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FREE TOOL

EHCP Timeline: How Long Does an EHCP Take?

An EHCP should take no more than 20 weeks, from the day the council receives your request for an EHC needs assessment to the day it sends the final plan, unless one of a few exceptions set out in the law applies. Along the way, the council must tell you within 6 weeks whether it will assess. Enter the date you made your request to see exactly when each decision is due.

FREE TEMPLATE

Get the letter that requests an assessment

You do not need the school's permission to ask. We will email you a ready-to-use template letter to request an EHC needs assessment from your council, with the right wording and the law it rests on. Add your details and send.

Other deadlines worth knowing

Responding to a draft plan
Once the local authority sends a draft EHC plan, you have 15 calendar days to ask for changes or request a particular school before it is finalised.
Annual review
An EHC plan must be reviewed at least once every 12 months from the date it was issued.
Appealing a decision
You generally have 2 months from the date of the local authority decision letter, or 1 month from a mediation certificate, whichever is later, to appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

EHCP timescales: questions parents ask

How long does an EHCP take?

From the day the council receives your request for an EHC needs assessment to the day it sends the final EHC plan must be no more than 20 weeks (SEND Regulations 2014, regulation 13(2)). The council can only go over in limited situations set out in the regulations, such as a school closure of 4 weeks or more while it was asking the school for advice, or exceptional personal circumstances.

What are the EHCP statutory deadlines?

The council must tell you within 6 weeks whether it will carry out an EHC needs assessment (regulation 5). If, after assessing, it decides not to issue a plan, it must tell you within 16 weeks (regulation 10). If it does issue a plan, you get at least 15 days to comment on the draft and ask for a particular school, and the final plan must be issued within 20 weeks of your request (regulation 13).

How long do I have to respond to a draft EHC plan?

At least 15 days, starting on the day the draft plan was sent to you (regulation 13(1)). Use this time to ask for changes and to name the school or setting you want. If you need longer, ask the council in writing straight away.

How long does an EHCP annual review take?

The plan must be reviewed at least every 12 months. You must get at least 2 weeks’ notice of the review meeting, a written report must be sent out within 2 weeks of the meeting, and the council must tell you within 4 weeks of the meeting whether it will keep, change or stop the plan (regulation 20).

How long do I have to appeal an EHCP decision?

Your appeal must reach the SEND Tribunal within 2 months of the date the council’s decision letter was sent, or within 1 month of the date your mediation certificate was issued if that is later (Tribunal Procedure Rules 2008, rule 20).

What can I do if the council misses a deadline?

Write to the council, quote the deadline and the regulation, and ask when it will act. Keep a copy and note the dates. If it still does not act, you can use the council’s complaints process, and after that complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

Not sure what a term means? Try the .

This tool gives general statutory timescales under the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 2015. Some limited exceptions to these timescales exist. It is information, not legal advice.