Hardship reviews
On this page:
Applying for hardship
Applicants can apply for hardship either:
- at the initial application stage
- if they fail the means test.
If an applicant is refused legal aid after the means test they can submit an Application for Review on the Grounds of Hardship form (CDS16) and supporting evidence direct to the LSC's National Courts Team (NCT).
The LSC will review applications on the grounds of hardship if applicants show they genuinely cannot fund their own defence.
If an applicant anticipates they have grounds for hardship, they should submit simultaneously to the court:
- Application for Review on the Grounds of Hardship (CDS16) form
- an Application for Legal Aid form
- the evidence required by both.
The court will then forward the hardship application to the NCT.
Processing time targets for the NCT hardship reviews are:
- 90% of applications processed by 5pm on the day after the application is submitted
- 99% by 5pm on the third day
- 100% by 5pm on the sixth working day
The forms are available from the CDS>CDS Forms page of this site.
Contacting the LSC National Courts team
Please write to:
The National Courts Team
Legal Services Commission
1st Floor, Fothergill House
16 King Street
Nottingham
NG1 2AS
DX 10035 Nottingham
Tel: 0115 908 4244
Email: nottingham@legalservices.gov.uk
or:
The National Courts Team
Legal Services Commission
Cavern Court
8 Mathew Street
Liverpool
L2 6RE
DX 14208 Liverpool 1
Tel: 0151 242 5203
Email: liverpool@legalservices.gov.uk
Last updated: 15 July 2008