By Olivia Hart

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will raise the practising certificate price from £190 to £240 for 2026-27, up more than 26%, in a move expected to generate £111.5m.

The change, announced in the regulator’s 2026-27 business plan, supports its transformation strategy. It follows a 65% cumulative increase since 2021-22, when the certificate cost £145. Qualified solicitors in England and Wales need a practising certificate to provide legal services.

What fee changes will practitioners face?

• Practising certificate: The price rises from £190 in 2025-26 to £240 in 2026-27, an increase of more than 26%.
• Solicitor discretionary contribution: The fee rises from £70 to £170.
• Law firm discretionary contribution: The fee rises from £1,950 to £2,170.

The discretionary fund accounts for the largest jump in fees for lawyers and law firms. The SRA said higher contributions were needed to meet its future obligations. Since 2021-22, fees for lawyers have risen 325%, while fees for law firms have increased by more than 185%.

The compensation fund protects clients, small businesses, charities and trusts that suffer financial loss because a solicitor or law firm steals money or fails to account for it. The regulator has used that safety net repeatedly after corporate failures, with three recent collapses now driving higher charges.

What failures drove the fee increases?

Axiom Ince failed in 2023 when £64m of client money went missing. PM Law folded in February after £39.5m of suspected client-account fraud, while SSB Group collapsed in January 2024 owing more than £200m to litigation funders.

As of 5 August, the SRA had received more than 500 applications following PM Law’s collapse. Those applications resulted in £15.6m being deducted from the fund.

What does the reset require of firms?

Sarah Rapson, SRA chief executive, said the watchdog needed a complete regulatory reset. Rapson said: “I was appointed chief executive in November 2025, at a time of growing pressure on the organisation. I spent my first months in the role carefully identifying issues and undertaking an evaluation of the areas that we need to address.”

She added: “While there is much the organisation does well and on which to build, the SRA faces multiple challenges which, taken together, mean that a reset is required.” The statement points to a rebuild of the regulator’s operating model, not merely a change in fee levels.

To maintain public confidence, the SRA will require firms to set specific, binding timelines for resolving complaints from the point they are first made. Firms must also give clients regular progress updates. These provisions move case management from open-ended handling toward defined service standards.

The watchdog will narrow its strategic focus to a broader set of regulatory tools designed to identify risks earlier. Heavy investment in data collection and analysis should help it spot patterns of consumer harm and intervene before a firm collapses. The intended model works more like a smoke alarm than an insurance claim made after a fire.

The workload is rising alongside the demand for earlier intervention. Between November 2022 and October 2025, the SRA assessed 16,499 misconduct reports, up 45% from 11,378. The 45% increase leaves the reset with a larger caseload before it tightens response times.

For practitioners, the fee changes are quantifiable: £240 for a certificate and £170 for a solicitor’s discretionary contribution. The larger shift lies in supervision, with binding complaint deadlines and regular client updates replacing open-ended discretion. The SRA has now set the cost of the reset; firms must meet the accompanying complaint standards.