What is the Citizens Advice Bureau?

Citizens Advice is a national network of independent charities across the United Kingdom that provides free, confidential, and impartial advice on legal, financial, consumer, housing, employment, benefits, and immigration matters.

The service was founded on 4 September 1939, the day after Britain declared war on Germany, to help people navigate the huge volume of wartime regulation on rationing, evacuation, housing requisition, missing relatives, and pensions. It grew in the post-war years as a civilian advice service and has become one of the most trusted voluntary organisations in British public life. The network operates as a federation of around 250 local charities in England and Wales, each a member of the national Citizens Advice charity, with separate Citizens Advice Scotland and Advice NI bodies covering Scotland and Northern Ireland. The title was shortened from "Citizens Advice Bureau" to "Citizens Advice" in 2003, though the older name is still widely used.

Advice is delivered through several channels. People can drop in at a local bureau, book an appointment, call the national Adviceline (0800 144 8848 in England, 0800 702 2020 in Wales), use a webchat service, or read self-help information on citizensadvice.org.uk. The service is staffed mainly by trained volunteers, supported by paid managers and specialist advisers. Advisers are not qualified solicitors but are trained to identify legal issues, explain options, and help people decide on next steps. For complex legal matters, advisers refer clients to solicitors, legal aid providers, or specialist services.

The most common issues people bring to Citizens Advice concern benefits (particularly Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment), debt, consumer complaints, housing (including evictions and housing repairs), employment disputes, energy bills, and relationship breakdown. Citizens Advice is the statutory consumer body for the energy and postal sectors in Great Britain, which means it represents consumers to Ofgem, Ofcom, and government.

Citizens Advice also uses the evidence from its advice work to campaign on policy. Its research into Universal Credit, consumer protection, loan sharks, and energy pricing has shaped government policy and regulation. The national charity is funded by a mix of government grants, local authority contracts, trusts, and donations. Local bureaux are largely funded by their local authority and by charitable grants, which is why service levels vary between areas.

For many people in the United Kingdom, Citizens Advice is the first place they turn for help with a practical problem they do not know how to solve.