The short answer
Tick a few things about your situation and this produces a printable list of exactly which documents to gather, with each one explained. Having the paperwork ready is the single thing that speeds up a legal aid application. Nothing you tick leaves your browser.
Before anything else. If you are in danger, call 999. If you cannot speak, dial 999, listen, then press 55.
National Domestic Abuse Helpline, free, 24 hours: 0808 2000 247. Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327. Galop, for LGBT+ people: 0800 999 5428.
There is no court fee to apply for a non-molestation or occupation order. More help.
Your checklist
This runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you tick is submitted, stored or transmitted, and it is gone the moment you close this tab. If you want to keep it, use the print button, which will also save as a PDF.
The two documents people most often get wrong
Benefit evidence. Providers need the full award notice, not a screenshot of a payment landing in your account. For Universal Credit that means your statements for the last three months, downloaded from your journal.
Your partner’s income. A partner’s finances are counted with yours, unless that partner is the other side in your case. Couples still living under one roof while separating routinely hand over both sets of figures and are wrongly assessed as one household. If they are your opponent, say so clearly.
Why the paperwork matters more than it should
Legal aid firms work to contract capacity limits, and an application that arrives complete gets dealt with. One that arrives with three documents missing goes to the bottom of a pile while somebody chases you.
For mediation the effect is more immediate. Mediation is controlled work, which means the mediator can assess you themselves at the MIAM and tell you the answer that day, but only if you brought what they need.
The figures
Evidence accepted for the domestic abuse gateway
The list is broader than most people expect, and there is no longer any time limit on how old the evidence can be. The old five year rule was removed on 8 January 2018. If you were told years ago that your evidence was too old, that advice is out of date.
- A non-molestation order, occupation order or other protective injunction, including an undertaking
- A Domestic Abuse Protection Notice or Order
- A police caution, arrest, charge, conviction or bail conditions
- A letter or report from a GP, nurse, midwife or other health professional
- A health professional’s referral to a domestic abuse service
- A letter from a MARAC, an IDVA or an ISVA
- A letter from a domestic abuse support organisation or a refuge, including one refusing admission because it was full
- A letter from a local authority, a housing association or a housing officer
- A finding of fact made by a court
- Evidence of economic abuse
Evidence on its own does not get you legal aid. It opens the door. You must also be financially eligible and your case must pass the merits test. Where someone is at immediate risk, funding can be granted urgently and the finances checked afterwards.
Source: Legal Aid Agency, evidence requirements for private family law matters. Time limit removed: GOV.UK, 8 January 2018. Checked 5 August 2026.