SRA price transparency rules: which services need published prices
Since December 2018, SRA regulated firms that offer certain common legal services must publish their prices on their websites. Here is the list, and what the price section has to contain.
The services covered
The SRA Transparency Rules list the services where price information must be published. For members of the public:
- Residential conveyancing (buying, selling, remortgaging a home): see the conveyancing quotes guide
- Probate, where the estate is uncontested and the assets are in the UK: see the probate fees guide
- Motoring offences dealt with at the magistrates' court (summary offences): see the motoring offence costs guide
- Immigration applications and First-tier Tribunal immigration appeals (excluding asylum): see the immigration solicitor fees guide
- Employment tribunal claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal: see the employment tribunal costs guide
For businesses:
- Debt recovery up to 100,000 pounds: see the debt recovery fees guide
- Defending employment tribunal claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal
- Licensing applications for business premises (new applications or variations)
A firm only has to publish prices for the listed services it actually offers. A firm doing none of them has no price publication duty, although the SRA badge and complaints information duties still apply to it.
What the price section must include
- The total cost, or where that is not possible an average cost or a range, with the basis for the charges (fixed fee or hourly rates)
- What services are included in that price, and what is not
- Likely disbursements (third party costs such as search fees or court fees) and their cost
- Whether VAT applies, and if so the amount
- The key stages of the work and typical timescales
- The experience and qualifications of the people who will carry out the work and of their supervisors
- Where relevant, whether clients may have to pay under a conditional fee or damages-based agreement
The information must be in a prominent place on the website, so a visitor can find it without asking. Firms without a website must provide the same information on request.
How many firm websites actually show prices
Our automated scan of SRA regulated firm websites records whether price information was found on each site. The transparency statistics page shows the national and per-town picture, and the checks by town pages show individual results. If you are trying to find out what a solicitor will actually charge you, start with the guide to finding solicitor prices.
Automated findings from public pages only. This is not a legal opinion, and "not found" does not mean a firm has broken a rule: the information may sit on a page the scan did not reach, or the firm may not offer any listed service.