Apply for Help

Pisgah Legal Services provides free legal help in non-criminal matters to people who cannot afford a private attorney.

To apply for services, please call our office or click below:

Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm
(828) 253-0406 or toll free 1-800-489-6144

Pisgah Legal Services is in this recovery effort for the long haul, and we are committed to helping folks access local, state and federal resources as they are made available.

Do you need assistance with ACA health insurance through Healthcare.gov or help filing your taxes? Click the button below:

HEALTH INSURANCE OR TAX HELP

Para información en Español, aprete aquí.

If you are homebound, or have a court date that needs action at once, please tell the receptionist when you call. If you are asked to come in for an appointment, please bring all papers related to your case. View our tip sheet to help make sure we can reach you about your application: English or Spanish

What to Expect

• We make 3 attempts to reach you within 7-10 days
• Calls may come from an “unknown/private number” – please answer!
• We may also send text messages in an attempt to reach you
• Online applications can help us get back to you faster
• If you have not heard from us within 10 days, please call back 
• Screenings normally happen over the phone but an appointment can be made for an in-person screening if there are challenging circumstances

Help Us Reach You

	Tell us in your application if you have trouble with phone service or Wi-Fi
	Add a secondary number or another way to contact you
	Set up your voicemail and make sure it’s not full
	Preload minutes on your phone if needed
	Make sure to answer calls from unrecognized numbers

Pisgah Legal does not charge for our services and will not ask for bank account information or money payments over the phone. If you receive a phone call from someone saying they are from PLS and asking for your financial information to process a payment this is a scam and DO NOT PROVIDE them with any information.

Pisgah Legal Services is committed to equal justice for all people. Pisgah Legal Services does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, immigration status, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Concerns about discrimination should be brought to the attention of the Executive Director.

Our programs include:

• Children’s Law
• Client & Community Resource Team
• Community Economic Development
• Consumer Law
• Disaster Recovery
• Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention
• Elder Law
• Expunction
• Homelessness Prevention
• Health Justice (ACA)
• Income Security
• Justice for All (Assisting Immigrants)
• Low Income Taxpayer Clinic
• Medical/Legal Partnerships
• Veterans Law
• WNC Health and Economic Opportunity Program

To qualify for help from PLS, you must:

1. Meet our low-income guidelines. We determine if you qualify by looking at income, family size, assets, and living expenses.
2. Have a problem that affects your basic needs.

PLS primarily helps people in Buncombe, Avery, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk,  Rutherford, Transylvania,and Yancey counties. We provide limited immigration services in other Western North Carolina counties.

Because we have limited funds to serve more than 100,000 eligible people in 11 counties, we cannot take every case. We try to help those with the greatest need and give priority to some types of legal problems (see above).

What types of cases does PLS NOT handle?

• PLS does not handle criminal cases.
• We do not usually handle cases where a private attorney could receive a fee as part of money awarded by a court or agency.
• We do not usually handle personal injury cases, bankruptcies, property transactions, or traffic accident cases.