Who Regulates Conveyancing? A 2026 Guide to the UK’s Regulators (and How to Check Yours)

This guide covers conveyancing in England and Wales and is general information, not legal advice. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own systems, explained at the end of the next section.

The short answer

In England and Wales, conveyancing is regulated by one of three bodies, depending on who does the work. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulates solicitors and law firms, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) regulates licensed conveyancers, and CILEx Regulation regulates chartered legal executives and CILEX practitioners. The Legal Services Board oversees all three, and the independent Legal Ombudsman handles complaints about poor service.

That's the one-line answer. What actually protects you sits underneath it: knowing what each regulator covers, how to check your conveyancer is genuinely on a register, what happens to your money if a firm fails, and the exact steps to take if something goes wrong.

Who regulates conveyancing in England and Wales?

Conveyancing is a reserved legal activity. Under the Legal Services Act 2007, only a person or firm authorised by an approved regulator can carry out the "reserved instrument activities" at the heart of a property transfer, such as preparing the transfer deed and dealing with its registration. Three regulators authorise conveyancers:

• The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The independent regulator of solicitors and law firms. Most high-street and online conveyancing solicitors, including Bird & Co, are SRA-regulated.
• The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC). The specialist regulator for licensed conveyancers and the firms they run. Licensed conveyancers are property law specialists who aren't solicitors.
• CILEx Regulation. Regulates members of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX), including CILEX practitioners authorised to do conveyancing. Plans to move this to the SRA were shelved in May 2026, so CILEx Regulation remains the regulator.

Two more bodies are often mistaken for regulators:

• The Legal Services Board (LSB). The "regulator of the regulators". It oversees the SRA, CLC and CILEx Regulation, but you'd never deal with it directly as a client.
• The Legal Ombudsman. An independent complaints service that resolves complaints about the service you received from any SRA, CLC or CILEx Regulation provider.

Outside England and Wales: conveyancing in Scotland is a separate legal system regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, and in Northern Ireland by the Law Society of Northern Ireland. The rest of this guide doesn't apply there.

The conveyancing regulators compared

All three regulators do the same core job: they set standards, authorise practitioners, investigate misconduct and protect clients' money. The difference is the type of professional they regulate:

What this means in practice: a licensed conveyancer isn't a solicitor, but that doesn't make them less able to handle your purchase. They're property specialists with the same duties to ring-fence your money and carry insurance. The right question isn't "solicitor or conveyancer?" but "are they properly regulated, and does the firm have the experience my transaction needs?" A solicitor's broader training can help if your move throws up a wider issue, such as a dispute, a trust or an estate.

Where the Law Society and CQS fit in

The Law Society is the professional body that represents solicitors. It isn't their regulator: that's the SRA. But it runs the Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS), a recognised standard for residential conveyancing firms covering training, supervision and case management. Many mortgage lenders require it before they'll add a firm to their panel.

So CQS is a layer of quality assurance on top of the regulatory baseline. Bird & Co is both SRA-regulated and CQS-accredited.

How to check your conveyancer is genuinely regulated

This is the most useful thing you can do before instructing anyone, and it takes about five minutes. Regulators publish free public registers so that you can check a firm before handing over money:

1. Find out which regulator they claim. A legitimate firm states its regulator and registration number on its website, usually in the footer, and in its client care letter. SRA-regulated firms also display the SRA's clickable logo, which links to their entry. Bird & Co's SRA number, for example, is 442827.
2. Search the right register. For solicitors, use the SRA's Solicitors Register. For licensed conveyancers, use the CLC's Find a CLC Lawyer For CILEX practitioners, use CILEx Regulation's directories.
3. Check what the entry tells you. A genuine entry confirms the firm or person is currently authorised and shows the registered address. Cross-check the address and firm name against the website and emails you've received.
4. Check the individual, not just the firm. A firm can be regulated while the person emailing you isn't qualified or isn't connected to the firm at all. If you're dealing with a named person, check they appear on the register, or ask who supervises them.

Worked example. You're quoted by Ashdown Property Law (a made-up name) and your contact is "J. Patel". The SRA register shows the firm as authorised, with a matching office address. Good. But the quote came from a Gmail address, and J. Patel doesn't appear on the firm's entry.

That's your prompt to ask whether J. Patel is a solicitor, a fee earner working under supervision or not connected to the firm at all, and to ring the firm on the number shown on the register to check. A regulated firm will answer without hesitation. Silence, or pressure to "just transfer the deposit", is a red flag.

Other red flags that should stop you:

• No regulator or registration number anywhere on the website
• A firm name that almost matches a real regulated firm, a common fraud tactic
• Pressure to send money quickly
• Bank details that change at the last minute
• A refusal to confirm who is actually regulated

What protects you if something goes wrong

Regulation isn't just a badge. It comes with financial protection, in two layers:

• Professional indemnity insurance. Every SRA, CLC and CILEx Regulation firm must carry compulsory insurance. If the firm makes a mistake that costs you money, such as missing something in the searches that a competent conveyancer would have caught, you can claim against it.
• The compensation fund. Each regulator has a fund of last resort for when money has been stolen or not accounted for and can't be recovered elsewhere. The SRA Compensation Fund is discretionary, can pay up to £2 million on a single claim and expects you to apply within 12 months of when you knew, or should have known, about the loss.

Worked example. A buyer transfers a £30,000 deposit to their solicitors before exchange. The firm then collapses, and it emerges that one partner had been taking client money.

Where other partners were innocent, the firm's insurance can still have to meet the claim. If it doesn't, or the firm had no insurance, the buyer can apply to the SRA Compensation Fund as a last resort. Neither route is quick or guaranteed, which is exactly why checking a firm before you send money matters.

A firm operating outside the regulated system offers neither layer. If an unregulated "conveyancer" takes your deposit and disappears, there's no insurer and no fund to turn to.

What to do if you have a problem with your conveyancer

Most problems are about service: slow replies, unexpected costs or poor communication. A few are about conduct: dishonesty, fraud or a serious breach of the rules. They go to different places, so use this decision table:

For a service complaint, follow these steps:

1. Complain to the firm in writing. Every regulated firm must have a complaints procedure and tell you about it. Ask for a formal final response.
2. Give the firm up to eight weeks. That's how long it has to resolve your complaint.
3. Take it to the Legal Ombudsman. If you're unhappy with the response, or you don't get one within eight weeks, the Legal Ombudsman is free and independent of the firm.

Mind the deadlines. You normally need to go to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of the firm's final response, provided that response told you about the Ombudsman and the six-month limit. Separately, you must complain within one year of the problem, or of when you should reasonably have realised there was one. Note the dates yourself.

The Legal Ombudsman can order the firm to apologise, put things right, refund fees or pay compensation, and it can refer evidence of misconduct to the regulator. For suspected dishonesty or fraud, go straight to the regulator rather than waiting on a service complaint, and if money has been stolen, contact your bank and Action Fraud immediately.

Regulation and conveyancing fraud: why it matters

Fraud is the reason this topic deserves more than a one-line answer. Property transactions involve large sums, time pressure and people who often never meet their conveyancer. Two scams are common: payment diversion, where criminals intercept emails and send fake bank details just before a payment is due, and firm impersonation, where fraudsters copy a real regulated firm's name and website.

Regulation is your first line of defence against both. A regulated firm holds your money in a ring-fenced client account, appears on a public register and carries insurance. Check the register, and confirm any bank details by phone on a number you've found independently. Our guides on how to protect yourself against conveyancing fraud and a house "stolen" through conveyancing fraud cover the tactics in more detail.

Related guides

For more on choosing a conveyancer and staying safe, these guides may help:

• How to avoid conveyancing fraud
• Is online conveyancing safe?
• Our Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation
• Our conveyancing solicitors

Frequently asked questions

Is a licensed conveyancer the same as a solicitor?

No. A solicitor is qualified across all areas of law and regulated by the SRA, while a licensed conveyancer is a property specialist regulated by the CLC. For a standard purchase or sale, both are authorised to act, and both must protect your money and carry insurance.

How can I check my conveyancer is properly regulated?

Find out which regulator they claim, then search that regulator's register: the SRA's Solicitors Register, the CLC's Find a CLC Lawyer directory or CILEx Regulation's directories. Check the firm and the person you're dealing with, and confirm the address matches. If you can't find them, don't instruct them.

My conveyancer hasn't replied in three weeks. What should I do?

Chase in writing and ask for an update and a named contact. If that doesn't work, make a formal complaint under the firm's complaints procedure. The firm has up to eight weeks to respond, after which you can go to the Legal Ombudsman for free. On a live transaction, raise it early, because delays can put a chain at risk.

The firm rejected my complaint. Can I take it further?

Yes. Once you have the firm's final response, or eight weeks have passed, you can refer it to the Legal Ombudsman, normally within six months of that response. The Ombudsman can order a refund, compensation or other action if the service fell short.

What's the difference between the Legal Ombudsman and the SRA?

The Legal Ombudsman handles service complaints, such as delays, poor communication and billing. The SRA, and the CLC or CILEx Regulation for their firms, handles conduct, such as dishonesty and serious rule breaches, and can discipline or close a firm.

Is my deposit safe with a regulated conveyancer?

Regulated firms must keep client money in a ring-fenced client account, separate from their own funds. If money is lost, the firm's compulsory insurance or, as a last resort, the regulator's compensation fund may cover it. These protections only exist inside the regulated system.

Who regulates conveyancing in Scotland?

The Law Society of Scotland, as part of Scotland's separate legal system. In Northern Ireland, it's the Law Society of Northern Ireland. The SRA, CLC and CILEx Regulation cover England and Wales only.

Choosing a regulated conveyancer you can trust

Bird & Co Solicitors is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and accredited under the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme, so you get the regulatory baseline and the quality mark lenders look for. Our conveyancing is transparent and fixed-fee, and you'll have a dedicated conveyancer you can contact directly. We're rated 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from over 1,100 reviews.

Get an instant conveyancing quote, call our new conveyancing enquiries line on 01476 591711, email enquiries@birdandco.co.uk or contact your nearest office. Whoever you choose, take five minutes to check them on the register first.