FAQs about keeping of the roll

Solicitors without a practising certificate can now complete their application telling us they wish to remain on the roll. 

Deadline to complete the application and pay the £20 administration fee is 28 May 2023.

This exercise will take place annually.

Find out how to apply

The application is only available through mySRA.

If you need a reasonable adjustment you can contact us to make a request. All applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Read our reasonable adjustment policy.

To find out what work you can do as a non-practising solicitor please contact our Professional Ethics Guidance team.

Do nothing. Anyone who does not apply will automatically be removed from the roll after the application window closes.

Yes, you will need to complete an application and pay the £20 administration fee.

Find out how to apply

No, organisations cannot pay in bulk for solicitors applying to remain on the roll. Individuals must submit their own application.

The £20 administration fee must be paid by credit or debit card at the end of the application form.

An employer may choose to reimburse the fee afterwards.

We understand you may be working in some other capacity and not as a solicitor, so may be wondering why you need to end your employment details. This is because we only need to hold a solicitor’s employment details if they are practising or working under section 88 (Solicitors Act 1974). Therefore you will need to delete this from your record in order to complete your application.

If you are on the roll and working you should consider carefully whether you need a practising certificate, particularly if you are working in a law firm in any capacity.

See further guidance on when you need a practising certificate.

If you have a current practising certificate you will not see the 'remain on the roll' application. You do not need to apply. You must also have been admitted to the roll before April 2022 to apply to remain.

If you still wish to apply to remain on the roll please contact us.

Yes, there is a £20 administration fee which covers the cost of the exercise and maintaining our records.

If you wish to remain on the roll you must apply between 3 April and 28 May 2023.

If you do not apply we will send you a notice of our decision to remove you from the roll. This will be after the application window closes on 28 May 2023.

There will be 28 days from the date we send you our notice to appeal your removal.

You name will be removed from the roll if no appeal is made or our decision is upheld.

We have made every reasonable endeavour to contact all those impacted by the reintroduction of the keeping of the roll exercise.

We wrote to all those impacted either by email and/or letter using their last email or postal address in mySRA.

This was done on multiple occasions both before and during the application window. We also placed adverts in national and legal press and promoted the exercise on our website and social media channels.

1. Go to login page. Click on Forgotten password link.
2. Enter username and account email address.
3. We will email you a verification code
4. Type in the 6 digit code and submit
5. Enter new password and confirm
6. You can now sign in to access your account.

Watch our video to learn more

1. Click forgotten username
2. Enter the email address used for your account
3. Click Submit
4. You will then be sent your username to your account email address

Watch our video to learn more

1. Please phone our contact centre, quoting your SRA number.
2. You will be asked one or two questions to validate your identity
3. You will then be assisted in accessing your mySRA account.

There are a number of reasons why, even when we are sending them to a correct address, our emails may not be getting through to you.

For example, they may be getting blocked by your internet service provider or company firewall, or automatically rerouted to spam folders.

Please read our receiving emails from us guidance for the simple steps you can take to make sure emails we send to you are received.

Due to changes to laws on how personal data is handled and our need to make sure the data we hold is up to date.

These changes directly impact information held on the publicly accessible roll, some of this is also published on the Solicitors Register.

You can read more about this in the consultation we ran on reintroducing the keeping of the roll.

Staying on the roll enables you to:

• Continue to call yourself a solicitor without a practising certificate.
• You remain a member of the Law Society and can still access the associated benefits.
• Retain the right to vote in Law Society Council elections.

You can apply to restore your name to the roll of solicitors through your mySRA account. The fee is £20.

Find out how to be restored to the roll and complete the application.

If you are a former solicitor whose name has been struck off the roll you must apply to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), to have your name restored to the roll.

An application must be made on the prescribed form which is available on the SDT's website.

You can apply to restore your name to the roll of solicitors through your mySRA account. The fee is £20.

Find out how to be restored to the roll and complete the application.

If you have been struck off, you must apply to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) to have your name restored to the roll.

An application must be made on the prescribed form which is available on the SDT website.