How to Make LPA Singapore for Free

Imagine waking up one day to a headline: “Singapore Government Announces COE is Now Free.”

You would probably drop everything and rush to buy your dream car. But once you get there, you realise the COE was only ever one part of the cost. You still need to pay for the car itself, insurance, road tax and servicing. The “free” part was never the whole picture. It was just one fee, out of many, that got waived.

That is exactly how the LPA fee waiver works in Singapore. From April 1, 2026, the application fee for registering an LPA Form 1 is waived for Singapore citizens, but you still need to pay a certificate issuer to witness and certify your LPA. More than 230,000 Singaporeans have drawn up a lasting power of attorney (LPA) since the Government launched a campaign in July 2023 to encourage legacy planning.

This guide is for Singapore citizens and permanent residents interested in making an LPA.

If you are a Singapore citizen or permanent resident aged 21 and above and want to make an LPA, this matters because an LPA lets trusted people make personal welfare and property and affairs decisions for you if you lose mental capacity, instead of leaving your family to go through a longer and more costly court process. A lot of people hear that you can “make your LPA for free” and assume the entire process costs nothing. It doesn’t quite work that way. The government has waived the application fee, not the fee you pay your certificate issuer to witness and certify your LPA.

This guide explains how to apply for an LPA in Singapore, what the fee waiver does and does not cover, who can certify the form, how LPA Form 1 differs from Form 2, what powers an LPA can give your donees, the common mistakes to avoid, and when professional advice may help. The OPG operates as an established division within the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF).

So yes, making your LPA in Singapore can be free. But only partially. Here is exactly what’s free, what isn’t, and how to go through the whole process properly.

1. How to Apply for Lasting Power of Attorney for Free in Singapore (LPA Form 1 Only)

Let’s start with the important caveat: the fee waiver only applies to LPA Form 1 attorney applications. If you need Form 2, which we’ll get into later, you will need to pay regardless of your citizenship status.

What’s free: The government application fee for registering your LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian, under the Ministry of Social and Family Development, is waived for Singapore citizens.

What’s not free: The certificate issuer fee. Before your LPA can be submitted, it needs to be certified by a certificate issuer, and that person charges their own fee for the appointment. We’ll cover how much this typically costs in the next section.

If you don’t qualify for the waiver, or if you’re applying under other circumstances, the standard application fee applies. It’s worth checking the current fee amount on the OPG website before you start, since these things can be updated from time to time.

Applying online (LPA online):

Follow these steps to apply online:

1. Download the SingPass app on your mobile phone if you haven’t already.

2. Head to the OPG’s LPA online system and log in using SingPass.

3. Fill in LPA Form 1, indicating your chosen donee(s) and the powers you’d like to grant them.

4. Submit the form for certification by your certificate issuer (more on this below).

5. Once certified, the application goes to the Office of the Public Guardian for processing. Your donee(s) must also accept their appointment via the OPG Online portal.

The whole thing can technically be done from your phone, which makes it easy applying, without ever stepping into an office aside from your certification appointment.

If the fees, the forms or the whole process feels like a lot to figure out on your own, you don’t have to. WhatsApp us and we’ll walk you through it, at no cost to you.

2. Who Can Be Your LPA Certificate Issuer

Every LPA needs to be witnessed and certified by someone qualified to do so. In Singapore, this can only be one of three types of professionals:

• A medical practitioner accredited by the Public Guardian

• A practising lawyer

• A registered psychiatrist

Here’s something a lot of people don’t realise: not every GP can certify your LPA. To become an accredited doctor, a GP has to go through a specific accreditation course set up by the Office of the Public Guardian and pass a quiz on their role and responsibilities as a certificate issuer. Only once they’ve cleared this are they added to OPG’s list of accredited doctors. So if your family GP isn’t on that list, they simply aren’t allowed to certify your LPA, no matter how long they’ve been your doctor.

The certificate issuer’s job isn’t just to sign a piece of paper. In exercising their authority as the certifying professional, they must make sure the donor understands the purpose of the LPA and the scope of authority given to the donee, and that the decision is being made freely without undue pressure from anyone else.

In terms of cost, here’s a quick comparison:

GPs are usually the cheapest option, typically in the $50 to $70 range (e.g. LPA certification costs around $55 at Parkway Shenton clinics), which is why most clients go this route instead of a lawyer or psychiatrist. Lawyers and psychiatrists tend to charge more, though there can be reasons to choose them depending on your situation. On the other hand, the median fee for lawyers to draft an LPA is $100, and a qualified lawyer may be worth considering when drafting or advising on more complex LPA arrangements. Just take note that no refund is given once the LPA application is submitted.

To find and compare certificate issuers near you, you can use the Health Appointment System at book.health.gov.sg/lpa. Just search by your postal code and you’ll be able to see the available certificate issuers nearby, along with their fees, so you can compare prices before booking.

3. Step-by-Step LPA Making Process (Before You Lose Mental Capacity) — LPA Form 1

Choosing Your Donee(s) and Replacement Donee

Your donee is the person, or people, you’re trusting to make decisions on your behalf if you ever lose mental capacity. You can appoint one or more persons, and they can act jointly or separately depending on how you set it up.

You can appoint up to 2 Donees and 1 Replacement Donee. The appointed donees will later need to accept their appointment via the OPG Online portal.

Interestingly, this is often the same person, or people, you’ve already appointed as executor in your Will. That’s not a coincidence. These tend to be the people you trust the most to handle your affairs, so it makes sense that your LPA and your Will point to the same trusted person or family member.

If you haven’t made a Will yet, this is actually a good point to sort both out together rather than doing them separately down the road. You can book a complimentary 10-minute consultation with us, or just WhatsApp us directly. We help our clients through making an LPA for free, so you don’t have to try and figure all of this out on your own.

It’s also worth naming a replacement donee. If your primary donee is unable or unwilling to act when the time comes, having a replacement means your LPA doesn’t fall apart at the worst possible moment.

Filling in the Form

Once you know your donee and replacement donee, you’ll fill in the LPA form itself, specifying whether you’re granting personal welfare powers, property powers, or both, in relation to personal and property affairs matters.

Booking Your Certification Appointment

Use the Health Appointment System to book a slot with your chosen certificate issuer. You can do this from your mobile phone, and you’ll get to see the fee before you confirm.

The Certification Appointment

At the appointment, your certificate issuer will go through the LPA with you to confirm you understand it and can have the LPA certified properly before submission, so you can make a lasting power without any uncertainty. Once satisfied, they’ll sign off as the certificate issuer.

Submitting to OPG

After certification, applicants submit the certified form to the Office of the Public Guardian for registration. You’ll be notified of the application outcome once it’s processed. The online LPA application processing takes about 8 working days, followed by a mandatory 3-weeks waiting period before the LPA is registered.

4. What Is an LPA Certification and Why It Matters

A Lasting Power of Attorney, or LPA, is a legal document that lets you voluntarily appoint one or more trusted people to make decisions on your behalf, in case you ever lose mental capacity in the future, whether that’s due to an accident, illness or old age.

Any Singapore citizen or permanent resident aged 21 and above can make an LPA. You must be at least 21 years old to create an LPA. It’s not something reserved for the elderly. Accidents and sudden illnesses can happen to anyone, and without an LPA in place, your loved ones may need to apply to court to be appointed as your deputy, which is a far longer and more expensive process.

People often confuse an LPA with a Will, but they serve very different purposes. A Will only takes effect after you pass away and deals with how your estate is distributed. An LPA takes effect while you’re alive but no longer able to make decisions for yourself, covering things like your healthcare, living arrangements, and financial matters.

5. LPA Form 1 vs LPA Form 2

Here’s a comparison of the two forms for easier understanding:

If you think Form 2 might suit your situation, it’s worth having a proper conversation about it first rather than guessing. Contact us and we can help you figure out whether Form 1 is enough for you, or whether Form 2 makes more sense.

6. Personal Welfare vs Property and Affairs Powers (Understand This Before Last Power of Attorney Application)

When you make your LPA, you’re granting your donee power over one or both of these areas:

Personal welfare covers decisions about your daily care, living arrangements and healthcare, essentially the things that affect your day-to-day wellbeing if you’re no longer able to decide for yourself.

Property and affairs covers your financial matters, such as accessing your bank log in details, transferring money on your behalf, paying bills, or managing property.

Donees can manage personal welfare and property affairs.

You can appoint the same donee for both, or different people for each. You can also appoint more than one donee to act jointly, meaning they must agree together, or severally, meaning each can act independently.

If you’re not sure how much power to grant, or who’s best suited for which role, we’re happy to talk it through with you, no obligation.

7. Common Mistakes and FAQs

Choosing the Wrong Form

Some people go through the trouble and cost of Form 2 when Form 1 would have covered everything they needed, or the other way around, they use Form 1 when their situation really called for customised powers. This is exactly the kind of thing we help clients avoid when we assist with the application.

Forgetting a Replacement Donee

Without one, if your primary donee can’t act when needed, your whole LPA can be left in limbo.

Confusing an LPA with a General Power of Attorney

A general Power of Attorney is typically used for a specific transaction or period while you still have full mental capacity. An LPA only comes into effect once you’ve lost mental capacity, and is meant for the long term.

Do Permanent Residents Apply the Same Way as Citizens?

Yes, the process itself is the same. The main difference is around the fee waiver, which is specifically for Singapore citizens.

What Does It Actually Cost, All In?

The application fee to OPG can be free for citizens applying under Form 1. On top of that, you’ll pay your certificate issuer, typically $50 to $70 for a GP. Form 2 involves lawyer fees on top of that, since it requires custom drafting.

8. Why It Still Helps to Get Advice, Even on the Free Path

The fee waiver takes care of one thing: the government application fee. It doesn’t help you figure out who your donee should be, how much power to grant them, whether Form 1 is actually enough for your situation, or how your LPA should line up with your Will. Those are the decisions that actually matter, and they’re easy to get wrong when you’re doing this alone for the first time.

This is where we come in. We help clients go through the entire LPA application process for free, so you’re not left figuring out the forms, the certificate issuer booking, or the fine print by yourself. If you’d like a hand, book a complimentary 10-minute consultation with us or WhatsApp us directly, and we’ll help you get it done properly.

Need Help With a Will & LPA in Singapore?

Speak to a Kin Wills Consultant today.

For educational purposes only. Not legal advice.