A Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation does not give the care home or hospital any special powers. It only makes lawful the restrictions that are already or proposed to be in place. Families should be consulted about any proposed changes in the person’s care plan.

How to request Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation

You can request Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation to get:

• urgent authorisation (including a standard authorisation)
• a standard authorisation where you apply up to 28 days in advance of the person coming to you or you know you will be depriving them of their liberty from a certain date
• a further standard authorisation also referred to as a renewal (if you already have an authorisation in place and it’s due to expire)

When submitting your application, you must include:

• as much detail in your referrals as possible - this will help us triage their priority
• the person’s permanent address and demographic information
• the date they came to you

Which authority to apply to

Make sure you apply to the correct local authority. If the person is:

• applying from a hospital, check which local authority to apply to on GOV.UK
• self-funding or homeless, apply to the local authority in your area
• being paid for by another local authority, apply to that local authority
• paid for by NHS continuing healthcare, apply to the local authority that they lived in

If their local authority is Dorset Council, you must apply on the Dorset Council website.

Find out how we deal with your Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation application.

Contact us about Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

You can contact us by:

• email at dols@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
• phone on 01202 118 700

Changes to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) is a new legal framework which will replace the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

We are currently awaiting updated timescales from the government as to when the LPS will be implemented.

You can find out more about the Liberty Protection Safeguards and what these mean for individuals, carers and professionals.