Guidance

Legal Aid Agency payments to providers

Check dates for processing (crime and civil) and planned BACS payments, get financial statements, switch to variable monthly payments.

From:
Legal Aid Agency
Published
1 June 2014
Last updated
617 JanuaryFebruary 2025 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

Proposal to remove standard monthly payments from future contracts

We are seeking your views on the advantages of moving all providers on to a single system of monthly payments. This would mean removing the option of standard monthly payments (SMP) from future legal aid contracts. All providers would instead be moved to variable monthly payments (VMP).

We are inviting representative bodies and all providers to take part in an engagement exercise, which includes a questionnaire.

The engagement exercise will close on 30 June 2023.

We will publish a response to the engagement exercise in August 2023.

Read our SMP impact assessment (PDF, 237 KB, 8 pages).

Read SMP engagement exercise (PDF, 395 KB, 19 pages) for further information and how to provide feedback.

Management information online service

Using the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) MI online service, you can access, download and print financial statements from your own office or from the whole firm.

This service is only available if you’re signed up to use to LAA online.

PSOA dates 2025

The PSOA gives you a summary document of all account transactions.

PSOA delivery date | Period covered -|-

6 January December 2024
6 February January 2025
6 March February 2025
4 April March 2025
6 May April 2025
5 June May 2025
4 July June 2025
6 August July 2025
4 September August 2025
6 October September 2025
4 November October 2025
6 December November 2025
4 January December 2025

BACS payments

Once your bill is ready for payment, it might take up to 8 working days for the money to reach your account if you’re paid by BACS.

Help us process claims more quickly by waiting 8 days before contacting our customer services team about payments.

You’ll normally receive remittance advice on the payment date, unless there are problems with the postal system.

We make contract payments in the first week of the month (payment 1).

Note: the payment date stated on remittance advice slips will appear as 3 working days before you receive funds, due to additional processing time.

Monthly payment dates 2024 - 2025

Monthly payment 1 | Monthly payment 2 | Monthly payment 3 | Monthly payment 4 | Monthly payment 5 -|-

06 Jan 13 Jan 20 Jan 27 Jan n/a
03 Feb 1310 Feb 2017 Feb 2724 Feb n/a
03 Mar 10 Mar 17 Mar 24 Mar n/a31 Mar
07 Apr 14 Apr 22 Apr 28 Apr n/a
06 May 12 May 19 May 27 May n/a
02 Jun 09 Jun 16 Jun 23 Jun 30 Jun
07 Jul 14 Jul 21 Jul 28 Jul n/a
04 Aug 11 Aug 18 Aug 26 Aug n/a
01 Sep 0608 Sep 15 Sep 22 Sep 29 Sep
06 Oct 143Oct13Oct 20 Oct 27 Oct n/a
03 Nov 10 Nov 17 Nov 24 Nov n/a
01 Dec 08 Dec 15 Dec 22Dec n/a

Monthly LAA payment process

PDF, 144 KB, 4 pages

Variable monthly payments guidance

You can choose variable monthly payments if you provide civil (legal help) and crime (lower) work.

Guidance on LAA variable monthly payments scheme

PDF, 417 KB, 10 pages

Switch to the LAA variable monthly payments scheme (MS Word Document, 33 KB)

Civil processing

Check LAA timescales and targets for processing applications for civil legal aid funding.

Crime processing

Check LAA timescales and targets for processing applications for criminal legal aid funding.

Update your details

Note: we hold your details in a database.

Send any changes to your details in writing to:

Provider Records
Legal Aid Agency
102 Petty France
Area 13 Floor
Westminster
London
SW1H 9AJ

Email: ProviderRecords-London@justice.gov.uk

Updates to this page

Published 1 June 2014
Last updated 617 JanuaryFebruary 2025 + show all updates

  1. Monthly payment dates updated

  2. BACS payments and PSOA dates updated

  3. Dates updated

  4. 22nd Dec then 2nd Jan 24 now added

  5. 2023-2024 dates updated

  6. 2023-2024 dates updated

  7. 2023/2024 dated updated

  8. Published details of an engagement exercise to obtain providers’ views on our proposal to remove standard monthly payments from future contracts.

  9. Tables have been updated with information on dates for 2023

  10. Postal address and email address for Provider Records updated.

  11. Updated Monthly payment dates 2021 - 2022

  12. Updated the PSOA delivery date

  13. Updated the PSOA delivery date

  14. Monthly payment dates updated.

  15. Correction to the list of monthly payment dates for the weeks beginning 3 August and 1 September.

  16. PSOA dates updated.

  17. Monthly payment dates updated.

  18. Monthly payment dates updated.

  19. Provider Statement of Account delivery dates have been updated.

  20. Updated monthly payments

  21. Updated monthly payments

  22. Monthly payments dates updated.

  23. Dates updated.

  24. Monthly BACS payment dates updated.

  25. Provider payment dates updated.

  26. Monthly payment dates updated.

  27. New monthly payment dates added

  28. New provider statement of account dates added

  29. First published.

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