Free personal care is one of the more generous parts of Scotland's care system, and one of the most misunderstood. It pays for some of the help a person needs. It does not pay for the care home itself.
What counts as personal care
Personal care is hands-on help with daily living: washing, dressing, going to the toilet, eating, taking medication and moving around. The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 says it should not normally be charged for.
Housework, shopping and similar tasks are different. Councils can charge for those under their own charging policies, so a care package at home can be partly free and partly paid for.
Who qualifies
Any adult the local council assesses as needing personal care. There is no means test, so savings, property and income make no difference. It doesn't matter whether you live at home, in sheltered housing or in a care home.
Age doesn't matter either. Free personal care was extended to adults under 65 from 1 April 2019, under what is known as Frank's Law. Before that it applied only to people aged 65 and over.
What it pays, and how
The rates from 1 April 2026 are £260.30 a week for personal care, and £117.10 a week for nursing care. Nursing care is paid only to care home residents who need it.
How the money reaches you depends on where you live. In a care home, the council pays the contribution to the home, and the home takes it off your bill. At home, you receive the personal care as a service without a charge, not as cash.
What it doesn't cover
A care home charges for far more than personal care. The room, meals, heating, laundry and the building are all accommodation costs. They are not free, and whether the council helps depends on your income and capital. Our guide on whether Scotland caps care home costs sets out the limits and how a home is treated.
Disability benefits can change when someone moves into a care home. The council charging guidance published in March 2026 says care-related disability benefits are paid for the first 28 days for someone receiving free personal care in a care home, and continue where only free nursing care is paid. It still lists the older benefit names. Attendance Allowance has since been replaced in Scotland by Pension Age Disability Payment, so ask Social Security Scotland how the rule applies before the move. Our guide to Pension Age Disability Payment has the rates.
How to get an assessment
Free personal care depends on being assessed. It isn't granted automatically.
- Contact the social work department at your local council and ask for a community care assessment. A relative can ask on your behalf.
- Ask in writing, or confirm a phone call in writing, so the date is on record.
- The council decides what care you need and what it will provide. If you disagree, ask for a review and use the council's complaints procedure.
- If you are entering a care home as a self-funder, ask the council to confirm in writing that the payments will go to the home.
Once you are assessed as eligible for support, the council must also offer a choice in how it is arranged. That is covered in our guide to self-directed support.
Four things people get wrong
"Care is free in Scotland" is the biggest one. The personal and nursing contributions are free. A care home place is not.
The second is that it only applies over 65. It hasn't since April 2019.
The third is that owning a house stops you qualifying. It doesn't. Your property affects what you pay for accommodation, not whether you get free personal care.
The fourth is that the council will arrange it unasked. It won't. The assessment has to be requested.
Planning around it
Free personal care covers a fixed amount, so the gap between that and the real cost of care is where planning matters. A power of attorney lets someone you trust deal with the council and the paperwork if you can't. Long-term care planning looks at how your home and savings would be treated, so the first time you see the numbers isn't in a crisis.