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Formal complaint to your council (England)
England · in English
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For a resident unhappy with a council service or decision — bins, potholes, planning enforcement, noise, social care, a school place process or poor handling of an earlier request: a formal complaint under the council’s complaints procedure, saying what happened, what you have done so far and what you want the council to do. Use the council’s online form if it has one. If you are still unhappy after its final reply, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman looks at complaints free of charge.
- Made for use in England
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- Your council in England keeps missing your bin collection week after week.
- You reported a dangerous pothole months ago and the council has done nothing.
- You are unhappy with how the council handled your parent’s social care assessment.
- You want to make a formal complaint to the council before going to the ombudsman.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Council
- Council's address, with postcode
- Council's reference (blank if none)
- Service or decision the complaint is about (e.g. missed bin collections)
- What the complaint is about
- Complaint history
- Requested outcome
- Attachments
Common questions
- Should I use the council’s online complaint form instead?
- If it has one, yes, or paste this letter into it: every council publishes its complaints procedure and most take complaints online or by email, free. The letter is for when you want a clear written record of what you asked and when. Some matters have their own route: complaints about the council as your landlord go to the Housing Ombudsman Service, parking penalty charge notices to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal or London Tribunals.
- When can I go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman?
- Once the council has had a fair chance to put things right through its complaints procedure; the Ombudsman considers up to 12 weeks a reasonable time for the council’s reply. It is free, and you should usually complain within 12 months of first knowing about the problem (Local Government Act 1974, s 26B). Complain online or by phone, with a copy of this letter and the council’s replies.
- What should a complaint to a council in England include?
- The facts in date order, with reference numbers, the names of people you dealt with and copies of letters, emails and photos; what you have already done to sort it out; and a clear outcome you want — an apology, a decision looked at again, a repair, a refund or a change of practice. Keep it factual and polite, ask for a reply, and keep a copy of everything. The council’s answer is the first step towards the Ombudsman.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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