Fees

There may be other costs related to making or applying for a decision support arrangement. This may include a fee for a capacity assessment from your doctor or another healthcare professional. It may also include a fee for a statement from your lawyer for an enduring power of attorney. The Decision Support Service does not set these fees. 

Court fees will apply for applications to court for a declaration about a person’s capacity in order to make a decision-making representation order. These fees are set by the Courts Service. 

Fees for applications 

Fees for objections

Fees for searching the register 

Fee waiver 

You may not be required to pay for some services provided by the DSS. The eligibility of an applicant to have their fee waived is detailed in the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (Fees) Regulations 2023.  

What Fees can be waived? 

All application types that require a fee can be waived. Fees for objections and searching of the register cannot be waived except where stated in the Inspection of Register and Receipt of Copies of Documents Regulations 2023. 

Who can apply to have their fee waived?  

Eligibility is based on Income and considers both your income and, if applicable, your partners income. It also considers any dependents, child or adult, which rely on that income for their livelihood. 

If you have revoked or are planning to revoke an enduring power of attorney made under the Act of 1996 and you wish to apply to register an enduring power of attorney with the Decision Support Service under the 2015 Act, you may be entitled to have your fee for registration and notification waived. 

When should you apply for a fee waiver?  

A fee waiver application should be made before an application for a decision support agreement. However, if an application has already been submitted and paid for but you feel you are entitled to a fee waiver; you can contact our information services team by phone to the +353 (01) 211 9750 or by email at queries@decisionsupportservice.ie. 

How is my income assessed? 

To be eligible for a fee waiver you must have an equivalised income of less than €15,754 after tax. This means that you are assessed based on your income, but allowance is made for other family members who may also be dependent on this income. If you have a partner, their income will also be included in this calculation. The threshold is provided by the Central Statistics Office annually in their Survey on Income and Living Conditions. The above threshold will be updated in line with the publication of the above survey. 

Normally Income is assessed based on the previous tax year. The previous tax year is the calendar year before the current year. For example, if it is currently 2023, the previous tax year is 2022.  

However, if you have recently experienced a reduction in your income, we will assess your income based on the past 4 weeks up to the submission of an application.  

How do you calculate if you are eligible?  

Step 1:  

What is your total income and, if applicable, your partners income, from the time period being assessed i.e. last calendar year. Remember to only use your income after tax.

Step 2:  

How many people are dependent on this income for their livelihood and what are their ages? Assign each person a value

You, as the first adult are assigned 1.0

Any partner or children over 14 are assigned .66

Any child under 14 years old is assigned .33;

Step 3:

Add these numbers together

Step 4:

Divide your household income from step 1 by the value from step 3.

Please see examples of fee waiver calculations below. If you are in doubt, or would like help checking your eligibility, submit an application or contact our information services team by phone to the +353 (01) 211 9750 or by email at queries@decisionsupportservice.ie

How do I apply to have my fee waived? 

To submit an application to have your fee waived you must log on to your MyDSS account and verify your identity. Once this is done, look for the “Fee Waiver” tile on your home screen. A “how to” guide and video is available on our website to assist you with this.

If you are unable to submit an application to have your fee waived using the MyDSS portal, please contact our information services team by phone to the +353 (01) 211 9750 or by email at queries@decisionsupportservice.ie

What documents do I need to have to make an application to receive a fee waiver?

In order to submit an accurate fee waiver application, you will need to have the following information to hand;

• Your total income from all sources for the previous tax year.
• Your partners total income from all sources for the previous tax year (if applicable).
• The name and date of birth of any person who is dependent on you.

Please note that total income declared is from all sources. This includes PAYE, non-PAYE, social welfare, child allowance, disability payments, pensions, investments, child maintenance payments.

You do not need to submit these documents as part of the application. You will self-declare that all information is correct and accurate. Once submitted, the DSS will assess your application and may contact you asking you to provide proof of your income prior to reaching a decision on a fee waiver application.

Examples of how a fee waiver is assessed

Example 1

Shane is a single adult who lives with his parents. He has his own income but is somewhat dependent on his parents for his livelihood. He has no dependents of his own. As Shane is an adult, he is assessed solely on his own income despite being somewhat dependent on his parents. Therefore, Shane's parents are not considered part of Shane's “household” for this assessment. Shane's parents are helping Shane to submit an application to have his fee waived before registering a co-decision-making agreement.

household value is calculated as follows: 

• 1.0 to the first adult 
• 0.66 to subsequent person aged 14 and over 
• 0.33 to each child less than 14 years old 

Based on the above ages we can calculate the value of the household as

Shane: 1.0

As Shane has no dependents, and his parents are not considered we get a household value of 1.0

Household income after tax is €13,000

Equivalised income is €13,000/1.0 = €13,000 – This is below the income level of €15,754

Shane is eligible to have his fee waived.

Example 2

Arron is a single parent. He has two children aged 17 and 10. Arron lost his job recently. With the help of the social welfare, his new annual income is now €28,000. Arron wishes to notify the DSS of a decision-making agreement that he is creating in which is sister supports him to make certain decisions.

Household value is calculated as follows:

• 1.0 to the first adult 
• 0.66 to subsequent person aged 14 and over 
• 0.33 to each child less than 14 years old 

Based on the above ages we can calculate the value of the household as

Arron: 1.0

Child 1 (17): 0.66

Child 2 (10): 0.33

By adding these numbers together, we get a household value of 1.99

Household income after tax is €28,000 

Equivalised income is €28,000/1.99 = €14,070 – this is below the income level of €15,754

Arron is eligible to have his fee waived.

Example 3

The Smith family is composed of two adults, Emily and Zoe, and their three children aged 16, 12 and 9. Their joint income is €65,000 yearly after tax. Zoe is applying to have a fee for registering an EPA waived.

Household value is calculated as follows: 

• 1.0 to the first adult 
• 0.66 to the second adult and each subsequent person aged 14 and over 
• 0.33 to each child less than 14 years old 

Based on the above ages we can calculate the value of the household as

Emily: 1.0

Zoe: 0.66

Child 1 (16): 0.66

Child 2 (12): 0.33 

Child 3 (9): 0.33 

By adding these numbers together, we get a household value of 2.98

Smith family income after tax is €65,000 

Equivalised income is €65,000/2.98 = €21,812 - this is above the income level of €15,754 

Zoe is not Eligible to have her fee waived.