Regulation

SRA Transparency Rules: Solicitor Fee Publication in 2026

UK solicitors regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority must publish fee information for defined consumer work since December 2018. Conveyancing, probate, motoring offences, immigration, employment, debt recovery and licensing are all covered. What firms must show, and what to do if they hide it.

Why the SRA Transparency Rules exist

The Competition and Markets Authority published its Legal Services Market Study in December 2016. The Study identified information failures in the legal services market: consumers struggled to compare firms, prices were typically not disclosed before contact, and quality signals were limited. The CMA recommended a package of reforms, of which mandatory price disclosure was the central plank. The SRA introduced the Transparency Rules with effect from 6 December 2018. The Rules were updated in November 2023 to extend coverage to additional work types and to require the SRA digital badge.

The policy rationale is that consumers in regulated services markets cannot make informed choices without price information. Without disclosure, the market is opaque and competitive pressure is reduced. With disclosure, consumers can compare firms, firms with competitive pricing can attract enquiries, and laggards face pressure to align. The first SRA Transparency Compliance Review in 2019 found significant non-compliance; subsequent reviews in 2020, 2022, and 2023 showed gradual improvement but persistent gaps. The 2023 review found about 80% of firms broadly compliant and the SRA continues to enforce against the remainder.

Covered work types

The Transparency Rules apply to defined consumer-facing work and corresponding business work. The covered consumer work is residential conveyancing (sale or purchase of freehold or leasehold property, including mortgages and re-mortgages), uncontested probate where all the assets are in the UK, motoring offences dealt with summarily in the Magistrates' Court, immigration (excluding asylum), and employment tribunal claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal. Corresponding business work covered is employment advice and representation on bringing or defending tribunal claims, debt recovery up to £100,000, and licensing applications for business premises.

Work outside these categories is not within the mandatory disclosure rules. Family law, criminal defence beyond summary motoring, contested probate, commercial property, commercial litigation, regulatory work, intellectual property, and corporate work all sit outside the mandatory rules. Firms remain subject to general SRA Code of Conduct requirements to provide clear information about costs and to behave fairly toward clients, but they are not required to publish standardised price information on their websites.

The asymmetry is deliberate. The covered categories were chosen because they are high-volume consumer markets where price comparison is feasible and valuable. Non-covered categories typically involve bespoke high-value work where average prices are misleading and consumers will receive individual quotes through a different process. The Law Society and CMA have both flagged that the perimeter may be reviewed.

What firms must publish

For each covered area of work, the SRA Transparency Rules require firms to publish on their website: the total cost of the service, or the average cost, or the range of costs (a single binding quote is not required); the basis of charges, including hourly rates if hourly billing applies; what services are included in the published price (and, by implication, what is not included); what disbursements are likely to be needed and their typical cost; whether VAT is added; the typical timescale to complete the work and key stages; and the qualifications and experience of those who will carry out the work.

The disclosure must be prominent and easy to find. The 2023 SRA guidance specifically calls out as non-compliant pages that bury fee information several clicks deep, pages that say only "contact us for a quote", and pages that publish a price that is so low it could not realistically be achieved. The information should be available without requiring the user to fill in a contact form or provide personal details.

In addition, all SRA-regulated firms must display the SRA digital badge on their website (introduced November 2022, made mandatory November 2023). The badge links to the SRA register record for that firm, confirming current regulation and any conditions. The badge is provided free by the SRA and embedded by simple HTML snippet. Firms that hold themselves out as solicitors without the badge and without registration are committing a criminal offence under section 21 of the Solicitors Act 1974.

How the Rules are enforced

Enforcement runs through two main channels. First, the SRA conducts thematic compliance reviews. The 2019 review (the first after the Rules came into force) sampled firms across all categories and found widespread non-compliance, with most firms required to remedy. The 2020 follow-up showed improvement but persistent gaps. The 2023 review found about 80% broadly compliant. The SRA publishes the findings and writes to non-compliant firms requiring remedy within a defined timetable. Repeated non-compliance leads to formal enforcement action.

Second, the SRA accepts reports from consumers and competitors. Reports are made free online via the SRA's report a concern process. A clear factual report identifying the firm, the area of work, and the specific deficiency is typically actioned: the SRA contacts the firm and requires remedy. Persistent non-compliance escalates to formal investigation and sanction. The SRA can impose administrative fines of up to £25,000 (with caps higher in cases of serious misconduct) and refer firms to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for serious or repeated breaches.

Outcomes are published in the SRA Decisions Database, which provides a searchable record of regulatory action by firm and by individual. Consumers researching a firm can search the Database to see whether the firm has been subject to enforcement action, including for transparency breaches.

What to do as a consumer

Use the Transparency Rules as a filter. Start your search at the SRA Find a Solicitor service or a price comparison aggregator. Check each shortlisted firm's website for the published price information. A firm that complies clearly typically signals operational maturity and competitive pricing. A firm that hides its fees, says only "contact us for a quote", or publishes prices that seem unrealistically low, deserves scepticism.

When making contact, ask the firm to confirm in writing whether the quote provided falls within the published range and, if not, why. The firm is required to provide clear cost information at the point of engagement under SRA Standards and Regulations paragraph 8.7 of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors. A material divergence between published range and actual quote, without clear explanation, is a regulatory issue you can report to the SRA.

For low-volume firms where the published price was set some time ago, ask whether the figure has been refreshed for 2026. Inflation between 2022 and 2026 has been significant and many firms' published prices lag actual quotes. The Rules require firms to keep the information current and accurate; out-of-date pricing is itself non-compliant if it materially misleads.

How transparency interacts with the Legal Ombudsman

The SRA Transparency Rules and the Legal Ombudsman scheme work together but distinct. The SRA regulates fee disclosure and conduct standards; the Ombudsman handles consumer redress where service falls short. A firm that misleads on price (publishing one range but charging well above it without explanation) faces both an SRA conduct issue and a Legal Ombudsman service complaint. The two routes can run in parallel.

For consumers, the practical sequencing is: complain to the firm first under its internal complaints procedure (free), then refer to the Legal Ombudsman if not resolved (free, up to £50,000 financial redress), and separately report any conduct or transparency breach to the SRA (free, no financial redress but regulatory consequences for the firm). See our complaining about a solicitor page for the full process.

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