How to guide and FAQs

To find out what you need for admission, see Admission application page.

Log in to mySRA and apply for a practising certificate in Individual Available Applications.

Log in to mySRA now

Find out more in Before and After admission.

Your details should appear on the Solicitor’s Register within 24 hours, as we aim to update this daily.

Your details should appear on Find a Solicitor 48 hours after your practising certificate has been issued.

If you have been admitted to the roll of solicitors of England and Wales, you can expect an invitation directly from the Law Society. Further information can be found on Before and After admission.

We no longer accept paper applications – you must apply for admission in mySRA, where you can apply, make payment and upload supporting documents. Find out more by going to Admission application and fees.

We will send you a notification confirming your application has been granted. You will need to log in to mySRA and select your admission date. (this must be within 30 days of the date your application has been granted).

You can choose your own admission date after we have approved your admission application. It must be within 30 days of our decision and you can choose your date once we email you about your application.

Please refer to our service levels. You can also check our admission dates and timescales on our admission application page.

If you are a trainee, you will get a notification in your mySRA four weeks before the end of your training telling you that you need to go through a screening process before admission.

It is a check which is completed before admission as a solicitor. If you have lived in the UK for 12 months or more during the last 5 years, you must complete an online screening application with Atlantic Data Ltd. 

The screening process (which includes a Disclosure and Barring Service check) looks at: 

• Spent and current convictions. 
• Police cautions. 
• Reprimands or final warnings recorded on the police national computer. 
• Financial History.

If you have not lived in the UK for 12 months or more during the last five year period you still need to complete pre-admission screening but instead  we will check your name and current address and you will be required to upload  ID documents instead of DBS screening. 

You will also need to upload an original criminal record check from any country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the last five years. The check(s) must be no more than three months old and include an official translation if not in English.

Anyone applying for admission as a solicitor, or anyone who is applying for early assessment of their character and suitability, and has lived in the UK for 12 months or more during the last five years.

If you have not lived in the UK for 12 months or more during the last five year period you still need to complete pre-admission screening but instead  we will check your name and current address and you will be required to upload  ID documents instead of DBS screening. 

You will also need to upload an original criminal record check from any country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the last five years. The check(s) must be no more than three months old and include an official translation if not in English.

Please allow four weeks for the application to be processed. Once the screening process is complete, the Disclosure and Barring Service will send you a Standard Certificate. We will contact you by email should we require this certificate. You will only need to upload this if an issue is disclosed.

It depends on the matter(s) you disclose.

When you log in to mySRA, go to Individual Available Applications to complete the application for admission. We will tell you what you need to provide but you can also find more information in Part 4 of the Assessment of Character and Suitability Rules.

They will need to be independent professional people who know you in a professional capacity. They must be aware of the matter you have disclosed and can attest to your character and suitability, for example an employer or tutor. We will not accept personal references or references from friends or family members.

Your reference needs to include:

• your relationship with the applicant 
• that you are aware of the matter(s) disclosed 
• that in your opinion the applicant is a suitable person to be admitted.
• your contact details

You can provide the reference to the applicant and they can submit this to us, however, we may contact you to validate for further information.

References can be uploaded as part of your application in mySRA.

Yes, as we cannot decide until we have all of the relevant information. You should upload this information with your application.

We aim to reach a decision within 6 months of your application being submitted. However, this does depend on us receiving all the required information.