If you don’t agree with a decision about your application for legal aid, you can ask for it to be reconsidered.
Contact your nearest legal aid office to ask how to do this
If you want a decision to be reconsidered, you have to apply within 20 working days of the date of the legal aid decision.
Among other things, you can challenge decisions:
You should submit your application for reconsideration to the same legal aid office that you dealt with over the original decision. The application form is available below:
Form 11: Application for reconsideration [PDF, 471 KB]
The person who reconsiders the issue will not be the person who made the original decision. They can consider any new information you supply.
You can also apply again for legal aid if your circumstances change – for example, if your income drops or police charge you with a more serious offence.
If legal aid reconsiders the decision and you still don’t agree with it, you may be able to apply to the Legal Aid Tribunal asking for a review. However, you can only apply for a review on the grounds that the legal aid decision was manifestly unreasonable or wrong in law.
If you want the Legal Aid Tribunal to review a decision, you have to apply within 20 working days of receiving the relevant decision.
Find out more about applying for a review on the Legal Aid Tribunal website
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