How long do I have to take my complaint to an ombudsman?

Short answer

It depends on the scheme. Six months from the final response for the Financial Ombudsman and the Legal Ombudsman; twelve months for energy, telecoms, property, housing and the public-sector ombudsmen. Most schemes can extend the deadline in exceptional circumstances, but you have to ask and explain the delay.

There is no single deadline, and missing one by days is among the commonest ways a good complaint dies. Two separate clocks matter: how long you have to start a complaint with the organisation, and how long you have to refer it onwards once they have finished with it.

Referral windows, scheme by scheme

Financial Ombudsman Service — 6 months from the firm's final response, plus a longstop of 6 years from the event or 3 years from when you knew or ought to have known. Both limbs must be satisfied.
Legal Ombudsman — 6 months from the firm's final response, and separately within 1 year of the act or omission complained of.
Energy Ombudsman — refer after 8 weeks or on a deadlock letter, and within 12 months of that letter.
Telecoms ADR — for complaints raised on or after 8 April 2026 the scheme opens after 6 weeks (8 weeks for older complaints), with 12 months from a deadlock letter to refer.
LGSCO and PHSO — normally 12 months from when you first knew about the problem. PHSO referrals must go through your MP.
Housing Ombudsman — 12 months from the landlord's final response.
Property redress schemes and the Rail Ombudsman — 12 months.

Protecting the deadline

The referral clock normally starts on the date of the final response, so keep that letter and note the date the day it arrives. If no final response ever comes, the passage of 8 weeks in most regulated sectors gives you the right to refer anyway, and an organisation cannot use its own silence to block you.

Watch the front end too. The 8-week clock runs from when you first raised the complaint, not from a later, more formally worded letter — so a dated email or a screenshot of an online form is worth keeping. A firm cannot unilaterally extend the deadline by asking for more time; in financial services the 8 weeks is absolute.

If you have already missed a window, contact the scheme immediately and set out why — serious illness, bereavement, or being misled about your rights are the reasons most often accepted. Every ombudsman has some discretion, none of them exercises it automatically, and a civil claim in contract may still survive under the ordinary six-year limitation period even where the scheme says no.

Read the full guide: Complaint Response Timelines in the UKCovers eligibility, the process, deadlines, and next steps in depth.

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