How do I appeal an EHCP decision to the SEND Tribunal?

Register your appeal with the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) within two months of the council's decision letter. For most appeals you first get a mediation certificate; placement-only appeals can go straight to Tribunal. The right to appeal comes from section 51 of the Children and Families Act 2014, and it's free to use.

What you can appeal

You can take the council to the Tribunal over the decisions that shape your child's support:

• a refusal to carry out an EHC needs assessment or reassessment;
• a decision not to issue a plan after assessing;
• the parts of a finalised or amended plan that describe the needs (Section B), the support (Section F), or the named school or type of school (Section I), including when no school is named;
• a refusal to amend the plan after a review or reassessment;
• a decision to stop (cease) the plan.

The steps, in order

1. Contact a mediation adviser. For most appeals you must phone the mediation adviser named in your decision letter and either go to mediation or simply tell them you don't want to. Either way they issue a mediation certificate. The one exception: if you are appealing only the named school (Section I), you can skip this and go straight to the Tribunal.
2. Register the appeal online. Submit your appeal through the SEND Tribunal service on GOV.UK. You upload the decision letter, the mediation certificate (if you needed one), and a short statement of what you disagree with and why.
3. Exchange evidence. The Tribunal sets a timetable for you and the council to send in reports and written arguments before the hearing.

The two-month deadline

The Tribunal must receive your appeal within two months of the date on the council's decision letter, or within one month of the date on your mediation certificate, whichever is later. The two months runs from the date on the letter, not the day you opened it, so don't let the post sit. If you go through mediation, that certificate buys you the extra month. Full timings are on GOV.UK.

If it stalls, and how often families win

Don't try to talk the council round by writing back; that burns the clock and councils rarely reverse themselves before an appeal lands. If the mediation adviser is slow with the certificate, chase it in writing. For free, independent help drafting your grounds, contact IPSEA or your local SENDIASS. The odds are better than the decision letter suggests: of SEND appeals decided in 2024/25, 99% went in the family's favour, the same as the year before.

One thing to know for the longer term: the 2026 Schools White Paper and the Education for All Bill propose changing how plans work from the 2030s, but nothing takes effect before September 2030, existing plans are protected, and this section 51 appeal route is the current law today.

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