EHCP Appeal Process: Step-by-Step Guide from Decision to Tribunal

When a local authority refuses your request for an EHCP assessment, refuses to issue a plan, or issues an EHCP you believe is inadequate, you have a statutory right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND). That right is formal, time-limited, and — if you use it — statistically very likely to succeed.

This is the complete step-by-step process from the LA's decision letter to the Tribunal hearing.

Step 1: Know Your Grounds

You can appeal to the Tribunal on the following grounds under the Children and Families Act 2014:

• Refusal to assess: The LA declined to conduct an EHC Needs Assessment (Section 36)
• Refusal to issue: The LA assessed but decided not to issue an EHCP
• Contents of the EHCP: You disagree with what is written in Sections B (needs), F (provision), or I (placement)
• Refusal to amend: The LA will not amend the EHCP following an annual review
• Cease to maintain: The LA wants to end the EHCP

Each of these is a separate right of appeal with its own statutory basis. In 2023/24, the most common ground was placement disputes (Section I), followed closely by refusal to assess.

Step 2: Check Your Time Limit

The Tribunal deadline is strict: two months from the date on the LA's decision letter, or one month from the date on your mediation certificate, whichever is later.

Missing this deadline means applying to the Tribunal for an extension. Extensions are discretionary and not guaranteed. Treat the two-month deadline as absolute.

If the LA's letter is undated or the date is unclear, the clock typically runs from when you received it. Keep the envelope if it was posted.

Step 3: Contact a Mediation Information and Advice Service

Before registering most types of appeal, you are legally required to contact an MIAS provider and obtain a mediation certificate. This is mandatory even if you do not want to mediate — the certificate simply confirms you have considered it.

The only exception: if you are appealing only against Section I (the named placement), mediation is optional and no certificate is required.

Phone the MIAS, explain the decision you have received, and they will issue a certificate. Keep it — you must attach it to your SEND35 form.

If you decide to go through mediation itself, be cautious. Mediation is informal and confidential, and any agreement reached is legally binding. Local authorities sometimes use mediation to negotiate vague or under-specified provision. If the LA's offer does not specify and quantify provision to the standard required by the SEND Code of Practice (paragraph 9.69), do not accept it. Take your certificate and proceed to Tribunal.

Step 4: Complete and Submit the SEND35 Form

The SEND35 is the Tribunal appeal registration form. It is available from the HM Courts & Tribunals Service website.

The critical section is your grounds of appeal. These need to be specific and legally grounded — not a narrative of everything that has gone wrong, but a structured argument for why the LA's decision fails the relevant legal test.

For a refusal to assess, the test is Section 36(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014: whether the child "may have" SEN and whether provision "may be necessary" via an EHCP. Demonstrate that the LA applied unlawful local criteria or failed to apply the statutory threshold correctly.

For a contents appeal, the test is whether Sections B and F comply with the specificity standard established in case law — specifically B-M and B-M v Oxfordshire CC (SEN) [2018] UKUT 35 (AAC) and the underlying principle from L v Clarke and Somerset CC [1998] ELR 129. Provision must be "so specific and clear as to leave no room for doubt." Identify the vague phrases and state what quantified wording you seek.

Submit the completed SEND35 with the LA's decision letter and your mediation certificate. The Tribunal will acknowledge receipt and assign a case reference number.

Step 5: Case Management Directions

Within a few weeks of registration, the Tribunal issues Directions — a timetable for the case. These will typically include:

• A deadline for the LA to file its response and evidence
• A deadline for both parties to submit the case management reply form (identifying what is agreed and what remains in dispute)
• A deadline for the working document (for contents appeals)
• A deadline for the final evidence bundle (typically 30 working days before the hearing)
• The final hearing date

Mark every deadline in your calendar. Missing Tribunal deadlines can result in your evidence being excluded or your case being struck out.

Step 6: Build Your Evidence

The period between Directions and the evidence submission deadline is your window to commission independent expert reports. An independent Educational Psychologist report typically takes six to eight weeks from instruction to final report. Commission it immediately.

Other key evidence: SENCO provision maps, school progress data, diagnostic letters, private specialist reports, and communication logs with the LA.

For contents appeals, the working document is your primary advocacy tool. Use it to track every provision dispute in Section F — what the LA has written, why it is unlawful, and what specific wording you are seeking instead.

Step 7: The Hearing

SEND Tribunal hearings typically last a half day to a full day depending on complexity. Video hearings are widely available. The panel consists of a legally qualified judge and two specialist lay members.

Parents appear without legal representation in a significant number of cases. You will give oral evidence, the LA's representative will cross-examine you briefly, and any expert witnesses will give their evidence after you.

What determines the outcome is not courtroom performance — it is the strength of your bundle and the specificity of what you are asking for. The local authority success rate at contested hearings is approximately 1.1% to 1.3%. For parents who have prepared properly, the odds are overwhelmingly in their favour.

The Timeline in Summary

The 50-plus week wait for a hearing is the biggest practical challenge. Your child does not stop needing provision during that time. Document everything that is missing throughout the waiting period — inadequate provision delivered during the wait can form the basis of a separate complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and evidence of its impact strengthens your Tribunal case.

For a complete guide to every stage of this process — including SEND35 templates, working document guidance, and post-hearing enforcement — the England SEND Tribunal Playbook covers the full journey from decision letter to implemented order.

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