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Licensed body application – Stage 1 pre-completion notes

1. Form name

Licensed body application – Stage 1

2. Overview

This is the first formal step to apply for your organisation to become a licensed body. You should complete this application if you are applying on behalf of a licensable body and you are satisfied that your body will, if authorised, comply with the rules and regulations in the SRA Handbook.

This application is also for non-lawyer manager legal disciplinary practices (NLM LDPs) wishing to passport to licensed body status. NLM LDPs that do not apply to make any substantive changes to their firm’s structure will be able to passport. If you need advice on whether your firm is suitable for passporting, please contact us.

This application is not for temporary emergency authorisation.

3. What you need to do before completing this form

To help you to prepare to make this application, we recommend that you consider carefully how, if authorised, your body will comply with the rules and regulations in the SRA Handbook.

You should read the published guides on the SRA website contained within the ABS authorisation guide. These contain information about the following:

  • when a body needs to be authorised;
  • what information will be needed to complete the application form;
  • details of the application process;
  • details of the pre-authorisation screening checks/enhanced pre-authorisation screening checks we may complete;
  • the issues we expect applicants to have considered before applying; and
  • the level of progress we expect you to have made at the point of application.

Please note all questions in the application are in respect of the applicant body which must exist in law before an application can be made. For example, if the applicant body is a company, then that company must be registered at Companies House.

A glossary of terms used in the form is available to read.

Any solicitor manager or owner in the applicant body must participate in their capacity as a solicitor and must have a current practising certificate.

mySRA accounts

Before submitting the stage one application form, you must ensure that the contact person and the authorised individual have a mySRA account. Relevant account details must be entered in the stage one form:

  • If they are an SRA-regulated individual, they must have activated their mySRA account, and they must enter their SRA ID in the stage one form.
  • If they are not an SRA-regulated individual, they must enter the ID number they have obtained by registering with mySRA.

If your contact person or authorised individual has already activated their account or registered with mySRA, they do not need to repeat this process.

4. Who can complete this form

The form can be completed by any person within the applicant body applying for authorisation as a licensed body under the SRA Authorisation Rules for Legal Services Bodies and Licensable Bodies 2011. Authorised bodies include partnerships, limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and companies. This is not an exhaustive list. The person who completes this application will be known as the contact person.

Please note that although the contact person will complete Stage 1, and may complete parts of Stage 2, the declarations in Stage 2 must be completed by an authorised individual. The applicant body will apply for authorisation and the individuals involved in the body as managers and owners will be responsible for this application. They must ensure that it is accurate and that the details are true and comprehensive. Any person (individuals and bodies corporate) who satisfies the definition of owner must be included. This is not restricted to the first-tier company. We also need to know about any indirect corporate managers/owners.

5. What information you will need to provide in a Stage 1 application

The applicant body will be asked to provide certain information to include the following:

  • the name, registered office/head office address and type of applicant body
  • details of your contact person and authorised individual
  • confirmation that the applicant body is a licensable body
  • how many individual and corporate managers, owners and shareholders you have
  • details of your COLP and COFA
  • whether your applicant body needs to apply for a waiver

If a person in your organisation holds more than one role (as a manager and/or owner and/or shareholder) please ensure that you count the person in every relevant part of the Applicant Body section of the Stage 1 form. For example, if the applicant body is a partnership you should record each partner who is also an owner as a manager and an owner.

Please note – if you have a body corporate in your structure (manager/owner and/or shareholder) you will need to ensure that the managers, owners and shareholders of that body corporate are included in the figures required. We need details for all tiers of your structure.

The information you provide at Stage 1 will enable us to provide your firm with the appropriate documentation for Stage 2 of your application.

All questions (unless they are not required fields) must be answered. You will not be able to submit the Stage 1 application without completing all mandatory fields.

6. What happens next

To proceed, your contact person must complete the Stage 1 application online and click "Submit". Stage 1 requires you to provide information about the applicant body, including contact details for your contact person, COLP, COFA and authorised individual and numbers of individual managers, owners and shareholders and corporate managers, owners and shareholders.

When you submit your Stage 1 application, an on-screen message will appear, confirming safe receipt by us of your completed form. We will then contact you by email to confirm the next steps.

We will use the information you provide to create your Stage 2 application pack. Your contact person or authorised individual (as per your preference) will receive a set of editable PDF forms by email. You should complete these forms and return them to us electronically, in accordance with instructions that we will provide.

We will post—to your contact person or elected authorised individual—hard-copy CRB forms. These must be completed by all authorised role holders within your applicant body who require specific approval. Those who are subject to the SRA Suitability Test must complete all parts of the CRB.

When we provide you with Stage 2 of your application, we will include your firm's reference. You must quote this reference in all correspondence with us.

You should carefully read these notes and the pre-completion notes accompanying your Stage 2 application—before completing and submitting your forms.

Please note that applications will be time limited. Your authorised individual must check and return your firm's completed application forms and CRB forms within 60 days of us providing the Stage 2 forms. Your firm must be ready to complete the application within this timeframe. It is the personal responsibility of the authorised individual to ensure that all required information has been provided and the statements contained therein are correct. The authorised individual should return the completed CRB forms by post; they should save your completed Stage 2 application forms in a zip file and upload them to our secure website (detailed instructions will be provided when you reach this stage).

The authorised individual must be

  • a solicitor with a current practising certificate, or
  • a registered European lawyer (REL), or
  • a lawyer of England and Wales who is authorised by an approved regulator other than the SRA, or
  • registered with the Bar Standards Board under regulation 17 of the European Communities (Lawyer's Practice) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/1119).

7. What fees you will need to pay

Licensed body applicants will pay two types of fee:

  • An application fee – to cover the cost of us making a decision about whether to grant a licence to your body. This will be calculated based on the complexity of the applicant body. Please note this fee is non-refundable.
  • A periodic fee – to cover the cost of us regulating you once your body is authorised.

The application fee will be calculated as follows:

  • An initial payment of £2,000 (This is based on a day rate of £600 and includes a contribution towards the initial costs of the appellate body, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.)
  • A payment of £150 in relation to each candidate who needs to be approved as a manager, owner and/or compliance officer (an authorised role holder)
  • If the SRA's costs in considering the application exceed the amounts specified above, any additional costs will be charged at a day rate of £600.
  • If it is necessary for the SRA to seek external assistance, the full cost of that assistance will be charged to the applicant body.

If you are an existing legal disciplinary practice with at least one non-lawyer manager and are eligible to be passported, then you will not be required to pay an application fee. We will confirm this to you after we have carried out our initial assessment of your application.

The periodic fee will be based on estimated turnover for the first 12 months of trading and will be calculated with reference to the banded turnover table. See further information about the licensed body periodical fee.

A firm contribution to the compensation fund will be calculated in the same way as for recognised bodies. This will only apply if the firm intends to hold or receive client money at any time during the period 1 November 2011 to 31 October 2012.

Further information about the licensed body contribution to the compensation fund.

8. When you will need to pay the fees

We will invoice your firm once we have received your completed Stage 2 application. You must pay the application fee before we will progress your application.

Your firm will be required to pay an initial periodic fee and contribution to the compensation fund (if applicable) on authorisation, and will thereafter pay a periodic fee and contribution to the compensation fund (if applicable) by 31 October each year. The initial periodic fee payment will be calculated pro rata. so that firms will be required to pay one-twelfth of the full fee for that year in respect of each month between the date of authorisation and 31 October.

9. How long your application will take

The length of time it takes for us to make a decision about an application will be determined by the complexity of the applicant body. We will have received an application when the Stage 2 forms are returned to us, fully completed and with the documentation requested, and we are in receipt of the application fee.

We intend to process most applications well within the statutory requirements, which are set out in the Legal Services Act 2007. We will try to meet any relevant dates you tell us about, but it would help us if you make your application in plenty of time.

We will make a decision within

  • six months of receiving your complete application; or
  • nine months, if we require an extension, which we will tell you about in writing.

10. Are you ready to proceed?

If you are a licensable body intending to become authorised by the SRA as a licensed body, and you have considered carefully how your body will comply with the rules and regulations in the SRA Handbook, the ABS authorisation guide and these pre-completion notes, you may proceed with Stage 1 of the application process.

Once you have submitted an application for authorisation, we may need to contact you to discuss aspects of your application. Please supply us with any additional information as quickly as possible by emailing abs@sra.org.uk.

Please note that unauthorised bodies cannot undertake any reserved legal activities until they are authorised.

Begin your application