Appoint someone to manage your affairs

You can give someone you trust access to your accounts if you need help with managing your money. Find out about the options available and what your appointed person needs to do.

Why would I need someone to manage my affairs?

You may need to appoint someone you trust to help you manage your accounts.

There are many reasons why you might need someone else to act on your behalf. For example, you may have a serious health condition or want to get things ready for when you might not be able to manage in the future.

Giving someone access to your bank account, and the right to operate it, is an important decision but it could be essential for your future well-being. It could also give you and your appointed person peace of mind that everything is being looked after.

What are my options?

There are different types of access available. Most will allow your appointed person to manage your accounts online, or use telephone banking, and come with their own debit card.

These are the most common types of access: 

Power of attorney

This gives someone the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf.

Third party mandate

This allows someone limited access to current and savings accounts to help you with everyday banking, such as making payments.

Court order

A court will appoint someone to act on your behalf if you are unable to do so.

If you don’t want to hand over control of your finances, we also offer a Trusted Person Card. This is a debit card linked to your personal current account that you can give to someone you trust to shop for essentials or withdraw money from a cash machine on your behalf.

What access type do I need?

Whether you want to give someone access, or you are looking for access options on behalf of the account holder, use our quick and simple questionnaire to find out which type of access would best suit your circumstances.

Take the Access Needs Questionnaire

How to appoint someone to manage your accounts

When you’ve decided what access you need, your appointed person can arrange it with us by following these three steps:

1. Prepare your documents

Your appointed person will need to show us the following:

  • Power of attorney or court order documents

We need original documents or copies signed by a solicitor or other legal professional. If you registered a lasting power of attorney after September 2019 and received a digital code to be shared with banks and financial institutions, you can use this instead.

  • Proof of identity and address

We’ll need to confirm the identity of your appointed person. Please see our list of acceptable identification (PDF 1014kb).

2. Call us to register

Your appointed person can phone us on 0345 300 0051 when they have all the documentation to hand.

Lines are open 8am-8pm every day. You can also use this number to arrange a face-to-face appointment in a branch if you prefer.

3. We'll confirm your access

Once we’ve done all the checks we need to do, and received any paperwork, we’ll send your appointed person everything they need to access your accounts.

More help and guidance

For more information about the different options and how to appoint someone to help you manage your affairs, please read our guide:

Appointing someone to manage your affairs guide (PDF, 162kb)

If you are an appointed person and want to find out how to register a power of attorney, court order or apply for a third party mandate, call us on 0345 300 0051 and our specialist team will support you.

You can get further advice and information from the Office of the Public Guardian in England and Wales, the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland, the Office of Care and Protection in Northern Ireland or your solicitor.

Supporting you in exceptional circumstances

We appreciate that there will be times where you need to support a family member with their finances but do not have any power of attorney or third party access in place.

If you are in this position and need to talk to someone, please contact us on 0345 300 0051 and we may be able to help in the short term while you apply for longer term access.

What to do if your circumstances change

Important legal information

Bank of Scotland plc. Registered in Scotland No. SC327000. Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 169628. Eligible deposits with us are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). We are covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Calls and online sessions may be monitored and/or recorded for quality evaluation, training and to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. Not all Telephone Banking services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.