Can a Certificate Provider sign an LPA by video?

Yes — the Office of the Public Guardian has confirmed that the Certificate Provider assessment conversation can be conducted by video call, as long as the conversation takes place in private. The CP's signature on the form itself currently needs to be a wet signature on paper, but the conversation, capacity check, and assessment can be fully remote.

What the OPG has said

The job of a Certificate Provider is to have a conversation with the donor — the person making the LPA — and then sign to confirm two things: that the donor understands what the document does, and that nobody is pressuring them into making it. The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has been clear that this conversation does not have to happen in the same room. It can take place by video call, provided the call is private — meaning the Certificate Provider can speak to the donor on their own, without an attorney or anyone else steering the conversation.

That privacy point matters. The whole purpose of the role is to catch undue influence. A video call where the donor is alone with the Certificate Provider does that job just as well as a kitchen-table chat — sometimes better, because it's harder for a relative to hover off-camera unnoticed when we ask the donor to show us the room.

Why the conversation works remotely

Capacity and free will aren't things you assess by being physically present. You assess them by talking to someone: asking open questions, listening to how they answer, checking they grasp the consequences of what they're signing, and watching for hesitation or pressure. All of that travels perfectly well over video.

In practice, a video assessment is often a calmer setting for the donor. They're at home, in a familiar chair, not in a clinical office or rushing a GP appointment. We get a clear, unhurried conversation, which is exactly what the role needs.

Why the signature is currently still on paper

Here's the honest limitation. The LPA as it exists today is a paper document, governed by regulations written around paper. The Certificate Provider signs Section 10 of the form by hand, and that signature has to be a genuine wet-ink signature on the physical form. There's no getting around that under the current rules — and any provider claiming the entire thing can be done with an electronic signature today is misreading the regulations.

So at SAMEDAY LPA we split the process honestly into two steps. The assessment and capacity check happen by video call, often the same day you contact us. Then the physical form comes to us so we can add the wet signature, and we turn that round by courier within 24 hours. You're never waiting weeks for a signature.

How the digital LPA system changes this

This is where it gets better. The Powers of Attorney Act 2023 received Royal Assent in September 2023, and the OPG is rolling out a fully digital LPA system through 2026. Under that system, the Certificate Provider can review and sign digitally — no paper, no courier, no wet signature. The donor signs first (with an SMS verification step that satisfies the witness requirement), the Certificate Provider signs digitally, the attorneys sign, and the whole thing is submitted to the OPG automatically.

In other words, the one remaining physical step in our Certificate Provider service disappears the moment the digital system is available to us. The conversation was already remote; soon the signature will be too. You can read more on our digital LPAs page.

What this means if you're stuck right now

If you've hit the Certificate Provider section and you don't have anyone who qualifies, you don't have to wait for the digital system, and you don't have to find a doctor or solicitor who'll fit you in. We can run the assessment by video today, sign the certificate, and have the paperwork back to you within 24 hours. It's the fastest legitimate route to clearing that part of your LPA — and it's done properly, the way the OPG expects.