{"id":13549,"date":"2023-07-13T05:21:29","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T05:21:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/?page_id=13549"},"modified":"2023-07-13T05:27:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T05:27:48","slug":"eligibility","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/legal\/courts\/legal-aid\/eligibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Aid Eligibility Criteria UK | Free Alternatives Listed"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Legal Aid for Civil Cases (non-criminal)<\/h2>\n<p>As a rule, you need to show you are unable to pay for the legal costs of a serious problem to get legal aid for a civil case.<\/p>\n<p>Typical examples of non-criminal cases would be for a debt, a family issue, or a problem with housing.<\/p>\n<p>In most cases, you would have to provide details and some evidence of your income and savings. The same applies if you (or your partner) own property or receive welfare benefits.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: A claimant under the age of 18 may need to supply information on the income of their parent or a guardian.<\/p>\n<p>Certain types of non-criminal cases may require extra evidence about the actual problem. An example would be the need to provide a court order or a GP letter in a court case. It may need to show evidence of victimisation or child abuse.<\/p>\n<p>Some exceptions apply to the legal aid eligibility criteria in the United Kingdom. For example, the usual financial circumstances are not taken into account for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Issues involving child abduction or children in care.<\/li>\n<li>Tribunals based on mental health matters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can check online to see if you <a href=\"\/rules\/legal\/courts\/legal-aid\/\">qualify for legal aid help<\/a> with a civil case. But, if the <a href=\"\/rules\/legal\/courts\/being-charged-with-a-crime\/\">police have charged you with a crime<\/a> you must ask your solicitor or barrister instead.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2>Paying the Costs of a Case<\/h2>\n<p>Even if you qualify for legal aid, the financial help you get may not cover all the costs of the case. That means you may need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make an advance payment to cover some of the costs and fees involved.<\/li>\n<li>Pay back some of the cost if you win money or property from your case.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: Further <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/funding-and-costs-assessment-for-civil-and-crime-matters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legal aid guidance<\/a> with information on costs assessment and remuneration is also available.<\/p>\n<p>The Legal Aid Agency will make a charge or a claim on any money or property won from the case. In legal terms it is better known as the &#8216;statutory charge&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Payment can get deferred if it is your home. The debt would then get placed as a charge on the home (e.g. like a mortgage). Check with your legal adviser if you need to know how a statutory charge works.<\/p>\n<p>You can contact the Land Charge Department at the Legal Aid Agency to discuss how to pay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Land Charge Department<\/strong><br \/>\nEmail: <a href=\"mailto:land-charges-enquiry@legalaid.gsi.gov.uk\">land-charges-enquiry@legalaid.gsi.gov.uk<\/a><br \/>\nTelephone: <a href=\"tel:02033346373\">0203 334 6373<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"\/rules\/call-charges\/\">Information on call charges<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: It is possible for legal aid to get withdrawn. If this happens you may need to repay the legal costs in full.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"category-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>Legal Aid for Criminal Cases<\/h5>\n<p>Legal aid for criminal cases has different eligibility criteria. But, <a href=\"\/rules\/legal\/police\/being-arrested-your-rights-uk\/\">being questioned at a police station<\/a> means you have the right to get free legal advice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: Anyone under 16 years old meets legal aid eligibility to get legal representation in court. The same would apply if you are under 18 and in full-time education or claiming certain benefits.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"list-content\">\n<h5>Advice Alternatives if You are Not Eligible for Legal Aid<\/h5>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: You can <a href=\"\/rules\/legal\/courts\/\">search for a solicitor<\/a> to get representation if you can pay for legal advice yourself. If not, or if you cannot get legal aid, free advice may be available as an alternative from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.advicenow.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AdviceNow<\/a> (a service provided by Law for Life)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/rules\/legal\/citizenship\/\">Citizens Advice<\/a><\/li>\n<li>The Law Centres Network<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"updated-data\"><strong>Legal Aid Eligibility Criteria in the United Kingdom<\/strong><br \/>\n<time datetime=\"2022-01-01\">Last Updated 2022<\/time><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legal Aid for Civil Cases (non-criminal) As a rule, you need to show you are unable to pay for the legal costs of a serious problem to get legal aid for a civil case. Typical examples of non-criminal cases would be for a debt, a family issue, or a problem with housing. In most cases,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/legal\/courts\/legal-aid\/eligibility\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Legal Aid Eligibility Criteria UK | Free Alternatives Listed<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2719,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Legal Aid Eligibility Criteria UK | Free Alternatives Listed - UK Rules<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theukrules.co.uk\/rules\/legal\/courts\/legal-aid\/eligibility\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legal Aid Eligibility Criteria UK | Free Alternatives Listed - UK Rules\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Legal Aid for Civil Cases (non-criminal) As a rule, you need to show you are unable to pay for the legal costs of a serious problem to get legal aid for a civil case. Typical examples of non-criminal cases would be for a debt, a family issue, or a problem with housing. 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