Making a payment in a legal aid case
You might need to make a payment in a legally-aided case to the Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland (LSANI). This can happen because of your income, savings, property you own or the outcome of the case.
If you need to pay the Legal Services Agency
The Legal Services Agency (LSANI) will write to you and explain:
- how much you need to pay them
- why you need to pay them
- when you need to pay them
They’ll give you:
- a LSANI account number
- a barcode to use when paying by smartphone, telephone, at a post office or PayPoint outlet
How you can pay the Legal Services Agency
You can pay LSANI:
- online using a debit card or credit card
- by app on a smartphone
- by Direct Debit
- at the post office
- at PayPoint outlets
- by telephone using a debit card or credit card
Paying online with a debit or credit card
To pay online using a debit or credit card, you will need your LSANI account number and your debit or credit card details. There is no charge to pay by debit or credit card.
Paying by app on a smartphone
The allpay application accepts payments for the Legal Services Agency. You’ll need to download and set up the app on your smartphone. When the app is downloaded, you’ll need your barcode number and a debit or credit card.
Paying by Direct Debit
To pay by Direct Debit, you fill in a mandate form. This allows LSANI to collect money from your bank or building society account. You can set up a Direct Debit:
- online
- by post
- by telephone
Setting up a Direct Debit
To set up a Direct Debit online, go to:
You can download a Direct Debit mandate form. You need to print, fill in and send the form to LSANI.
To set up a Direct Debit by telephone, you need to contact LSANI helpline with your LSANI account number and your bank or building society information:
- telephone: 028 9040 8888
Paying at a Post Office
To pay with cash in a Post Office, you will need your LSANI barcode scanned. You should keep the receipt and allow five working days for your payment to reach LSANI.
If you pay by cheque in a Post Office, write the cheque to 'Post Office Ltd'.
Paying by PayPoint
You can pay by PayPoint in a shop. In most PayPoint outlets, you can pay by cheque, cash or debit card. But some outlets don’t accept cheques or debit cards.
You'll need your LSANI barcode scanned when you pay. You should keep your receipt and allow five working days for your payment to reach LSANI.
Paying by telephone
You can pay by telephone using a debit or credit card. There is no charge to pay by debit or credit card. To pay by telephone using a debit or credit card, you’ll need your LSANI barcode number. allpay accepts payments by telephone for LSANI:
- telephone 0330 041 6497
- Contacting 08 and 03 numbers
Privacy notice
To find out how Legal Services Agency handles your personal information, go to: