- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Mental Capacity Act 2005
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes to legislation:
Mental Capacity Act 2005, Section 2 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 25 December 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to Section 2:
- s. 58(4)(ca) inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 10
- Sch. 1 para. 4A inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 3
- Sch. 1 para. 10A and cross-heading inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 6
- Sch. 1 para. 13A inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 7(2)
- Sch. 1 para. 16(1A) inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 8(b)
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 58(4)(ca) inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 10
- Sch. 1 para. 4A inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 3
- Sch. 1 para. 10A and cross-heading inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 6
- Sch. 1 para. 13A inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 7(2)
- Sch. 1 para. 16(1A) inserted by 2023 c. 42 Sch. para. 8(b)
2People who lack capacityE+W
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)For the purposes of this Act, a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the material time he is unable to make a decision for himself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain.
(2)It does not matter whether the impairment or disturbance is permanent or temporary.
(3)A lack of capacity cannot be established merely by reference to—
(a)a person's age or appearance, or
(b)a condition of his, or an aspect of his behaviour, which might lead others to make unjustified assumptions about his capacity.
(4)In proceedings under this Act or any other enactment, any question whether a person lacks capacity within the meaning of this Act must be decided on the balance of probabilities.
(5)No power which a person (“D”) may exercise under this Act—
(a)in relation to a person who lacks capacity, or
(b)where D reasonably thinks that a person lacks capacity,
is exercisable in relation to a person under 16.
(6)Subsection (5) is subject to section 18(3).
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1S. 2 applied (temp.) (1.4.2015) by The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/2936), regs. 1(5)(6), 8(3)
Commencement Information
I1S. 2 wholly in force at 1.10.2007; s. 2 not in force at Royal Assent see s. 68(1)-(3); s. 2 in force for certain purposes at 1.4.2007 by S.I. 2007/563, arts. 1(2)(3), 2(2)(b)(3) and s. 2 in force otherwise at 1.10.2007 by S.I. 2007/1897, art. 2(2)(b)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
You have chosen to open The Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open the Whole Act
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
You have chosen to open Schedules only
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.