Northern Ireland -- SRA Northern Ireland band
Solicitor Hourly Rates in Belfast: £140 to £261/hr
Updated May 2026. Published 2026 Civil Justice Council Guideline Hourly Rates for Belfast, with worked examples for conveyancing, divorce, and will writing.
Belfast sits in the Northern Ireland jurisdiction. NI uses the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 and the County Court Rules to govern fees, not the English Guideline Hourly Rates. The National 2 GHR figures shown here are a comparable English benchmark for context only.
Hourly rates in Belfast 2026
The four grades of solicitor under the 2026 Civil Justice Council Guideline Hourly Rates, applied to the SRA Northern Ireland band:
| Grade | Who | £/hr (GHR) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Solicitor with 8+ years post-qualification experience | £261 |
| B | Solicitor with 4-8 years PQE | £218 |
| C | Solicitor with under 4 years PQE | £177 |
| D | Trainee solicitor or paralegal | £140 |
Source: Civil Justice Council Guideline Hourly Rates 2026 (gov.uk). All figures exclude VAT (20%).
What you pay: solicitor time + disbursements
Your invoice is the solicitor's time (hours × hourly rate × 1.20 for VAT) plus disbursements. Disbursements are third-party fees the solicitor pays on your behalf and recharges to you: Land Registry fees, court fees, search fees, expert reports. Many disbursements (court fees, Land Registry fees) carry no VAT. Local-authority searches and other private services usually do. See our disbursements guide for the full breakdown.
Worked example: conveyancing (buyer) in Belfast
A typical residential purchase in Belfast takes around 8 hours of solicitor time, usually handled by a Grade C solicitor under partner supervision.
- Solicitor time: 8 hours × £177/hr = £1,416
- VAT at 20%: £283
- Solicitor fee including VAT: £1,699
- Disbursements (search fees, Land Registry fee, ID checks): approximately £400 to £900
- Stamp Duty Land Tax (separate, paid by you to HMRC): varies by price and first-time-buyer status
Typical total in Belfast: £600 to £1,500 plus VAT, plus disbursements, plus SDLT. The Grade-C worked figure above sits at the lower end of this range; complex transactions (leasehold, new-build, shared ownership) consume more solicitor time.
Worked example: uncontested divorce in Belfast
An uncontested no-fault divorce with no financial dispute typically takes 5 to 8 hours of solicitor time. Family work is usually handled by a Grade B solicitor (4-8 years PQE).
- Solicitor time: 5 hours × £218/hr = £1,090
- VAT at 20%: £218
- HMCTS divorce application fee (no VAT): £593
- Total: £1,901
Typical total in Belfast: £500 to £2,000 plus VAT, plus the £593 court fee. Contested divorces with property, pension, or child arrangements run substantially higher.
Worked example: simple will in Belfast
Simple wills (single beneficiary structure, no trusts, no foreign assets) are usually fixed-fee work rather than billed by the hour. Typical fixed-fee range in Belfast is £120 to £380 plus VAT. Mirror wills (one for each spouse) usually cost 70 to 90 per cent more than a single will. Free options include the Will Aid (November) and Free Wills Month (March, October) schemes for people aged 55+. See will writing cost for the full breakdown.
About the Belfast legal market
Belfast hosts the largest NI legal firms (Carson McDowell, A&L Goodbody NI, Tughans, Pinsent Masons NI) plus a deep high-street base across the city. NI conveyancing has its own structural quirks: solicitor involvement is heavier than in England and the Land Registry of NI fee schedule is separate from HM Land Registry.
Use the Law Society of Northern Ireland Find a Solicitor, the official public register of regulated solicitors, to find local providers in Belfast. Filter by area of practice and location, get three written quotes, and ask each firm whether they offer fixed fees.
Law Society of Northern Ireland Find a Solicitor ->FAQ
What is the average solicitor hourly rate in Belfast?
£140/hr (Grade D, trainee or paralegal) to £261/hr (Grade A, 8+ years PQE) under the 2026 Civil Justice Council Guideline Hourly Rates. This is the SRA Northern Ireland band. Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own jurisdictional fee schedules.
How much does conveyancing cost in Belfast?
Typical conveyancing solicitor fees in Belfast run from £600 to £1,500 plus VAT, plus disbursements (Land Registry £20 to £1,105, local searches £200 to £350), plus SDLT if applicable. See our conveyancing guide for the full breakdown.
How much do solicitors charge for a will in Belfast?
Simple wills typically cost £120 to £380 plus VAT. Mirror wills add 70 to 90 per cent. Complex wills with trusts or overseas assets run £500 to £2,000+.
How do I find a solicitor in Belfast?
Use the Law Society of Northern Ireland Find a Solicitor at https://www.lawsoc-ni.org/solicitors. Filter by area of practice and location. We recommend getting three written quotes and asking each firm whether they offer fixed fees.