For parents and carers in England
The council has a case management system.
Now you have one too.
The EHCP process runs on legal deadlines that councils miss every day. Enter your dates and see exactly what the council owes you, when it was due, and what to do when it is late. With the law cited on every line.
Check your deadlines, freeTakes under a minute. No signup. Your dates never leave your device.
Your case, set out like a case file
This is what you get: every deadline that applies to your case, its legal basis, and its status today.
Final EHC plan issued
Reg 13(2), SEND Regulations 2014
Due 22 July 2026
16 days over. BreachedYour appeal window
Tribunal Rules, r.20(1)(c)
Closes 4 September 2026
28 days left. Act soonAnnual review due
Children and Families Act 2014, s.44(1)
By 10 March 2027
On trackHow it works
Tell it where you are
Pick your stage, from first request to annual review, and enter the dates from your letters.
See your case ledger
Every deadline that applies, computed from the regulations, including the exceptions councils rely on.
Act with the law behind you
Save the dates to your calendar. Where the council is in breach, see the correct next step to take.
Why parents can trust this
Cited, not asserted
Every deadline carries its regulation number. Quote it in your next email to the council.
Private by design
The checker runs in your browser. Your child's dates are never sent to us or anyone else.
Honest about exceptions
Four narrow grounds can lawfully pause some clocks. We show them rather than pretend they do not exist.
Alongside the charities
IPSEA and SENDIASS give brilliant free advice. We handle the dates and paperwork so you can use their advice well.
The system you are up against, in numbers
638,745
children and young people in England have an EHC plan
DfE, January 2025
46.4%
of new plans were issued inside the legal 20 week limit. Most were late.
DfE, 2024, excluding lawful exceptions
26.6%
of requests for an assessment were refused first time
DfE, 2025
95–99%
of decided Tribunal appeals go the parent's way
HMCTS data, 2023–25
Refusals and delays are structural, not personal. Parents who know the deadlines and push back win. See the full success rate data.
Guides that answer the question you actually have
How to apply for an EHCP
Who can ask, what to write, the evidence that matters, and every deadline from request to final plan.
Refused? What to do next
A quarter of requests are refused first time. The refusal is not the end. Your rights and next steps.
The 20 week deadline
What the law requires, the four narrow exceptions, and what councils get wrong about them.
Council missed a deadline
The escalation ladder that gets results: chase, complain, Ombudsman, and when to mention judicial review.
Sections A to K explained
Which sections carry legal weight, and the exact wording tests that make provision enforceable.
Appeals and the Tribunal
What you can appeal, the mediation step, the deadlines, and what the process really involves.
Coming this September: your full case file
The free checker is the start. The full tool tracks your whole case: a contact log that builds your tribunal chronology, letters matched to your exact stage and dates, and a plain answer to the question that matters, which is what to do next. Founding access will be £49 as a one-off, not a subscription.
Common questions
Is the deadline checker really free?
Yes. The checker is free, needs no signup, and runs entirely on your device. We are building a paid case tool for later in the process, but the checker stays free.
Where do the deadlines come from?
From the law: the Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Regulations 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 2015. Every deadline we show carries its exact regulation reference so you can quote it to the council.
My council says the 20-week deadline does not apply. Can that be true?
Sometimes. The regulations allow four narrow exceptions, for example a school closed for at least four weeks over the summer. The checker knows the exceptions and will not call something a breach when an exception genuinely applies.
Does this cover Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
No. EHC plans are England-only law. Scotland uses Co-ordinated Support Plans (see Enquire), Wales uses Individual Development Plans (see SNAP Cymru), and Northern Ireland uses Statements.