Your certificate

Once we have registered your appointment we will issue you with a certificate of appointment, which will include a copy of the court order detailing your powers.

A certificate with the crest watermark certificate will be issued. The crest will appear on the certificate and all pages of the court order. The certificate does not require an embossed or adhesive seal and does not require to be certified. Embossed certificates already in circulation and presented after 1 July 2023 continue to be valid forms of legal authority and should continue to be accepted.

The certificate confirms that the appointment has been registered with us. Normally financial institutions, such as banks or building societies will request to see this before any transactions are made on behalf of the adult.

It is the responsibility of the intervener to keep the certificate in a safe place.

Our certificate is commonly recognised by financial institutions but if you are having any difficulties while using it please do not hesitate to contact us.

If however the bank or building society does not accept the certificate of appointment and this affects your ability to use your powers you may consider doing the following:

• Firstly complain directly to the branch itself and see whether the matter can be resolved.
• If the situation is not resolved, complain directly to the bank’s head office.
• If the difficulties are still being encountered you may want to complain to the Financial Ombudsman highlighting how the banking institution has failed to act.

 You can also contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission in Scotland  or Scottish Human Rights Commission if you have reason to believe that an adult with incapacity has been treated less fairly than a capable person, i.e. if there is a possible disability discrimination issue.