Discharged and Revoked Certificates

Your Public Funding Certificate may be "discharged" or "revoked" because for example, you are no longer eligible or have failed to respond to the Legal Services Commissions' request for further information or your solicitor has recommended that your Certificate should be discharged or revoked.

If your Certificate is discharged or revoked your solicitor cannot carry out any further work under the Certificate.

You will be told by the Commission if they are thinking of discharging or revoking your Certificate and you can object by writing to them within a given period of time, usually 14 days.

If your Certificate is Discharged you do not have to pay for all the work your solicitor has done up to the date the Certificate was discharged. However, you will no longer be entitled to Public Funding for your case, though you can reapply.

If your Certificate is Revoked you may have to pay for the work your solicitor has done so far under the Certificate. It is very important therefore to object to a Revocation of your Certificate if you can. If you are no longer financially eligible then it may be difficult to object to a Revocation.

Sometimes Public Funding Certificates granted as an Emergency will be Revoked later when the Commission have looked at details of your income and they decide that you are not eligible for Public Funding.

You should remember that an Emergency Certificate is no guarantee of your entitlement to a Full Legal Representation Certificate.

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