How to sign and witness your LPA
Last verified: 10 October 2026 (England and Wales)
Your Lasting Power of Attorney is ready. The next step is to sign it in the right order, with the right people witnessing the signatures. This guide explains how to work through a final paper LPA pack prepared by Fern Wills & LPAs.
The donor signs first, followed by the certificate provider, then all attorneys and replacement attorneys. The application to register is signed last. Everyone can sign on the same day, provided this order is followed.
Read this guide before anyone signs, then keep it beside your personal signing instructions. If anything is unclear, please ask Fern before going ahead.
Before anyone signs
The donor is the person making the LPA. Attorneys are the people appointed to make decisions for them. Each person should understand their role before signing.
Check the final LPA carefully and read section 8, “Your legal rights and responsibilities”. Attorneys must read the LPA, including any preferences, instructions and continuation sheets. Contact Fern if anything is wrong or you want to change a decision.
Use a black-ink pen and a clean, dry table. Keep each LPA separate: LP1F is Property and Financial Affairs; LP1H is Health and Welfare. Check the donor’s name, form code and page numbers so pages from different LPAs do not become mixed.
If someone cannot read, see or physically sign the form, or there is a concern about their understanding or freedom to decide, contact Fern before arranging the signing. We will explain the appropriate process for that situation.
Use your colour-coded stickers
For a paper pack that Fern sends out for signing, we place colour-coded stickers beside the relevant boxes. Each sticker carries the person’s initials and tells them whether to sign only or sign and date.
Follow the sticker for your initials, but also check the printed name and wording beside the box. A sticker can move or come off in the post. If anything does not match, stop and ask us. Remove each sticker carefully once that part is complete.
Leave all other blank fields untouched. They have been left blank deliberately. Complete only the signatures, dates and witness details required by your personal signing instructions. Do not add dates, tick boxes or fill spaces simply because they are empty.
Choose the right witness
Choose an independent adult aged 18 or over who can understand what they are witnessing and watch the person sign in person. Fern prefers someone at arm’s length, such as a suitable friend or neighbour.
- For the donor: the witness must not be an attorney or replacement attorney named in that LPA. If a trust corporation is appointed, its employees cannot witness the donor’s signature either.
- For an attorney or replacement attorney: the witness must not be the donor. Attorneys and replacement attorneys may witness each other, although Fern prefers an independent witness where available.
- An eligible certificate provider can also act as a witness. One eligible person can witness more than one signature; they must watch each signing and complete each relevant witness box.
The witness signs where indicated and writes their full name, including middle names, and full address with postcode. Follow the form and your markers: a witness’s box may require a signature and details without a separate date.
Sign in the right order
1. The donor signs, with a witness
For a Health and Welfare LPA, sign the selected option in section 5 about life-sustaining treatment before section 9. The witness watches and signs the corresponding witness box below it.
Sign any marked continuation sheets before section 9. For Fern’s signing process, complete the donor’s marked pages on the same day. Then sign and date section 9 while the witness watches. The witness signs immediately afterwards and completes their details.
Write the actual date where a date is required. A useful check is to write today’s date on a separate piece of paper first and compare each date as you enter it. Never backdate a signature or copy an earlier signer’s date if you are signing on a different day.
2. The certificate provider signs section 10
The certificate provider signs after the donor and before any attorney. This is a separate role from witnessing a signature: they confirm that the donor understands the LPA and is making it freely, without pressure or fraud.
Use the certificate provider agreed for your LPA. They should read sections 8 and 10 and discuss the LPA with the donor, privately where possible, before completing their part. If you need to change the arrangements, ask Fern first.
3. Attorneys and replacement attorneys sign section 11
Each attorney and each replacement attorney signs and dates their own section 11 page after the certificate provider has signed. Their witness must be physically present, watch them sign, and then sign and complete the witness details.
All attorneys and replacement attorneys belong to the same signing stage. They may sign in any order within that stage, on the same day or on different days. Replacement attorneys do not have to wait for every main attorney. Please complete this promptly once the earlier stages are ready.
4. The registration applicant signs section 15
Section 12 identifies who is applying to register the LPA: the donor or attorney(s). The relevant applicant signs and dates section 15 only after all attorneys and replacement attorneys have completed section 11. For Fern clients, the applicant is usually the donor.
Wait for any remote attorneys’ original pages to return before completing this stage. If the LPA names people to notify in section 6, ask Fern to confirm the notification arrangements before section 15 is signed.
Fern can check the completed pack and arrange registration as agreed. Being the correspondence contact in section 13 does not make Fern the applicant signing section 15.
If an attorney is signing elsewhere
You do not all have to meet in one place. A remote attorney can sign with a suitable witness where they live, after the donor and certificate provider have completed their stages. Remote signing here means signing paper pages elsewhere, with a witness physically present; it does not mean witnessing over a video call.
When Fern emails an attorney, we provide the LPA for them to read and identify the section 11 page they need to print. Print only your own signing page for each LPA, as instructed. A postal pack may contain just the relevant pages. Ask for anything else you need to read before agreeing to sign.
Check the donor’s name, LPA type and your own name. Follow the instructions in the email or covering letter, then return the original pages bearing the ink signatures by post. A photograph, scan or emailed copy does not replace those original pages.
Check and return the original pages
Before posting, check that:
- every required signature is present and in the correct box;
- dates have been added only where required and reflect the actual signing order;
- witness names and addresses are complete and legible;
- each page belongs to the correct donor and LPA;
- the removable signing stickers have been taken off and all required pages are included.
Do not staple the pages, attach extra items or make additional marks. Keep the original pages clean and undamaged. Return the documents requested in your covering instructions to Fern for checking; do not discard blank LPA pages or send the pack directly to the Office of the Public Guardian unless we have asked you to.
Use the address shown in your pack: Fern Wills & LPAs, 11 Wakefield Drive, Welford, Northamptonshire, NN6 6HN. Weigh the envelope and use the correct postage.
Ordinary second-class post is sufficient. Please avoid Signed For or another service requiring a signature: Chris is often out of the office visiting clients and may not be there to accept it. First-class post is acceptable, but may offer little benefit if he cannot check the documents until he returns.
If you spot a mistake at any stage, stop and contact Fern before changing anything. Do not use correction fluid or cover a mistake with a sticker. We will explain whether a correction or a replacement page is needed.
Need help with the signing?
If you need a witness, a certificate provider or a separate signing appointment, contact Fern so we can confirm what is appropriate and available. Details of our optional support and current fees are on Enhanced Personal Options.
Do we all need to sign on the same date?
No. The correct order matters. Everyone may sign on the same day in that order, or complete their stage later. Use the actual date of each signature wherever the form asks for a date.
Can one attorney witness another?
Yes, attorneys and replacement attorneys can witness each other’s signatures. The donor cannot witness an attorney’s signature, and an attorney or replacement attorney cannot witness the donor’s signature on that LPA.
Should I fill in an empty box?
Only if your signing instructions require a signature, date or witness details there. Otherwise leave it blank. If you think something is missing, ask Fern rather than filling it in yourself.
Can I email the signed page back?
Please post the original ink-signed pages as instructed. If you want us to look at a possible mistake before posting, contact us first; an emailed image for checking is not a substitute for returning the original.
Signing a Will as well? Read our separate guide to signing and witnessing your Will.
A quick question before signing can prevent avoidable delays. If you are unsure about a sticker, witness, date or blank field, please ask Fern before you continue.
