Enter your request date
Not sure? Use the date on the acknowledgement letter or email, or the day the request was delivered.
The EHCP process, week by week
How long does an EHCP take to get?
The law says a maximum of 20 weeks from the day the local authority receives the request for an EHC needs assessment to the final plan being issued. In practice only 46% of new plans were issued within 20 weeks in 2025 (Department for Education), so many families wait longer. The key milestones are: a decision whether to assess by week 6, a decision whether to issue a plan by week 16, at least 15 days to comment on the draft, and the final plan by week 20.
When does the 20-week EHCP clock start?
The day the local authority receives the request for an EHC needs assessment, whether it came from you as a parent, the school, or the young person themselves. It is not the date the LA acknowledges it, agrees to assess, or holds a panel. Keep proof of the delivery date.
What happens if the local authority misses the 20-week deadline?
The duty to issue the plan does not go away. Chase in writing citing regulation 13(2) of the SEND Regulations 2014, ask for a named officer and a date, and escalate to a formal complaint and then the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman if needed. The Ombudsman regularly finds fault with councils over EHCP delay and can recommend financial remedy for lost provision.
Can the 20 weeks be extended?
Only in limited circumstances, for example where the LA has asked the parent for views during a school summer holiday, the child is out of the area for 4 weeks or more, or the parent misses an appointment needed for advice. Being busy, short-staffed or waiting for an educational psychologist is not a legal exception, even though it is the most common real-world cause of delay.
What if the LA refuses to assess at week 6?
A refusal to assess is one of the most commonly overturned decisions in the system. You can go to mediation and appeal to the SEND Tribunal, and the legal test (that the child may have SEN and may need an EHC plan) is deliberately low. Do not be put off by a first refusal.
How long do I get to respond to the draft EHCP?
At least 15 days from receiving the draft to comment, request changes and name your preferred school. This window is also when our free EHCP checker is most useful: it reviews the draft wording and flags provision that is too vague to enforce before the plan is finalised.
More on the EHCP process
20 weeks of process.
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