Attendance Allowance Power of Attorney and Appointee: Claiming for Someone Else

Three Levels of Authority

If you are helping a parent, partner or older relative claim Attendance Allowance, your legal standing determines what you can do. There are three levels, and they matter more than most people realise.

Informal helper — You can sit with the claimant, discuss their daily difficulties, write out the answers on the form, and gather evidence. But the claimant must sign the declaration on the AA1 form themselves if they have the mental capacity to do so. Being a son, daughter, spouse or next of kin gives you no legal authority to sign on their behalf.

Power of Attorney — A registered Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for Property and Financial Affairs covers benefits and financial decisions. If you hold this, you can sign the form and manage the claim. A Health and Welfare LPA covers care decisions but does not automatically give authority over benefits. In Northern Ireland, an Enduring Power of Attorney serves a similar function and can be used on the NI Direct online portal.

DWP Appointee — If no Power of Attorney exists and the claimant lacks the mental capacity to manage their own affairs, you can apply to become their DWP Appointee. The DWP assesses your suitability using Form BF56 and confirms the appointment via BF57. Once approved, you act as the claimant for all DWP benefit matters — signing forms, receiving letters, and managing payments.

What Informal Helpers Can and Cannot Do

Most family members helping with an Attendance Allowance claim fall into the informal helper category. This is perfectly fine for the practical work — filling in the form is where most of the effort sits, and there is nothing stopping you from doing all of it. Where you hit a wall is at the signature.

If your parent has capacity — they understand what the form is for and what it says — they sign the declaration. You can read it to them, explain it, and help them physically make the mark, but the signature must be theirs.

If they cannot sign because of a physical impairment (severe arthritis, paralysis), the AA1 allows someone to sign on their behalf under specified arrangements, provided the circumstances are noted on the form.

When You Need a Power of Attorney

You need an LPA for Property and Financial Affairs if the claimant cannot sign the form and you want legal authority to manage the claim end to end — signing forms, receiving and responding to decision letters, managing payments.

Registering an LPA takes several weeks through the Office of the Public Guardian. If the claimant still has capacity now but may lose it (early-stage dementia, for instance), setting up the LPA before capacity is lost is strongly recommended. Once capacity is gone, an LPA can no longer be created — the only route left is a DWP appointeeship or a Court of Protection deputyship.

When to Apply as a DWP Appointee

A DWP appointeeship is the route for situations where no Power of Attorney exists and the claimant lacks capacity. You apply directly to the DWP, who will usually arrange a home visit to confirm the claimant's circumstances and assess your suitability.

The process takes time, so if you are planning to help with an Attendance Allowance claim, start the appointee application as early as possible. You can phone the helpline to register the claim start date while the appointeeship is being arranged — the six-week form return window gives you some breathing room.

Writing the Form in Someone Else's Voice

Whoever fills in the form, the answers must describe the claimant's experience — their pain, their difficulties, their daily routine. Write about them, not about yourself. The AA1 instructs helpers to describe the claimant's needs; it does not require first-person wording, but the content must be accurate to their lived reality.

The most useful thing you can do as a helper is spend time observing or discussing their typical day before you write anything. What does a bad morning look like? What happens at night? Where are the safety risks?

The Attendance Allowance Claim Guide includes a helper consultation questionnaire designed for exactly this conversation, plus guidance on describing fluctuating conditions without overstating or understating what happens.

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