How to Sign Your Lasting Power of Attorney Step-by-Step
By Chris Watts MSWWCMAP | Fern Wills & LPAs
Last verified: October 2025 (England & Wales)
By Chris Watts MSWWCMAP | Fern Wills & LPAs
Last verified: October 2025 (England & Wales)
Many DIY or low-cost Lasting Powers of Attorney are rejected at registration because someone signs in the wrong order or uses the wrong witness. At Fern Wills & LPAs, we have a 100 percent record of successful registration over the past 15 years. With our calm, step-by-step guidance, clients find the process straightforward — though there are more than seventy points where it can go wrong without professional oversight.(Image placeholder — Sora “solicitor explaining documents to client in bright office”)
Donor (the person giving the power)
The donor signs first. This signature confirms that they understand and approve what the document does. A suitable witness must be present — someone aged 18 or over who is not an attorney or replacement attorney. A family member may witness if they are not named in the LPA.
Example: A client once asked if her 17-year-old nephew could witness her LPA. We advised that witnesses must be 18 or over, so she instead asked a neighbour who had known her for many years. The LPA was completed and accepted without issue.(Image placeholder — Canva infographic “Signing order: Donor → Certificate Provider → Attorneys → Section 15”)
Certificate Provider
The next person to sign is the certificate provider — an independent person who confirms that the donor has mental capacity and is not being coerced. They can be a professional adviser, GP, or trusted friend who understands the donor well.
Example: One client in her late 80s had excellent capacity but no local friends who weren’t relatives. We acted as her professional certificate provider and produced a basic mental-capacity report at the time to protect her against any future allegation that capacity had been lost when signing.
When we conduct a paid attestation — the supervised witnessing and signing process — the certificate provider can also act as witness for the donor and all attorneys. This option is available only for clients living locally or by special arrangement.
Attorneys
Once the certificate provider has signed, each attorney completes their own section. Every attorney has a separate witness. Witnesses should be at arm’s length — ideally not close relatives or colleagues. Another attorney may witness only if no suitable alternative exists. Keeping witnesses independent strengthens the evidence that everything was signed freely.All dates must be sequential: each section is dated on the same day as, or later than, the preceding section. Within Section 11, attorneys can sign on different days from each other.
Example: Two brothers appointed as attorneys lived hundreds of miles apart. Each signed locally with independent witnesses. Both sets of pages returned to our admin office for checking before the donor was informed that they could now complete the final section.
Replacement Attorneys
If replacement attorneys are named, they sign after the main attorneys following the same rules. It’s common for their pages to arrive later; what matters is that the order and dating remain correct.
Applicant (Section 15)
This final section must be signed only after all attorneys and replacements have completed theirs. Where Fern Wills & LPAs acts as applicant, we confirm that every signature and date is in order and run through a 50-point checklist before sending the application and payment to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) for registration.
When Attorneys Live Far Apart
Sometimes attorneys live in different parts of the country or abroad. We make it simple for them to sign correctly. Each attorney receives a PDF of their pages with clear instructions, prints and signs with a suitable witness, then posts them back to our office. If printing is difficult, we can send the pages by post. Every attorney — not just those signing remotely — is asked to read Section 8: Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities before signing. That step helps avoid problems later and protects everyone involved.
Further Guidance
There are many finer details about the correct signing order and who can act in each role. These are covered personally with every Fern Wills & LPAs client. We also have related articles on this website covering the roles and responsibilities of attorneys and certificate providers. If you prefer, ask us to send you the links by email and we’ll curate a set that fits your exact circumstances.
Each client receives a tailored multi-page signing guide with colour-coded stickers showing where to sign and date, together with telephone, online, or face-to-face oversight throughout the process.
The signing sequence is always Donor → Certificate Provider → Attorneys → Applicant.
With Fern Wills & LPAs guiding you through each stage, your LPA will be registered first time — accurate, validated, and fully protected for the future.
