UK Act of Parliament 2005 United Kingdom

Mental Capacity Act 2005

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At a glance

Enforced by

CIW, CQC, HMCTS, UK Government

What's here

14 compliance obligations, 2 practical guides · 2 journeys

Penalty landscape

2 of 14 obligations carry up to 2 years imprisonment. 1 carries different penalties and 11 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 9

Plus 5 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Supporting — topic alignment

2 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1 — Persons who lack capacity

s.033

Additional safeguards

  • Protect and withdraw research participants who lack mental capacity Any Person
s.039

Person becomes subject to Schedule A1

  • Notify the local authority if a resident lacks an advocate Any Person
s.039

Person unrepresented whilst subject to Schedule A1

  • Notify the local authority if a person loses their representative Any Person
s.039

Person subject to Schedule A1 without paid representative

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Supervisory body must appoint an advocate for unrepresented persons Local authority
s.043

Codes of practice: procedure

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Lord Chancellor must follow procedure to issue or revise Codes of Practice Crown / Minister / Government department
s.044

Ill-treatment or neglect

5 years imprisonment
  • Ill‑treat or wilfully neglect a person lacking capacity Any Person
Browse 44 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.004

Restriction on deprivation of liberty

s.004

Deprivation of liberty necessary for life-sustaining treatment etc

s.016

Section 16 powers: Mental Health Act patients etc

s.021

Powers of court in relation to Schedule A1

s.039

Section 39A: supplementary provision

s.039

Limitation on duty to instruct advocate under section 39D

Part 2 — The Court of Protection and the Public Guardian

s.054

Fees

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Lord Chancellor must set and publicise Court of Protection fees Crown / Minister / Government department
s.058

Functions of the Public Guardian

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Public Guardian must supervise deputies and maintain registers Statutory regulator
s.060

Annual report

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Public Guardian must report annually to the Lord Chancellor Statutory regulator
Browse 14 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 3 — Miscellaneous and general

Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Schedules

Browse 6 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
s.sch001a

Persons ineligible to be deprived of liberty by this Act

Other sections — not classified into a Part

These sections exist in the Act but the contents-of-Parts walker did not place them under a Part. Likely amendments or sections inserted out of the original Part structure.

Browse 2 other unclassified sections
s.deprivation of liberty: authorisation of arrangeme

Deprivation of liberty: authorisation of arrangements enabling care and treatment

s.hospital and care home residents: deprivation of l

Hospital and care home residents: deprivation of liberty

Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

CIW

Primary

Care Inspectorate Wales

Registers and inspects social care and childcare services in Wales. Regulates care homes, domiciliary care, children's homes, and childminders.

CQC

Care Quality Commission

Independent regulator of health and social care in England. Registers, monitors, inspects and rates hospitals, care homes, GP practices, dental surgeries, and …

HMCTS

HM Courts & Tribunals Service

Executive agency responsible for the administration of criminal, civil, and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Publishes court forms, fees, …

UK Government

UK Government (Cross-Departmental)

Generic publisher code for cross-departmental government publications that don't map to a specific regulator or department. Used for guidance that spans multiple …

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Browse legislation

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Regulators

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