Appointeeship

An appointeeship gives someone (the ‘appointee’) the authority to deal with benefits from the government on behalf of someone else. This is usually given when the individual is unable to make financial decisions for themselves due to limited mental capacity.

Unlike a power of attorney or Court of Protection order, with an appointeeship the appointee can only manage benefits and not any other form of income or savings the person may have.

Appointees manage benefit claims and payments on behalf of the person who’s mentally unable to do so. The appointee is also responsible for reporting any changes in that person’s circumstances.

If the person has the mental capacity to manage their own benefits but would like some support from a trusted individual, they would need to grant power of attorney instead.

Visit the government website to apply to become an appointee for someone claiming benefits.

An appointee can be a friend or family member of the individual, or an organisation or representative of an organisation – for example, a solicitor or local council. Only one appointee can act on behalf of someone.

When applying to become an appointee, we recommend you read about an appointee’s responsibilities.

Manage the account the benefits are paid into

Pay bills, including signing cheques

Use a debit card

Have statements sent to their address

Update address details

Add, remove and cancel standing orders and Direct Debits

An appointee can’t:

Have access to Telephone Banking or Online Banking

Appointees should keep accounts of the donor’s assets, income, spending and outgoings as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can ask to check these records.

What you’ll need if you’re coming to see us 

Proof of identity

If you already bank with us, you can verify your identity in one of our branches or local sites with your debit card and PIN or by using Barclays app ID.

If you don’t bank with us, you can verify your identity using Barclays Verify in our app before you visit.

If you can’t verify your identity using the app and don’t have a debit card with us, you’ll need to bring your proof of identity and address documents with you. You can find a list of acceptable documents on our account opening page. You don't need to open an account to register a power of attorney, but the documents we accept are the same.

Legal documents

We’ll  need to see all the pages of your original BF57 form given to you by the DWPl or your certified legal document, not just the summary page.

What happens next

Once we receive everything we need, we’ll aim to set up your access within 10 working days. If we need anything else from you, we’ll email or call you.

When it’s set up, we’ll send you a letter to confirm that you have access, along with anything else you’ve asked for, such as Online and Telephone Banking details or debit cards.