Solicitor or licensed conveyancer: which should you use?

In England and Wales, residential conveyancing can be carried out by two types of regulated professional: a solicitor regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), or a licensed conveyancer regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). Both are legally qualified to handle a property purchase or sale. Both operate client money accounts and have professional indemnity insurance. The distinction is largely about scope of practice.

Solicitors (SRA-regulated)

Solicitors are trained across the full range of legal practice. A conveyancing solicitor can also advise on adjacent issues — a boundary dispute that becomes contentious, a question about the implications of a restrictive covenant, or a problem with probate that affects the title. If your transaction has unusual complexity or you anticipate the need for legal advice beyond the property transfer itself, a solicitor firm may be better placed to help.

You can verify that a firm is SRA-authorised at sra.org.uk/consumers/register. The SRA register is publicly searchable by firm name.

Licensed conveyancers (CLC-regulated)

Licensed conveyancers are specialists in property law. Their qualification covers exactly what you need for a standard residential transaction, and nothing else. Because their practice is focused, they often offer competitive pricing on straightforward purchases and sales.

You can verify CLC registration at clc-uk.org.

Which regulator is “better”?

Neither regulator is inherently better than the other for a standard conveyancing transaction. Both operate compensation funds and professional indemnity requirements. Both have complaints procedures. Both registers are publicly searchable.

What matters more than which regulator covers a firm is the firm's actual performance record. The HMLR avoidable requisition data we publish applies to firms regardless of whether they are SRA or CLC regulated — a CLC firm with a low error rate is a better choice than an SRA firm with a high one, all else being equal.

What to avoid

The important distinction is between regulated and unregulated. Unregulated “conveyancing specialists” with no SRA or CLC registration have no compensation scheme behind them. Before instructing any firm, verify their regulated status directly with the relevant regulator — do not rely on a firm's own assurances or a letterhead that looks official.