Can I get legal aid?
What is legal aid?
Legal aid helps with the costs of legal advice for people who can't afford it.
If you need help with the costs of legal advice, you can apply for legal aid. Whether you will receive it will depend upon:
- the type of legal problem you have;
- your income (how much you earn) and how much capital (money, property, belongings) you have;
- whether there is a reasonable chance of winning your case and whether it is worth the time and money needed to win.
Types of problem
Legal Aid is available for many types of civil legal problem. A civil legal case is one in which you have a dispute with a person, company or other organisation.
For example, a civil problem can be to do with your:
- home
- relationships (you may be separating or divorcing)
- money (you may be having difficulty receiving benefits).
Am I eligible?
For most cases, you must be financially eligible to receive legal aid.
You can use our legal aid calculator to see whether you could get legal aid for a civil case.
To decide whether you can receive legal aid, the following will be taken into account:
- your disposable income (money left after paying living expenses)
- your disposable capital (money, investments or property you could use or sell to pay for legal help).
In most cases, your husband, wife or partner's disposable income and capital will also be taken into account.
What should I do if I think I am eligible?
If you think you could be eligible for legal aid, you should speak to a legal adviser who can deal with legal aid cases. You can search our directory to find an adviser in your area or call our telephone helpline.
Further information
To learn more about legal aid, please read our leaflet A Step-by-step Guide to Legal Aid.