9 Aug 2026
EHCP timescales: the 6, 16 and 20 week legal deadlines
The EHCP process normally has 6, 16 and 20 week legal deadlines. See what each deadline means, the narrow exceptions and what to do about delay.
Unisen Team·families·4 min read
The EHC needs assessment and plan process should normally finish within 20 weeks of the local authority receiving the request. The main milestones are six weeks, 16 weeks and 20 weeks.
These are legal deadlines in the SEND Regulations 2014, not service targets. Narrow exceptions can apply, but staff shortages and ordinary waiting lists are not listed exceptions.
This guide covers England and is general information, not legal advice.
The timeline at a glance
| Time from request | What should happen |
|---|---|
| Within 6 weeks | The local authority decides whether to carry out an EHC needs assessment. |
| During assessment | Bodies asked for advice normally provide it within 6 weeks of the request for advice. |
| Within 16 weeks | If the local authority decides no EHC plan is needed, it notifies the parent or young person. |
| At least 15 days | The parent or young person comments on the draft plan and can request a meeting and placement. |
| Within 20 weeks | If a plan is needed, the local authority issues the final EHC plan. |
Week 0: the request arrives
Save the date the local authority received the assessment request. The statutory clock runs from that point, whether the request came from a parent, young person or education setting.
Keep proof of delivery. If the authority asks you to complete an additional local form, doing so may help administration, but it should not silently reset the legal receipt date.
Week 6: assess or refuse
Regulation 5 requires the local authority to notify its decision within six weeks.
If it refuses, the letter should give reasons and explain mediation and appeal rights. Check the date on the letter because the appeal deadline runs from that date.
If it agrees, the authority begins the assessment and seeks statutory advice.
The separate six-week advice deadline
During an assessment, people and bodies asked for advice normally have six weeks to respond. This can include the school, health services, an educational psychologist and social care.
That six-week advice period does not replace the 20-week overall limit. The local authority must manage the process so the final decision is made on time.
Week 16: no-plan notification
The 16-week deadline is often misunderstood. It applies where the local authority has assessed and decides that an EHC plan is not necessary.
It must notify the parent or young person as soon as practicable and no later than 16 weeks after the original assessment request.
A refusal to issue a plan has its own appeal right. It is different from a refusal to assess at week six.
The draft and the 15-day period
When the authority decides to issue a plan, it sends a draft. You must receive at least 15 days to comment, request a meeting and ask for a school or institution to be named.
This family response period is separate from the 15-day Code expectation for a school consulted about being named.
Use the 15-day draft response guide to make the comments specific.
Week 20: final plan
Regulation 13 requires the final plan within 20 weeks of the request, subject to narrow exceptions.
The final plan should contain the agreed sections and name a placement or type of placement in Section I. Issuing an incomplete or vague plan merely to record a date does not solve defects in the content.
When can an exception apply?
The regulations include limited exceptions involving matters such as:
- a request for school advice during a closure of at least four weeks
- exceptional personal circumstances affecting the child or parent
- the child or parent being absent from the local-authority area for a continuous period of at least four weeks
An exception applies only for the period the regulation permits. Ask the authority to identify the exact exception and dates it relies on.
What to do when the authority is late
- Write to the EHC plan team and state the original request date and missed deadline.
- Ask for the current stage, outstanding action and a firm completion date.
- Escalate through the authority's complaints procedure if the delay continues.
- Contact your local SENDIASS or IPSEA for information about the appropriate next step.
- Consider urgent legal advice where delay is causing serious loss of education or provision.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman can investigate delay after the council has had a chance to respond. A complaint does not replace a Tribunal appeal about an appealable decision.
Keep one record
Record:
- the request receipt date
- the six-week decision date
- each advice request and response
- the draft service date
- the end of the 15-day period
- the final-plan deadline
- complaint and appeal deadlines
Unisen keeps the EHCP timeline, evidence and draft comments in one family workspace.