Authorisation & approval

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The SRA’s authorisation teams ensure applicants for SRA regulation are properly vetted. Only those who can demonstrate that they meet the required standards will be authorised by the SRA.

The SRA deals with applications by:

  1. •

    organisations for approval as regulated solicitor practices or alternative business structures (ABSs)

  2. •

    individuals for:

    1. ◦

      admission as solicitors

    2. ◦

      approval as compliance officers for legal practice (COLPs) and compliance officers for finance and administration (COFAs)

    3. ◦

      approval as managers or owners of firms

Approval of firms

The SRA authorises and regulates:

  1. •

    solicitor practices (in its capacity as an approved regulator)

  2. •

    ABSs (in its capacity as a licensing authority)

A licensing authority is an approved regulator that has been granted additional powers by the Legal Services Board to regulate ABSs.

All firms providing reserved legal activity services (ie solicitor practices and ABSs) must be authorised by the SRA.

Authorisation by activity

Upon authorisation by the SRA, solicitor

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