---
title: "Record a complaint about a denial of legal assistance"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/legal-aid-and-community-legal-practice/prepare-the-appeal-or-review-request-against-a-refused-or-terminated-gra/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A54-E20261018-1-US"
practice_area: "Legal Aid & Community Legal Practice"
tier: "red"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Record a complaint about a denial of legal assistance

> List the decision the file describes as a denial, the date, and whether the file shows that the applicant was given notice of how to complain.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/legal-aid-and-community-legal-practice/prepare-the-appeal-or-review-request-against-a-refused-or-terminated-gra/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Legal Aid & Community Legal Practice](https://ailawframework.com/practice/legal-aid-and-community-legal-practice.md) |
| Human involvement | Red: Lawyer writes; AI may check, clarify or collect data |
| How AI is used | List the decision the file describes as a denial, the date, and whether the file shows that the applicant was given notice of how to complain. Do not write the complaint, and do not treat a termination of assistance already granted as if this section stated that procedure. |
| What the lawyer must review | You write any complaint. 45 CFR § 1621.1 says this part requires recipients to establish grievance procedures to process complaints by applicants about the denial of legal assistance and complaints by clients about the manner or quality of legal assistance provided. Section 1621.3 requires a recipient to establish a simple procedure for review of complaints by applicants about decisions to deny legal assistance. At a minimum the procedure provides a practical method for giving applicants adequate notice of the complaint procedures and how to make a complaint, and an opportunity for applicants to confer with the executive director or the executive director's designee and, to the extent practical, with a representative of the governing body. The procedure shall be designed to foster effective communications between the recipient and complaining applicants. The opened section does not state a number of days, and it does not state a procedure for termination of assistance already granted. Eligibility under 45 CFR part 1611 is a separate question. The opened text of sections 1611.3 and 1611.4 does not decide this complaint. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Prepare the appeal or review request against a refused or terminated grant of aid](https://ailawframework.com/practice/legal-aid-and-community-legal-practice/prepare-the-appeal-or-review-request-against-a-refused-or-terminated-gra.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List the decision the file describes as a denial, the date, and whether the file shows that the applicant was given notice of how to complain. Do not write the complaint, and do not treat a termination of assistance already granted as if this section stated that procedure.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Section 1621.3 is about a decision to deny legal assistance to an applicant. It does not state a procedure for ending assistance already granted.
- No time limit is stated in the opened sections. Do not add one.
- The complaint is yours. The list does not confer with the executive director.

## Sources

- [45 CFR § 1621.3, complaints by applicants about denial of legal assistance](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/1621.3) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [45 CFR § 1621.1, purpose of client grievance procedures](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/45/1621.1) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*