A person who has been refused legal aid other than on ground of means may submit an application to the LASC. In order to prevent abuse of the Scheme, each applicant can only apply once for a certificate in respect of the same case.

For civil cases, a certificate by counsel will only be provided if the case has been heard by the Court of Appeal (CA) and the intended appeal to the CFA is related to a judgment or decision or order on the substantive merits of the case as opposed to an interlocutory decision or order by the CA.