What Is a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS)?
- Manu Thomas ACP | Former CQC Specialist Advisor | NICE Associate
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
What Does DoLS Stand For?
DoLS stands for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. It is the procedure prescribed in law when it is necessary to deprive a person of their liberty, a resident or patient who lacks the mental capacity to consent to their care and treatment, in order to keep them safe from harm.
The legal foundation sits within the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is underpinned by Article 5 of the Human Rights Act, which establishes that everyone has the right to liberty and security.
Who Does DoLS Apply To?
DoLS can only apply to people who are in a care home or hospital. To be subject to DoLS, a person must:
Be aged 18 or over
Lack mental capacity to consent to their care or living arrangements
Be receiving care in a care home or hospital setting
If someone lives in their own home or in supported living, permission to deprive them of their liberty must come from the Court of Protection rather than through the DoLS process.
What Counts as a "Deprivation of Liberty"?
This is where it can get tricky for care workers and managers. A Supreme Court judgement in March 2014 introduced the "acid test" to determine whether a person is being deprived of their liberty, which consists of two questions: Is the person subject to continuous supervision and control? And is the person free to leave permanently?
The focus is not on whether a person seems to want to leave, but on how staff and the organisation would react if they tried to.
How Does the DoLS Authorisation Process Work?
Care homes or hospitals, referred to as the "managing authority", must ask a local authority if they can deprive a person of their liberty. This is called requesting a standard authorisation. There are six assessments which must take place before a standard authorisation can be granted.
These six assessments cover:
Age — the person must be 18 or over
Mental health — they must have a mental disorder
Mental capacity — they must lack capacity to decide on their accommodation
Best interests — the deprivation must be in their best interests
Eligibility — DoLS must be the appropriate route (not the Mental Health Act)
No refusals — there must be no advance decision or lasting power of attorney that conflicts
Once a standard authorisation is granted, one key safeguard is that the person has someone appointed with legal powers to represent them, a Relevant Person's Representative (RPR), who is usually a family member or friend. Other safeguards include rights to challenge authorisations in the Court of Protection, and access to Independent Mental Capacity Advocates (IMCAs).
Urgent DoLS Authorisations
Sometimes, a situation requires immediate action. If a managing authority needs to deprive an individual of their liberty before the DoLS team can respond to a standard request, it can grant an urgent authorisation, allowing the deprivation of liberty for up to 7 days. If an extension is needed, the managing authority can request an additional 7 days from the DoLS team.
Why Does DoLS Matter for Care Staff?
Understanding DoLS is not just a compliance checkbox. It is a fundamental part of delivering person-centred, rights-based care. Failing to apply for a DoLS authorisation when one is needed means a person is being deprived of their liberty unlawfully, even if the care being provided is excellent.
The current DoLS system has a backlog of over 123,000 individuals, each representing an extremely vulnerable person who needs comprehensive care and support and does not have the mental capacity to make decisions about their care alone. This highlights the scale of the issue and why every care professional needs to understand their role.
What's Changing? DoLS and Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS)
DoLS is not going away yet, but reform is coming. The Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) are the proposed legal framework for England and Wales that will eventually replace DoLS. The aim is to drive more efficient and person-centred protections for people who lack capacity and who are deprived of their liberty, in line with their Article 5 right to liberty. Under LPS, authorisations will apply to people aged 16 and over and across all care settings, including supported living and home care.
The LPS will require only three assessments, covering capacity, medical, and necessary and proportionate considerations, compared to the six currently required under DoLS, with greater scope to reuse existing assessments.
A consultation on the LPS reforms is scheduled for the first half of 2026, and it is widely considered that the earliest the LPS could come into force is 2027. DoLS continue to be the system for authorising deprivations of liberty for this year and likely the next.
In the meantime, care providers should continue building strong foundations in MCA principles, best interests decision-making, and least restrictive practice, all of which will remain central under the new framework.
Key Takeaways for Care Professionals
DoLS protects people who lack mental capacity from being unlawfully deprived of their liberty in care homes and hospitals
The "acid test" asks: is the person under continuous supervision and unable to leave freely?
A standard authorisation requires six assessments and must be granted by the local authority
Urgent authorisations can be self-granted for up to 7 days in emergencies
DoLS is being replaced by LPS, likely from 2027, but the core MCA principles remain unchanged
Deepen Your Knowledge with DoLS Training
Understanding DoLS in theory is a start, but applying it confidently in practice requires proper training. CareLearner's DoLS online course covers everything from the legal framework to real-world scenarios, helping care workers and managers stay compliant and protect the people in their care.
Comments