You can appoint a co-decision-maker by making a co-decision-making agreement. The agreement must be in writing and signed by you and your co-decision-maker. The agreement must be witnessed by two other people. It must contain a list of the decisions that you and your co-decision-maker will make together.
There are important legal consequences when you make a co-decision-making agreement. All decisions listed in the agreement must be made jointly with your co-decision-maker. This means you should think carefully about the types of decisions you want to include in your agreement. It may be useful to discuss this with your loved ones and people you trust.
You will need a doctor or another healthcare professional to assess your capacity and confirm that you are able to enter into the agreement.
The agreement must be registered with us before it can take legal effect. You and your co-decision-maker must tell certain people, including your spouse and adult children, about the agreement. You must also give them copies of the agreement.
You can have more than one co-decision-making agreement, but you can have only one co-decision-maker for each agreement.
Making a co-decision-making agreement – step by step
Making a co-decision-making agreement takes a number of steps. This includes asking various people, including your doctor or another healthcare professional, to complete certain forms. You may need someone you trust to help you with these steps.
We will give you the forms you need to make a co-decision-making agreement and to apply to register it with us.
The easiest way to make a co-decision-making agreement is by setting up an account on our online portal MyDSS and completing an application online. If you cannot get access to a computer or set up an account online, that is no problem. You can contact us, and we will help you set up your account.
Before you begin
There are a number of steps involved in making a co-decision-making agreement. Before you begin think about:
- Who do you want your co-decision-maker to be?
- What types of decisions do you want them to help you with now and in the future?
- Are there any decisions you do not want or need help with?
- What organisations, businesses or professionals might want to see a copy of your co-decision-making agreement (for example, banks or healthcare services)?
If you need information on our Accessibility Policy, click on the link Accessibility Policy.
Steps to make a co-decision-making agreement
This section tells you how to make a co-decision-making agreement using our online portal. We are available to help and provide information and guidance at every step in the process.
1. Set up your account on MyDSS
First set up a fully verified account on MyDSS. You can use this account to manage your application. Ask the person who will act as your co-decision making assistant to also create their verified MyDSS account.
You can find detailed instructions and watch videos on how to open and verify an account in our MyDSS 'How to' video section of the website at the link MyDSS How to Videos.
2. Fill out the co-decision-making agreement application
Once you have logged into your MyDSS account choose the decision support arrangement you want to make. Start a new application. When you select the type of arrangement, pick co-decision-making agreement.
The first part of the application is the co-decision-making agreement form. There are four sections in this form:
- Relevant person details – this is information about you, the person making the agreement
- Supporter details – this is information about the person you are choosing to be your co-decision-maker
- Existing arrangements – in this section, you need to tell us if you have any other existing decision support arrangements
- Arrangement decisions – in this section you tell us about the decisions you want support with and want to make jointly with your co-decision-maker
3. Download template forms
After you have filled out the four sections of the form and are happy with what you have included in your co-decision-making agreement, save the form. Then download the following forms:
| Form | About |
|---|---|
| Co-decision-making agreement template | This is a copy of your co-decision-making agreement so far. You need to give this to your notice parties, the person assessing your capacity and the people witnessing the agreement. (Notice parties are certain people, including your spouse or civil partner, and adult children, that you must tell about the agreement. |
| Appointer declaration form | This is the part of your co-decision-making agreement that you sign in front of two witnesses. You have to confirm that you understand and agree to enter into the agreement |
| Co-decision-maker declaration form | This is the part of your co-decision-making agreement that your co-decision-maker signs in front of two witnesses |
| Statement of capacity form | This is the form your doctor or another healthcare professional fills in after they have assessed your capacity |
| Character reference form | This form must be filled in by two people and tell us about the type of person your co-decision-maker is |
| Notice form | This is the form you give to your notice parties to let them know about the co-decision-making agreement. You can download this form as many times as you need to, depending on how many notice parties you have |
4. Get character references for your co-decision-maker
Your co-decision-maker must ask two people to complete the character reference form. These people must be over 18 years of age.
5. Take the co-decision-making agreement to your doctor or another healthcare professional
You must ask your doctor, or another healthcare professional to assess your ability to make the co-decision-making agreement and to make the decisions included in your agreement with the support of your co-decision-maker. After the doctor or healthcare professional has assessed your capacity, they will complete the Statement of Capacity Form.
Note: If your statement of capacity has been completed more than 3 months before the submission of your application, the DSS may ask you to provide a more current and updated statement of capacity.
6. Sign the declarations in your co-decision-making agreement in front of your witnesses
You and your co-decision-maker must sign the declarations in your co-decision-making agreement in front of two witnesses. Both witnesses must be over 18 years of age and at least one of them must not be an immediate family member of you or your co-decision-maker.
If you are physically unable to complete the declaration, someone else can sign this on your behalf. They must do this in front of you and your witnesses.
⚠ From this step, you have five weeks to send your co-decision-making agreement to us
7. Tell your notice parties about the co-decision-making agreement
You must tell the following people that you are making the co-decision-making agreement and give them a copy of the agreement, including the signed declarations:
- Your spouse, civil partner or co-habitant
- Any of your children who are 18 years or over
- Any decision supporters appointed under another decision support arrangement
These people are called your notice parties. You must give them notice at the same time you submit your application to the Decision Support Service. You must give the notice form, along with a copy of the co-decision-making agreement, including the signed declarations, to each one of your notice parties.
8. Upload completed forms and statements
After you have completed all of the forms, signed the declarations and notified your notice parties, you can upload the forms to MyDSS. You will need to give us details of your witnesses and notice parties at this time.
9. Pay the registration application fee
You must now pay the application fee to register your agreement, before you submit your application. Or you can apply to have the fee waived, depending on your income and dependents. This would mean you do not have to pay.
We do not accept cheques, postal orders, or bank drafts. You must make your payment electronically through your MyDSS account.
If you cannot pay online, you can pay over the phone if you need to.
10. Submit your application
After completing all of the steps, you can now submit your application to us. We will review the application to make sure you have sent us all necessary information and to check that it meets the legal requirements.
After you submit your application
After you submit your application we will review the application and supporting documents to check they meet the legal requirements. We will check you have followed the required steps and that your co-decision-maker is a suitable person to support you.
We may need to ask you or your co-decision-maker for more information.
We will decide whether to approve or decline your application. If we think we may need to decline your application, we will let you know and give you an opportunity to give us further information. You can also ask us to review our decision, or you can appeal it to court.
If we decide to approve your application, we will let you know and send you a certified copy of the co-decision-making agreement. We will put the agreement on a Register (list), which means people or organisations who have a good reason may view it (for example your bank).
Find out more
You can read more about making a co-decision-making agreement in our guidance material, which can be found in our Resources section. There is important information about:
- The things you need to consider before you make a co-decision-making agreement
- The types of decisions you can get help with
- What the person you choose to help you can and cannot do and what their responsibilities are
- What happens after you make a co-decision-making agreement
- Steps for completing the co-decision-making agreement application
- A step by step guide to using our online portal at the link MyDSS to make a co-decision-making application
- Certain decisions are prohibited from being included in a co-decision making agreement. You can read more about this by clicking this link Information Note about Section 138 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (as amended)
Click on this link for sample forms for making decision support arrangements and or making a complaint.