Explain

Time limits for assessments and plans (6, 16 and 20 weeks)

The main time limits for an EHC needs assessment all count from the day the council receives the request, or becomes responsible. The council must say whether it will assess within 6 weeks. If it assesses and decides not to make a plan, it must say so within 16 weeks. If it makes a plan, the final plan must be sent within 20 weeks. Each is a latest date: the law says "as soon as practicable" and "in any event within" the time limit.

The High Court has held that the time limits for completing an assessment and issuing the final plan are firm legal duties, not targets. Only the exceptions listed in the Regulations stop a fixed date applying, and staff shortages are not one of them. When a time limit passes, nothing happens automatically: a request is not treated as agreed or refused, and the council must still act. Other time limits apply to reviews, amendments, re-assessments and tribunal orders.

Type of rule

Law (Act or Regulations)

Rule id

time_limits

Rules version

england-2026.10

Law as at

30 September 2026

Sources

• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 5(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 10(1)Law (Act or Regulations)
• SEND Regulations 2014, reg 13(2)Law (Act or Regulations)
• R (W) v Hertfordshire County Council [2023] EWHC 3138 (Admin)Case law, to verifyStill to confirm the citation, the holding, that the decision has not been overturned on appeal, and that it is treated as binding on the First-tier Tribunal.
• R (JSC) v Cambridgeshire County Council [2026] EWHC 68 (Admin)Case law, to verifyStill to confirm the citation, the holding, that the decision has not been overturned on appeal, and that it is treated as binding on the First-tier Tribunal.

Related

• Exceptions to the time limits
• When a letter counts as sent, served or received
• EHC needs assessment
• Draft EHC plan
• Final EHC plan

In an assistant, the ehcp_calculate_deadlines tool helps with this: EHCP deadlines.

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