Home > Can we help > approved regulators
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful and reliable. Our cookies page explains what they are, which ones we use, and how you can manage or remove them. Don't show this message again.

Approved regulators

The Legal Services Board is the oversight regulator for legal services approved regulators in the Legal Services Act 2007. These bodies directly regulate the lawyers practising in England and Wales. Some of the approved regulators are also licensing authorities which means that they can license alternative business structures that provide reserved legal activities.

Below are listed the approved regulators and licensing authorities and the reserved legal activities which they regulate.

There are links to each of the approved regulators. As the approved regulators are required to separate their representative functions from their regulatory functions, there may be more than one link for each approved regulator.

Legal services regulation map

Profession Approved regulators (representative body) Independent Regulatory body Approved regulator (AR)

Licensing Authority (LA)		 Reserved legal activities regulated
Solicitors Law Society Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) AR

LA
  • The exercise of right of audience
  • The conduct of litigation
  • Reserved instrument activities
  • Probate activities
  • The administration of oaths
    		•
    Barristers Bar Council Bar Standards Board (BSB) AR

    LA
  • The exercise of right of audience
  • The conduct of litigation
  • Reserved instrument activities
  • Probate activities
  • The administration of oaths
    		•
    Chartered Legal Executives Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) CILEx Regulation
    		 AR
  • The exercise of right of audience
  • The conduct of litigation
  • Reserved instrument activities
  • Probate activities
  • The administration of oaths
    		•
    Licensed Conveyancers Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC)

    (regulatory body for Licensed Conveyancers, no representative functions)    		 AR

    LA
  • Reserved instrument activities
  • Probate activities
  • The administration of oaths
    		•
    Patent Attorneys Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) Intellectual Property Regulation Board

    (Regulatory body for both CIPA and CITMA)    		 AR

    LA
  • The exercise of right of audience
  • The conduct of litigation
  • Reserved instrument activities
  • The administration of oaths
    		•
    Trade Mark Attorneys Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (CITMA)
    Costs Lawyers Association of Costs Lawyers (ACL) Costs Lawyer Standards Board (CLSB) AR
  • The exercise of right of audience
  • The conduct of litigation
  • The administration of oaths
    		•
    Notaries Master of the Faculties (regulatory body for Notaries, no representative functions) AR
  • Reserved instrument activities
  • Probate activities
  • Notarial Activities
  • The administration of oaths
    		•
    Chartered Accountants Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)

    There is no separate regulatory body; all decisions relating to legal activities are delegated to the independently chaired Probate Committee

    Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)

    There is no separate regulatory body; all decisions relating to legal activities are delegated to the independently chaired Regulatory Board    		 AR

    LA



    AR
  • Probate
    		•

    The following are also approved regulators for probate activities only but do not currently authorise anyone to offer this service:

    The following representative bodies are not  part of the Legal Services Act 2007 designated approved regulators framework and therefore do not fall under our remit:

    If you have a query about a particular type of lawyer you should contact the relevant approved regulator.

    If you have a complaint about a particular type of lawyer you should contact the Legal Ombudsman, which opened on 6 October 2010.