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Criminal legal aid eligibility
On this page:
- Legal aid at the police station
- Legal aid at court
- Who decides eligibility?
- Who will get legal aid at court?
- Who pays privately?
Legal aid at the police station
In England and Wales when a person is arrested they are always entitled to free legal advice at the police station.
Legal aid at court
If your client is charged, legal aid may pay for some or all of the costs of legal representation in court. It’s not available for all cases as it’s targeted at those who need it most.
Who decides eligibility?
Your client must apply for legal aid on a CDS 14 and/or CDS 15 and submit this to the magistrates’ court where their case is being held. Court staff process the application in line with the Criminal Legal Aid Manual (See documents section) which will determine whether your client is liable for any of their defence costs. Two tests will be applied and both must both be passed to get free legal aid:
- the Interests of Justice test considers the ‘merits’ of the case which can include your client’s previous convictions, nature of offence and risk of custody. Details should be provided on the CDS 14.
- the means test considers your client’s financial position which includes their household income, capital, and household outgoings. This test will determine whether your client will be liable for any of their defence costs.
You can order the forms CDS14 and CDS15 free of charge from IOS (the forms suppliers).
Email: cdsforms@legalservices.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0845 3000343
Fax: 0845 5438258
The CDS16 must be downloaded from the LSC website
Who will get legal aid at court?
About half of all defendants receive free legal aid at the magistrates’ court, and about 3 out of 4 at the Crown Court.
When someone applies for legal aid at court, if the case passes the Interests of Justice test they automatically qualify for free legal aid if they:
- are under 18
- receive specific state benefits, which are:
- income support
- income-based job seeker’s allowance
- guaranteed state pension credit
- income-related employment and support allowance.
Details of eligibility rules can be found on these pages:
Who pays privately?
If your client fails the means test and their case is in the magistrates’ court, they will not be given legal aid and will be expected to pay for their costs privately.
If your client is facing proceedings in the Crown Court the means test will determine the amount they will need to contribute towards their defence costs; this could be from their income, their capital or a combination of both. If your client is found not guilty, any payments made will be refunded with interest. However, your client still has the right to choose to decline legal aid and pay for their costs privately.
If your private paying client is found not guilty, they can apply to reclaim some or all of their defence costs from central funds. This is a separate source of funding from legal aid that is managed by the Ministry of Justice.
The maximum that can be reclaimed is the same as would have been paid by legal aid.
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Last updated: 09 November 2011