20241,370,5468,039,546 (31 Mar 2024)
2024 to 20251,367,0539,340,910 (31 Mar 2025)

Sources: OPG Annual Report 2022 to 2023; OPG Annual Report 2023 to 2024; OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025 (all gov.uk). Reference periods as shown. Figures may be revised.

Applications now run at more than a million a year, while the register has passed nine million. Both are records for the England and Wales system.

A careful distinction

Registered is not the same as actively used

Being on the register means an LPA has been made and registered, so an attorney can act if needed. The published figure of 9,340,910 current LPAs and EPAs as at 31 March 2025 counts registered documents, not documents in active use on that date (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). Many registered LPAs sit ready but unused, which is often the point of making one early.

A property and financial affairs LPA can be used once registered, with the donor's permission, while a health and welfare LPA can generally only be used once the donor lacks the capacity to make the decision in question (gov.uk, using an LPA, as at July 2026). The register does not separate dormant documents from those being acted on.

The measurement gap

9.34m

Registered LPAs and EPAs in England and Wales as at 31 March 2025. The OPG does not publish how many of these are being acted on at any given time, so this total is best read as capacity in place, not activity (gov.uk).

What the numbers appear to show

Taken together, the figures point to a public that is making LPAs in far greater numbers than a decade ago, with more than a million applications a year and a register that grew by 1,301,364 in the year to 31 March 2025 (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). The following reading is our own interpretation, offered as general context rather than advice.

A few points seem worth drawing out. First, the register is cumulative, so it can keep rising even if new applications level off, as they appear to have done between 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025 (1,370,546 then 1,367,053 applications). Second, because the total counts documents rather than living donors, it tends to overstate how many arrangements are active, since some donors will have died or revoked their LPA. Third, the gap between registration and use means the true measure of how many LPAs are relied on in practice is not something these statistics capture. For a practical explanation of the document itself, our Lasting Power of Attorney Explained guide may help, and the wider estate planning guide shows where an LPA sits alongside a will and other arrangements.

Reading the register with care. The 9,340,910 total (as at 31 March 2025, gov.uk) is a strong indicator of how widely LPAs have been adopted, but it is a count of registered documents. It does not, on its own, tell us how many are dormant, how many relate to people who have since died, or how many are being acted on today. Anyone weighing up their own arrangements may find it worth discussing the options with a qualified professional.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

The OPG figures on this page cover England and Wales only. Scotland runs a separate system, with powers of attorney registered by the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland), and Northern Ireland has its own arrangements, including enduring powers of attorney rather than the LPA structure used in England and Wales. Because the registries and rules differ, the England and Wales totals should not be read as UK-wide, and anyone in Scotland or Northern Ireland can check the position with the relevant public guardian for their nation.

Sources and methodology

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the Office of the Public Guardian's annual reports and accounts, published on gov.uk, or from official gov.uk guidance for fees. The register and application counts are the OPG's own transparency figures for England and Wales. We have not estimated, rounded or extrapolated beyond what the sources state; where a figure is not published, we have said so.

For a plain-English overview of the wider picture, see our companion page on LPAs registered in the UK.

Frequently asked questions

How many lasting powers of attorney are used in the UK?

The nearest published figure is 9,340,910 LPAs and enduring powers of attorney recorded as current on the register in England and Wales as at 31 March 2025 (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). This counts registered documents, not how many are being acted on at any one time.

How many LPAs are registered each year?

The Office of the Public Guardian received 1,367,053 power of attorney applications in 2024 to 2025, following 1,370,546 in 2023 to 2024 (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). Applications first passed one million in 2022 to 2023, at 1,073,032. Not every application results in a registration in the same year.

Is the register figure the same as active use?

No. The register counts LPAs and EPAs that have been made and registered, so an attorney can act if needed. It does not distinguish documents sitting ready from those being acted on, and some will relate to people who have since died (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). Registration generally shows capacity in place rather than current activity.

How much does it cost to register an LPA?

The fee to register one LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian is £92, with reductions for lower incomes and exemptions for some people on certain benefits (gov.uk, register an LPA, as at July 2026, subject to change). Registering both a property and financial affairs LPA and a health and welfare LPA means two fees.

Do these figures cover the whole UK?

No. The OPG figures relate to England and Wales. Scotland registers powers of attorney through the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland), and Northern Ireland has separate arrangements including enduring powers of attorney (gov.uk, as at July 2026). The nine million register total should therefore not be read as a UK-wide count.

Why has LPA use grown so quickly?

The published data shows the trend but not the reasons, so any explanation is interpretation. Applications rose above one million a year from 2022 to 2023 onward and the register passed nine million by 31 March 2025 (OPG Annual Report 2024 to 2025, gov.uk). Growing awareness and an ageing population are often cited, though the statistics themselves do not confirm cause.

About Fairchild Oldfield

The Fairchild Oldfield team brings together estate planning, tax, independent financial advice and client care, working with families across England and Wales.

Fairchild Oldfield are estate planning specialists and will writers, not a firm of solicitors. This article is general information based on practical experience and published official statistics, not legal, tax or financial advice.

Important: This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Reading it does not create a professional relationship. It is based on the law of England and Wales, and other UK jurisdictions may differ. Statistics are reproduced from named official sources at the reference periods shown and may be revised; fees are current as at July 2026 and are subject to change. Before acting, many people choose to seek advice from a suitably qualified professional, such as a solicitor, a STEP practitioner, or an FCA-authorised financial adviser, who can consider their individual circumstances.

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