What do I do if my EHCP application is refused?

Which refusal you've had

There are two points at which a council can refuse:

1. Refusal to carry out the assessment. This happens at the 6-week mark, after your initial request. The council says, in effect, your child doesn't appear to need an EHCP and they won't investigate further.
2. Refusal to issue a plan after assessment. This happens at the 16-week mark, after the assessment is done. The council has gathered the evidence, considered it, and decided not to issue.

The appeal route is the same for both; the evidence you'll bring is different. Refusal-to-assess appeals turn on whether there's enough to investigate; refusal-to- issue appeals turn on whether the evidence actually shows EHCP-level need.

The mediation certificate

Before you can register an appeal at the SEND Tribunal, you must contact the council's mediation adviser and either go through mediation or get a certificate confirming you've considered it. This is a procedural requirement under section 55 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

You don't have to attend mediation. You just have to formally consider it. Call the mediation adviser named in your refusal letter, say you don't wish to mediate, and ask them to issue the certificate. They have 3 working days to send it. Without the certificate, the Tribunal will reject your appeal as out of process.

The 2-month deadline

You have 2 calendar months from the date of the refusal decision to register the appeal. The deadline is strict. The 2 months runs from the date on the council's letter, not the date you received it.

The appeal itself is registered online at the SEND Tribunal website (HM Courts and Tribunals Service). You upload the refusal letter, the mediation certificate, and a short statement of your grounds. The Tribunal then sets a timetable for the council and you to exchange evidence.

Why the success rate matters

In recent HMCTS Tribunal Statistics, over 95% of refusal-to-assess appeals are decided in the parent's favour. That isn't because the Tribunal is biased; it's because councils refuse a much larger proportion of requests than the law and the SEND Code allow. The 95% figure is the strongest argument for not being put off by the refusal letter. If your child genuinely has the level of need that prompted you to apply, the appeal is the route designed for exactly this.

Practical tips

• Don't try to overturn the refusal by writing back to the council. Use the appeal. The council won't reverse itself; you'll just lose time on the 2-month clock.
• Use IPSEA's free advice service before you draft the appeal grounds; they read your refusal letter and tell you the weakest point in the council's reasoning ( ipsea.org.uk).
• The Tribunal is not a court hearing, despite the name. It's a panel of three (one judge, two specialist members). You can attend in person or by video.
• Most appeals settle before hearing. Once the council sees the strength of your evidence stack, they often concede and agree to assess (or to issue) at the case-management stage.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.