How to fill in form COP4 — the deputy's declaration
COP4 is the Court of Protection form the proposed deputy signs personally — their own circumstances, financial history where relevant, and a formal set of undertakings about how they'll act if appointed.
It never travels alone: it's filed with COP1 (the application) and COP3 (the capacity assessment, or COP24 if no assessment is available), and — for a personal welfare application — COP1B as well.
This walkthrough covers your own details, the personal-circumstances and financial-circumstances questions, the twelve undertakings every deputy gives plus the five that apply only to a property and financial affairs deputyship, and the personal statement and statement of truth that close the form.
✓ Official source checked 23 August 2026 · GOV.UK last revised this form 1 September 2015COP4 on GOV.UK ↗
United Kingdom·Informational, not legal or financial advice·Official source: GOV.UK
✓Official form · always current
This is the same official COP4 file HM Courts & Tribunals Service publishes on GOV.UK — the link below fetches the current version live from GOV.UK the moment you click it, so it can never go out of date.
Current version: August 2015 · confirmed on GOV.UK 23 August 2026
This walkthrough takes COP4 the way it's actually completed: your own circumstances first, then the seventeen undertakings the declaration is named for — so nothing in Section 4 gets ticked without understanding what it actually commits you to.
Ticking 'No' to an undertaking needs a Comments explanation — a blank box next to a No is the problem
Section 4 asks you to tick Yes or No against each undertaking. Ticking No does not automatically block your appointment — but the form requires an explanation whenever you tick it, either why you can't commit to that undertaking or why it doesn't apply to your appointment.
A No with an empty Comments box is the kind of incompleteness that invites the court to query the whole application. If an undertaking genuinely doesn't fit your situation — most commonly one of the five property-and-affairs-only undertakings (13–17) on a personal-welfare-only application — say so in the Comments, don't just leave it blank.
The form, in summary
Valoren
COP4·8 pages·85 fields guided
With ValorenValoren doesn't complete or file COP4 on your behalf; the personal and financial detail already held in your records carries straight into Sections 1–3 instead of a blank-page start — the undertakings and the personal statement still need your own honest answers
Without Valoren1–2 hours
once the rest of the bundle is gathered — most of it is Section 3's financial-history questions and thinking through the personal statement in Section 5, which has no prompts to work from
Deadline
None alonemust travel with COP1 — never standalone
Who Files
Proposed deputythe person applying to become deputy, signing personally
£
Fee
No extra feerides on COP1's application fee
Filed with Court of Protection (submitted with COP1)
COP4 — 'Court of Protection Deputy's declaration' — is the form the proposed deputy signs personally, setting out their own suitability and giving the court a set of formal undertakings about how they will act if appointed.
It is not filed on its own. It travels with COP1 (the application) and COP3 (the capacity assessment, completed by a doctor or other professional — or COP24, a witness statement, if a formal assessment can't be obtained); for a personal welfare deputyship specifically, gov.uk's own guidance names COP1B as the further form required alongside it.
The form's substantive core is Section 4: twelve undertakings that apply to every deputy — regard to the MCA 2005 Code of Practice, acting only within the powers the eventual court order confers, avoiding conflicts of interest, keeping the person's information confidential, visiting them regularly, and telling the court and the Office of the Public Guardian if there's reason to believe the person has regained capacity — plus five further undertakings (13–17) that apply only where the application is for a property and financial affairs deputyship: providing a security bond, keeping accounts, keeping money separate, and maintaining the person's property.
Deputyship itself ends automatically on the death of the person the application concerned — at that point the family contacts the Office of the Public Guardian and the Court of Protection to close it out, and the security bond stays in force for two years after the death unless the court cancels it sooner. COP4 is a form for BEFORE a death, not after — it has no role in administering an estate once someone has died.
·Who Files — The proposed deputy — the individual applying to the Court of Protection for authority to make decisions on behalf of someone who lacks, or is alleged to lack, mental capacity. This is usually a close relative or friend, occasionally a professional such as a solicitor or accountant, or a local authority representative. In Valoren's own context this is typically someone stepping in BEFORE a death — an adult child applying to manage a parent's finances after a dementia diagnosis or brain injury — not an executor or administrator, whose role only begins once someone has died.
·8 pages · 85 fields guided
·Draws from your Estate File — People, Authority & Contacts, Financial Accounts, Civil Dossier
Section01
§11
Section 1
Before you complete COP4 — the bundle, and what a 'declaration' means
COP4 is not the application itself — it's your own declaration, filed alongside it. Knowing what has to travel with it, and what each section actually asks for, saves rework later.
01
COP4 is a declaration, not an application
COP1 is the application; COP4 is where you, the proposed deputy, set out your own circumstances and give the court a set of formal undertakings about how you'll act if appointed. It's signed by you personally — never by an agent such as a solicitor signing on your behalf.
02
The bundle it always travels with
COP4 is filed alongside COP1 (the application) and COP3 (the capacity assessment, completed by a doctor or other professional — or COP24, a witness statement, if a formal assessment can't be obtained).
For a personal welfare deputyship specifically, gov.uk's guidance also names COP1B as the supporting-information form required. Submitting COP4 without the rest of the bundle is a documented reason the court may not accept the application.
03
Section 3 is conditional — read the instruction line
Section 3 (financial circumstances) is only required if you're applying to be appointed a property and financial affairs deputy. It's a genuinely easy line to miss — either completing it needlessly for a personal-welfare-only application, or, the opposite mistake, a property-and-affairs applicant skipping it because the instruction sits in small print at the top of the section.
COP4 is not the application itself — it's your own declaration, filed alongside it. Knowing what has to travel with it, and what each section actually asks for, saves rework later.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP4❦
Section02
§22
Section 2
Section 1 — your details, and the person the application concerns
Straightforward identifying information, in two blocks: you, and then the person you're applying to become deputy for.
01
Your details
Title, first, middle and last name, address and postcode, three phone numbers (daytime, evening, mobile), email, and date of birth.
A free-text question asks your connection to the person the application relates to — spouse, child, sibling, friend, professional — give the court real context, not just a label.
02
The person to whom the application relates
Their full name, address and date of birth. Use these details exactly as they appear on the COP1 application and COP3 assessment filed alongside — a mismatched name or address across the bundle is the kind of thing that gets an application queried.
Straightforward identifying information, in two blocks: you, and then the person you're applying to become deputy for.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP4❦
Section03
§33
Section 3
Section 2 — your personal circumstances
Five yes/no questions, each with a 'please provide details' follow-up where you tick Yes. None of these rule you out on their own — they're what the court weighs when assessing suitability.
01
Occupation and how long in it
Your current occupation, or your circumstances if you're not employed or are retired — and how long (years and months) you've been in that occupation.
02
Previous experience as deputy or attorney
Whether you've ever acted as deputy or attorney for anyone else before. Say so if you have — prior experience is relevant to the court's view of your suitability, whichever way it happened to go.
03
Criminal convictions — excluding spent ones
Whether you've ever been convicted of a criminal offence. The question specifically excludes convictions that are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 — you don't need to list those.
04
Anything that might interfere with the role
Whether any personal circumstances — ill health, business or family commitments — would interfere with carrying out a deputy's duties. An honest answer here is better for the court's planning than a role that quietly can't be fulfilled.
05
If you're not appointed, or become unable to act
Whether you know of anyone else who might want to be considered as deputy instead, if you're not appointed or later become unable to act. This gives the court a fallback to consider without a fresh application starting from nothing.
Five yes/no questions, each with a 'please provide details' follow-up where you tick Yes. None of these rule you out on their own — they're what the court weighs when assessing suitability.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP4❦
Section04
§44
Section 4
Section 3 — your financial circumstances (property and affairs only)
Nine yes/no questions, again each with a details follow-up where relevant. Skip this whole section if you're applying purely for a personal welfare deputyship — the form says so at the top.
01
Everyday financial standing
Whether you hold a personal bank or building society account, and whether you've ever been refused credit or have outstanding judgment debts against you.
02
Bankruptcy and insolvency — 'ever' versus 'currently'
Whether you have EVER personally been declared bankrupt, entered an Individual Voluntary Arrangement under Part VIII of the Insolvency Act 1986, or been subject to a debt relief order — a separate, narrower question then asks whether you are CURRENTLY an undischarged bankrupt, IVA debtor or DRO subject.
These are two different questions. An old bankruptcy from years ago still belongs in the first one, even if the second answer is a clean No.
03
Business insolvency and conduct
Whether any business you've been involved with has gone through a formal insolvency regime; whether you've been the subject of a fraudulent-trading declaration under section 213 or a wrongful-trading declaration under section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986; and whether you've been subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order under section 281A or Schedule 4A of the Insolvency Act 1986, or a director disqualification order under section 1 of the Company Directors (Disqualification) Act 1986.
04
Conflicts of interest
Whether you're aware of any conflict between your own financial interests and those of the person the application relates to. Flag it here rather than letting it surface later, once you're already acting.
Nine yes/no questions, again each with a details follow-up where relevant. Skip this whole section if you're applying purely for a personal welfare deputyship — the form says so at the top.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP4❦
Section05
§55
Section 5
Section 4 — the undertakings, and the mandatory Comments rule
This is the substantive 'declaration' the form is named for: a numbered list of commitments you tick Yes or No against. Ticking No doesn't rule you out — leaving the Comments box blank next to a No is the actual problem.
01
What giving an undertaking means
The form's own framing: becoming a deputy means taking on duties set by the eventual court order. You review each listed undertaking and tick Yes (giving it) or No (with a mandatory Comments explanation — lack of relevant experience, or the undertaking being irrelevant to your appointment). A No does not automatically block appointment.
02
The twelve undertakings every deputy gives
In summary: regard to the MCA 2005 Code of Practice and deciding only what the person genuinely can't decide themselves; acting only within the powers the court order confers, going back to court for more if needed; the same care, skill and diligence you'd apply to your own affairs, and your professional rules too if you're acting professionally; making decisions personally rather than delegating, unless the order expressly allows it; avoiding conflicts of interest and not using the position for personal benefit; honesty and integrity, and taking into account decisions the person made while they still had capacity; keeping their financial and personal information confidential; complying with court directions and reasonable OPG requests, including submitting reports; visiting the person as regularly as appropriate and taking a real interest in their welfare; working with them and any carers to achieve the best quality of life the available funds allow; co-operating with anyone from the court or OPG checking the arrangement is working; and immediately telling the court and OPG if there's reason to believe the person no longer lacks capacity.
03
Five further undertakings — property and affairs deputies only (13–17)
Understanding you may need to provide security (a guarantee bond) and undertaking to pay the premiums promptly from the person's funds; keeping accounts of every dealing and transaction; keeping the person's money and property separate from your own; ensuring they receive any benefits and income they're entitled to, that bills are paid, and that an annual tax return is completed; and taking reasonable steps to maintain their property — insurance, repairs, and arranging a sale or letting with legal advice where needed.
04
If an undertaking doesn't fit your appointment
The most common reason to tick No is one of undertakings 13–17 when you're applying for a personal welfare deputyship rather than property and affairs — they simply don't apply. Say that plainly in the Comments box rather than leaving it blank; a blank Comments next to a No is what invites the court to query the whole declaration.
This is the substantive 'declaration' the form is named for: a numbered list of commitments you tick Yes or No against. Ticking No doesn't rule you out — leaving the Comments box blank next to a No is the actual problem.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP4❦
Section06
§66
Section 6
Sections 5 and 6 — your personal statement, and the statement of truth
The last two sections are short but easy to under-write: one open box asking why you want the role, and a self-certified declaration that closes the form.
01
Section 5 — your personal statement
A single free-text box: why do you wish to be the deputy of the person the application relates to? There are no prompts or sub-questions here, which is exactly why it's easy to under-write with a line or two.
The court is looking for a substantive account of the relationship and your suitability — the twelve (or seventeen) undertakings above are a reasonable guide to what it's actually weighing, even though the form itself doesn't spell that out.
02
Section 6 — the statement of truth
'I believe that the facts stated in this declaration are true' — signed, with your name and the date. This is self-certified by the person applying to be appointed deputy; COP4 isn't witnessed the way some Court of Protection forms are.
03
After you file — no separate fee, and what deputyship doesn't cover
COP4 carries no fee of its own; it rides on the COP1 application fee. Deputyship also ends automatically the moment the person the application concerned dies — at that point the family contacts the Office of the Public Guardian and the Court of Protection to close it out, with the security bond staying in force for two years post-death unless the court cancels it sooner. COP4 has no role once someone has died; that's executor or administrator territory, not deputyship.
The last two sections are short but easy to under-write: one open box asking why you want the role, and a self-certified declaration that closes the form.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection) · COP4❦
Many people file COP4 themselves — that is what this walkthrough is for. If the situation behind it has stopped being simple — an objection raised, a donor whose capacity is questioned, a Court of Protection application in view — Signum, Valoren’s own specialist desk, can take it on, and we say so plainly: it starts with a free intake, and if you do not need us, we will tell you. Prefer an independent adviser? STEP and the Chartered Institute of Taxation both keep public member directories, and neither pays Valoren a referral fee.
FAQ
COP4 questions, answered.
COP4 — 'Court of Protection Deputy's declaration' — is the proposed deputy's own statement to the court: their personal and financial circumstances, and a set of formal undertakings about how they will act if appointed.
It's filed together with COP1 (the application) and COP3 (the capacity assessment), never on its own.
Only if you're applying to be appointed a property and financial affairs deputy. The form says so explicitly at the top of that section.
If you're applying purely for a personal welfare deputyship, you can skip it — but read the instruction line carefully either way, since it's easy to complete needlessly or skip by mistake.
It doesn't automatically rule out your appointment. But the form requires you to explain why, in the Comments box next to that undertaking — either why you can't commit to it, or why it doesn't apply to your appointment (most often one of the five property-and-affairs-only undertakings if you're applying for personal welfare only).
A 'No' with the Comments left blank is what invites the court to query the application.
No. The criminal-convictions question in Section 2 specifically excludes convictions that are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
The insolvency questions in Section 3 are separate and ask about bankruptcy, IVAs and debt relief orders — including one question about whether you've EVER been declared bankrupt, not just currently, so an old bankruptcy from years ago still needs disclosing there even if it feels long settled.
No. It's always part of the bundle with COP1 and COP3 (or COP24, a witness statement, if a formal capacity assessment can't be obtained) — and, for a personal welfare deputyship, COP1B as well. Gov.uk's own guidance says the court may not accept an application if the capacity assessment is missing.
No — there's no separate fee for COP4. It rides on the COP1 application fee, which gov.uk's linked guidance currently gives as £432, plus £266 if the court decides a hearing is needed. Check gov.uk/become-deputy/fees before applying, since these figures are revised periodically.
It ends automatically. COP4 and the deputyship it supports are for managing someone's affairs while they're alive and lack capacity — they have no role in administering an estate after death.
Once the person dies, the family needs to contact the Office of the Public Guardian and the Court of Protection to close the deputyship out; the security bond stays in force for two years after the death unless the court cancels it sooner.
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Where this fits
COP4 is one form. The file behind it is the rest.
COP4's own-circumstances and financial-history questions ask for exactly what People, Authority & Contacts and Financial Accounts are built to hold — your own details, and a clear record of accounts, debts and any prior insolvency history. Civil Dossier is where the Court of Protection bundle itself (COP1, COP3, COP4) belongs once it's filed, so it isn't a fresh search the next time it's needed.
For the household where a parent is ageing and an LPA is not yet registered — the planning conversations your family needs to have, in one place. Caring for a Parent — £79 →
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (Court of Protection)·85 fields·No separate fee for COP4 — it rides on the COP1 application fee. Gov.uk's linked guidance (not the COP4 form itself) currently gives this as £432, plus a further £266 hearing fee if the court decides one is needed. These figures are periodically revised — check gov.uk/become-deputy/fees before applying rather than relying on a number written down in advance.·Valoren doesn't complete or file COP4 on your behalf; the personal and financial detail already held in your records carries straight into Sections 1–3 instead of a blank-page start — the undertakings and the personal statement still need your own honest answers with Valoren
Sent together
This declaration is submitted alongside the deputyship application, not on its own.