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.

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 2024

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

PSOA delivery date | Period covered -|-

8 January December 2023
5 February January 2024
4 March February 2024
8 April March 2024
3 May April 2024
5 June May 2024
8 July June 2024
5 August July 2024
4 September August 2024
4 October September 2024
4 November October 2024
5 December November 2024
6 January December 2024

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 2023 - 2024

Monthly payment 1 Monthly payment 2 Monthly payment 3 Monthly payment 4 Monthly payment 5
04 Dec 11 Dec 18 Dec 22 Dec n/a
02 Jan 08 Jan 15 Jan 22 Jan 29 Jan
05 Feb 12 Feb 19 Feb 26 Feb n/a
04 Mar 11 Mar 18 Mar 25 Mar n/a
02 Apr 08 Apr 15 Apr 22 Apr 29 Apr
07 May 13 May 20 May 28 May n/a
03 Jun 10 Jun 17 Jun 24 Jun n/a
01 Jul 08 Jul 15 Jul 22 Jul 29 Jul
05 Aug 12 Aug 19 Aug 27 Aug n/a
02 Sep 09 Sep 16 Sep 23 Sep 30 Sep
07 Oct 14 Oct 21 Oct 28 Oct n/a
04 Nov 11 Nov 18 Nov 25 Nov n/a
02 Dec 09 Dec 16 Dec 22Dec  
02Jan 24Jan      

Monthly LAA payment process

Variable monthly payments guidance

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

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

Civil processing

Crime processing

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

Published 1 June 2014
Last updated 12 December 2023 + show all updates
  1. 22nd Dec then 2nd Jan 24 now added

  2. 2023-2024 dates updated

  3. 2023-2024 dates updated

  4. 2023/2024 dated updated

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

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

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

  8. Updated Monthly payment dates 2021 - 2022

  9. Updated the PSOA delivery date

  10. Updated the PSOA delivery date

  11. Monthly payment dates updated.

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

  13. PSOA dates updated.

  14. Monthly payment dates updated.

  15. Monthly payment dates updated.

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

  17. Updated monthly payments

  18. Updated monthly payments

  19. Monthly payments dates updated.

  20. Dates updated.

  21. Monthly BACS payment dates updated.

  22. Provider payment dates updated.

  23. Monthly payment dates updated.

  24. New monthly payment dates added

  25. New provider statement of account dates added

  26. First published.