Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) for Dementia in England: What Families Should Know

What DoLS Actually Means

The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are a legal framework under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 that protects people who lack mental capacity from being deprived of their liberty without proper authorisation. In plain terms: if your parent is in a care home or hospital and cannot leave freely because of their dementia, the care provider needs legal authorisation to keep them there.

This is not about bad care homes locking people up. It covers the everyday reality of dementia care — a parent who would walk out of the building and into traffic if the doors were not secured, or who is given medication to manage agitation without being able to consent. These restrictions may be necessary and in your parent's best interests, but they still amount to a deprivation of liberty under Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. DoLS ensure that these restrictions are lawful, proportionate, and subject to regular review.

When DoLS Apply

A DoLS authorisation is needed when all of the following conditions are met:

• The person is aged 18 or over
• They have a mental disorder (dementia qualifies)
• They lack the mental capacity to consent to their care arrangements
• They are in a care home or hospital (DoLS do not apply to private homes — a separate Court of Protection order is needed for deprivation of liberty in domestic settings)
• They are under continuous supervision and control, and are not free to leave

In practice, most people with moderate to severe dementia living in a care home meet these criteria. The care home (the "managing authority") is legally required to request a DoLS authorisation from the local authority (the "supervisory body").

What the Assessment Involves

When the care home applies for a DoLS authorisation, the local authority arranges six assessments:

1. Age assessment — confirming the person is 18 or over
2. Mental health assessment — confirming the person has a mental disorder
3. Mental capacity assessment — confirming the person lacks capacity to consent to their care arrangements
4. Best interests assessment — the core assessment, carried out by a Best Interests Assessor (BIA). The BIA evaluates whether the deprivation of liberty is in the person's best interests, whether it is a proportionate response to the risk of harm, and whether there is a less restrictive alternative
5. Eligibility assessment — checking that the person is not already subject to a conflicting legal regime (e.g., detention under the Mental Health Act)
6. No refusals assessment — checking that the authorisation does not conflict with a valid Advance Decision or an LPA attorney's decision

If all six assessments are satisfied, the local authority grants a standard authorisation for up to 12 months. It can be renewed.

What Families Need to Know

You should be consulted. The Best Interests Assessor must consult anyone who appears to have an interest in the person's welfare — which includes family members, attorneys under an LPA, and the person themselves (to the extent they can participate). If you are not contacted during the assessment, raise this with the local authority.

You can challenge it. If you believe the DoLS authorisation is not in your parent's best interests — for example, if you think a less restrictive setting is available — you have the right to challenge it through the Court of Protection. Legal aid may be available for this.

Your parent gets a representative. Every person subject to DoLS must be appointed a "relevant person's representative" (RPR) — usually a family member — who monitors the authorisation and can request a review. If there is no suitable family member, the local authority must appoint an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA).

Unauthorised DoLS is a safeguarding concern. If a care home is restricting your parent's liberty without a DoLS authorisation in place, this is unlawful. You can raise this with the CQC, the local authority safeguarding team, or the local government ombudsman.

The Backlog Problem

Local authorities in England have faced a persistent backlog of DoLS applications since a 2014 Supreme Court ruling significantly broadened the definition of deprivation of liberty. Many councils take months to process applications, meaning people may be held under "urgent authorisations" (which last up to seven days and can be extended by up to a further seven days only in exceptional circumstances) while waiting for a standard assessment. The Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) were legislated in 2019 to replace DoLS with a simpler framework, but implementation has been repeatedly delayed.

For families, the backlog means you should not assume that the absence of a DoLS notification means your parent is not being deprived of their liberty. Ask the care home manager directly: has a DoLS application been submitted? What restrictions are in place? When was the last review?

Our Dementia Care in England guide covers the full legal framework for mental capacity, LPAs, and care home rights — including how DoLS interacts with the Care Act assessment and NHS Continuing Healthcare processes.

See more England guides →