Power of attorney in Northern Ireland

Power of attorney is the legal document that lets you name someone, called an attorney, to manage your money and property for you. In Northern Ireland the document is called an enduring power of attorney, or EPA, and it gives the attorney authority to make decisions about your property and financial affairs¹. Unlike England and Wales, where enduring powers of attorney were replaced by lasting powers of attorney in 2007, Northern Ireland still uses EPAs as its standard document, and you can make a new one today².

An EPA in Northern Ireland comes into effect as soon as it is signed and witnessed, unless you include restrictions or conditions in the document¹. While you still have mental capacity, your attorney can act under it, and you keep full control of your own money alongside them. If you lose capacity, your attorney must register the EPA with the Office of Care and Protection before they can continue². Registration costs vary by source: Which? puts the Northern Ireland fee at £189, while other reports give £180 and £151, so it is worth confirming the current fee with the Office of Care and Protection before applying¹.

Northern Ireland still uses enduring powers of attorney

England and Wales stopped allowing new enduring powers of attorney in October 2007, when lasting powers of attorney took over, but the older document was never abolished in Northern Ireland⁶. There, the EPA remains the document you make if you want someone to be able to manage your finances if you lose mental capacity, and it is the one banks and savings providers in Northern Ireland will expect to see¹.

This matters for two groups of people. If you live in Northern Ireland and are planning ahead, the EPA is your document: it can be made while you are well, used straight away if you wish, and registered later only if capacity is lost¹. And if you or a relative made an EPA years ago, in Northern Ireland or in England and Wales before October 2007, that document is still valid and can still be registered if it has not been already⁶.

The practical difference from the rest of the UK is mostly one of names and paperwork rather than effect. The property and financial affairs lasting power of attorney in England and Wales, the continuing power of attorney in Scotland and the enduring power of attorney in Northern Ireland all do broadly the same financial job³. What differs is what the document covers, what it costs to register and which office does the registering, and those differences are set out in the sections below. The general guide to powers of attorney explains the shared ground.

General or enduring power of attorney: how each one works

Northern Ireland recognises two broad kinds of power of attorney, and the difference between them is what happens when the donor loses mental capacity.

A general, or ordinary, power of attorney is the simpler document. It lets the attorney manage the donor's financial affairs while the donor still has capacity, and it is often used for a temporary situation, such as a stay in hospital or time abroad. Its limit is fundamental: an ordinary power of attorney becomes invalid once the donor has lost capacity⁹.

An enduring power of attorney is built for the opposite scenario. It works while the donor has capacity, and it keeps working, provided it is registered, when capacity is lost¹. That endurance is the whole point of the document: it is the only way a person in Northern Ireland can choose in advance who will manage their money if they cannot do it themselves, rather than leaving the decision to a court².

The choice between the two comes down to what the donor is planning for. For short-term help with day-to-day banking, a general power of attorney or a simpler arrangement such as a third-party mandate may be enough. For longer-term protection against the risk of dementia or illness, only the enduring version does the job. The comparison of an ordinary versus a lasting power of attorney works through the same choice for Great Britain.

What an enduring power of attorney covers: property and financial affairs only

An enduring power of attorney in Northern Ireland covers financial matters only². Which? puts it the same way: the EPA gives the attorney authority to make decisions about the donor's property and financial affairs, and it does not extend to health and welfare¹. That is a genuine limitation, and families often discover it only when a care decision needs to be made.

Within finances, the coverage is broad. Guidance on powers of attorney and debt lists what the document is used to help someone deal with as debts, mortgaged property and investments¹⁰. In practice this means running bank accounts, paying bills and care costs, dealing with the donor's home, claiming and managing benefits, handling savings and tax affairs, and selling property where that is in the donor's interests. Given that the median house price in Northern Ireland was £168,000 in the financial year ending 2024, property is often the largest single asset an attorney will oversee¹¹.

What the EPA cannot do is give the attorney any say over medical treatment, care arrangements or where the donor lives. In England and Wales a separate lasting power of attorney can cover health and welfare, and in Scotland welfare powers can be included in a single power of attorney alongside continuing financial powers³. Northern Ireland has no equivalent welfare document, so health and care decisions for someone who lacks capacity follow a different route entirely, and the attorney's role stops at the finances².

What it costs to set up: from £151 to £189, depending on the source

The figures reported for registering an enduring power of attorney in Northern Ireland do not agree, and the disagreement is between sources published at different times. Which?'s guide to power of attorney gives the Northern Ireland registration fee as £189, compared with £92 per LPA in England and Wales and £99 in Scotland¹. A Which? news report on fee changes gives the fee to register an EPA in Northern Ireland as £180, payable to the Office of Care and Protection⁴. An earlier Which? article put it at £151⁵.

The most likely explanation is that the fee has risen over time and the older figures have not been updated, but the published sources do not settle the point, so treat £151 to £189 as the range and confirm the current fee with the Office of Care and Protection before applying. For comparison, registering a lasting power of attorney in England and Wales costs £92 per application from 17 November 2025⁴.

Registration is not the only possible cost. The EPA form itself can be completed without a solicitor, but many people use one, and solicitors' fees are set individually. A commercial document-writing service offers powers of attorney from a £99 starting price, which covers drafting rather than the registration fee¹². There is no figure in the sources for fee exemptions or reductions in Northern Ireland, so ask the Office of Care and Protection directly if cost is a barrier.

How to make an enduring power of attorney in Northern Ireland

Making an EPA is something the donor does while they have mental capacity. The document must be signed and witnessed by all parties, and once that is done it can be used straight away unless the donor has included restrictions or conditions¹. The donor chooses who to appoint as attorney and can set out instructions the attorney must follow⁶.

The steps, in order:

1. Decide who to appoint as attorney and what powers to give them, including any restrictions or conditions¹.
2. Complete the enduring power of attorney form, yourself or with a solicitor's help¹².
3. Sign and have the document witnessed by all parties, at which point it can be used while the donor has capacity¹.
4. Give signed copies to banks and financial providers so the attorney can be added to accounts⁶.
5. If the donor loses capacity, the attorney registers the EPA with the Office of Care and Protection².

Two points in that process deserve emphasis. First, the EPA does not need to be registered to be used while the donor has capacity, so there is no need to wait for a registration decision before the attorney starts helping with the shopping or the bills¹. Second, the document only does its enduring job if it exists before capacity is lost. Once someone can no longer understand and approve the document, it is too late to make one, and the family must instead apply to the Office of Care and Protection, which can appoint a controller to manage the person's affairs².

Registering with the Office of Care and Protection when capacity is lost

Registration is the step that turns the EPA from a usable convenience into the donor's long-term protection. The rule is that if or when the donor loses capacity, the attorney must register the form with the Office of Care and Protection². Once registered, the attorney assumes full authority over the donor's property and financial affairs². The same office handles related applications in Northern Ireland: for example, applications to manage a Junior ISA for a young person who lacks capacity must be made to the Office of Care and Protection¹⁵.

The timing is set by the donor's condition, not by a deadline. The attorney registers when the donor is beginning to lose or has lost the capacity to manage their own finances². Before registration, while the donor still has capacity, the EPA can be used without being registered¹.

Once the EPA is registered, the attorney's duties are defined. The attorney must involve the donor in making decisions wherever possible, only make decisions the donor cannot make themselves, and follow any instructions the donor has given in the EPA⁶. Alongside those duties, guidance for attorneys sets out ongoing obligations: respect the donor's confidentiality, follow their instructions and preferences, keep their money and property separate from the attorney's own, and keep records of important decisions and when they were made, along with the donor's assets, income and spending². Relevant authorities can request information about how the power is being used, check the attorney's decisions, and may arrange a visit or contact people who know the donor².

When an enduring power of attorney is suspended or ends

An EPA in Northern Ireland can be revoked by the donor while they still have mental capacity and the EPA has not been used¹. This is the donor's safety valve: if they change their mind about their attorney, or their circumstances change, they can cancel the document themselves while they are still able. Guidance on cancelling a lasting power of attorney in England and Wales covers the equivalent process there, and the same principle of donor control while capacity lasts applies in Northern Ireland.

Once the EPA has been registered, the position changes completely: it can only be revoked by the High Court¹. The donor can no longer simply tear it up, because the court has taken over responsibility for overseeing the arrangement. Anyone with concerns about a registered EPA, including family members who believe the attorney is acting improperly, would raise them with the Office of Care and Protection or the court.

The EPA also ends in other ways. An ordinary power of attorney becomes invalid once the donor has lost capacity, which is why the enduring version exists⁹. An EPA made in England and Wales before October 2007 can be cancelled by the donor, who then has the option of setting up a property and financial affairs LPA in its place⁶. And the power ends on the donor's death, at which point the attorney's authority stops and the estate passes to the personal representatives, a transition covered in the guide to enduring powers of attorney.

Some financial arrangements add their own conditions. Under equity release rules, for example, an attorney can only act for the donor if the donor has lost mental capacity and is unable to deal with the application and paperwork in their own right¹⁶. Attorneys dealing with a donor's home should check what any mortgage or equity release provider requires before acting.

Using a power of attorney with banks and savings providers

A power of attorney is only as useful as a bank's willingness to recognise it. The donor or the attorney needs to show signed copies of the EPA to banks and financial providers so the attorney can manage the accounts⁶. Each provider then registers the power on its own records, a process the narrow guide to registering a power of attorney with a bank covers step by step. Providers differ in what they accept and how long they take, so it is worth doing this while the donor still has capacity and there is no urgency.

Savings providers generally accept powers of attorney. NS&I, for example, states that you can apply on behalf of someone else under a power of attorney or a Court of Protection order, including for its Direct ISA¹³. But access is not guaranteed everywhere: a Which? investigation in January 2025 found some savings platforms do not allow third-party access, so donors may miss out on top rates¹⁸. Checking a provider's third-party access rules before opening an account can avoid locking money somewhere an attorney cannot reach it.

Two cautions from the guidance are worth passing on. Which? does not recommend opening a joint bank account with someone for whom you also hold a power of attorney, because of the financial and legal entanglement it creates¹⁹. And the attorney's conduct is supervised: the obligations to keep the donor's money separate, record decisions and respect confidentiality apply throughout, and the relevant authorities can check how the power is used². If a bank treats an attorney badly, the attorney can complain, and the Financial Ombudsman Service can consider complaints involving powers of attorney²⁰. The guide to complaining on behalf of someone else explains how an attorney brings a complaint.

Where a Northern Ireland power of attorney differs from England, Wales and Scotland

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have different legal systems for power of attorney³. The differences that matter to a consumer are in the table below.

Three further differences are worth knowing. First, EPAs made in England and Wales before October 2007 remain valid and can still be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian there, so a family with an old English EPA does not need to remake it⁶. Second, powers of attorney executed in Scotland before 2 April 2001 do not need registration and continue even if capacity is lost, unless the power states it will lapse⁹. Third, because the systems differ, a document made in one nation is not automatically recognised in another, and a bank in England may need convincing before it accepts a Northern Ireland EPA; the position on cross-border use is covered in the FAQ above.

The wider pattern is that Northern Ireland often runs its own processes. Making a court claim for money follows a different process in Northern Ireland, as does becoming bankrupt²¹. The section page on money in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland collects these differences in one place.

Where to get free help

Several sources of free, impartial help exist for people considering or using a power of attorney in Northern Ireland. nidirect, the Northern Ireland government service, publishes guidance on dementia and managing money, including the EPA registration requirement². Age UK's guidance on powers of attorney, including its page on enduring powers of attorney, is free and covers making, using and registering the document⁷. The Mental Health and Money Advice service offers free information on powers of attorney and managing money for someone else²³.

For complaints about how a bank or financial provider has treated an attorney or donor, the Financial Ombudsman Service is free to use and handles complaints involving powers of attorney²⁰. For consumer disputes more broadly in Northern Ireland, the Consumer Council offers complaint help. And for anyone who wants to understand the full range of options before deciding, the guides to lasting powers of attorney, deputyship and what an attorney can and cannot do cover the ground in detail.