What is the CLC Advanced Probate Exemption?

The CLC Advanced Probate Exemption is a streamlined route to a CLC licence for probate professionals who already hold STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) Advanced Certificates. The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) introduced it in autumn 2025, working with STEP, in recognition of the specialist knowledge those certificates already show.

Instead of the full Level 4 and Level 6 Diplomas in Probate Law and Practice, you complete only the CLC units your STEP qualifications don't cover. For most applicants that is a single unit on the CLC's accounts rules. Once licensed, you become an Authorised Person under the Legal Services Act 2007, able to carry out reserved legal activities in your specialist area with full regulatory recognition.

Who is eligible, and which units do I still need?

If you don't yet hold the Will Preparation certificate, you can either take it with STEP or complete the CLC's equivalent Level 6 unit in Wills, Succession and Grants of Representation.

The CLC requires these units to be certificated as standalone units, because the Advanced Probate Exemption is not handled through Accredited Prior Learning (APL) arrangements. We make sure this is in place when you enrol.

Why is Managing Client and Office Accounts always required?

Managing Client and Office Accounts is the CLC's professional obligations unit. It tests the CLC Accounts Code, the rules that protect client money in a regulated practice. Because those rules are specific to CLC-regulated practice, no outside qualification exempts you from it, whatever your experience in estate administration.

How old can my STEP certificates be?

Under the CLC's Aged Qualifications Policy, the STEP Advanced Certificates you rely on must normally:

• have been awarded within the last six years; or
• if older than six years, come with evidence of current STEP membership, showing you have kept your professional standing up to date through ongoing competence and practice.

So if you are a current STEP member, the age of your certificates is not usually a barrier. The concession below matters mainly if your certificates are between six and eight years old and you cannot show current STEP membership.

What is the transitional aged qualifications concession?

To rely on the concession, you must:

1. Give us copies of your STEP certificates. As your approved centre, we check that each one falls within the additional 24-month period before you enrol.
2. Complete the required practical experience in line with the CLC's licensing requirements.
3. Apply to the CLC for your licence before your 24-month extension ends.

How long do I have? Worked examples

Your extension runs for 24 months from the date your certificate passes the six-year limit, and your licence application must go in before it ends.

Certificates awarded within the last six years don't need the concession. The concession itself closes on 31 December 2028, so if your extension would run beyond that date, talk to us before you enrol.

For a step-by-step guide to working out your own deadline, read our post Is your STEP certificate more than 6 years old? The CLC's 24-month concession explained.

The concession applies only to the Advanced Probate Exemption route. It does not change the aged qualification rules for any other CLC exemption or licensing arrangement.

What practical experience do I need?

For this route the CLC asks you to show that you meet its occupation standard with at least 1,200 hours of supervised practical experience, completed within the 36 months before your application. For most experienced STEP professionals this is a retrospective formality:

• You can record experience you have already gained, provided it was properly supervised and verified by a qualifying Authorised Person while you were in qualifying employment.
• Your supervisor is typically your line manager, Head of Legal Practice, Compliance Officer for Legal Practice or an ICAEW Probate Practitioner, and verification costs you nothing.
• If you changed roles during the period, you can submit more than one Statement of Practical Experience, signed by different qualifying Authorised Persons.
• If you work as a consultant or subcontractor to a practice regulated by the CLC, SRA or CILEx Regulation, that practice may verify your experience.

Our guide to the CLC practical experience requirements explains qualifying employers and supervisors in more detail.

How much does it cost?

At Access Law Online, Managing Client and Office Accounts is £745, or spread across three interest-free payments of £248.33 or five of £149. If you also need Wills, Succession and Grants of Representation, that unit is a further £745, on the same instalment options. The CLC charges its own licence application and licence fees separately when you apply.

How does it work in practice?

1. Send us copies of your STEP certificates (and evidence of current STEP membership if your certificates are over six years old). We confirm which units you need and, if you are relying on the concession, the date your extension ends.
2. Enrol on your unit or units. Study online at your own pace with tutor support. Your units are certificated as standalone units, as the CLC requires.
3. Gather your practical experience evidence and have your Statement of Practical Experience signed by your supervising Authorised Person.
4. Apply to the CLC for your licence, before your extension ends if you are using the concession.

Want to check other qualifications you hold? Try our CLC Exemptions Calculator or get in touch with our team.

Start your route

Frequently asked questions

Who can use the CLC Advanced Probate Exemption?

Holders of STEP Advanced Certificates (England and Wales). With the Will Preparation certificate plus either Administration of Estates or Administration of Trusts, you complete only the CLC Level 6 unit Managing Client and Office Accounts (Probate). With Administration of Estates or Trusts alone, you also complete Wills, Succession and Grants of Representation.

My STEP certificates are more than six years old. Can I still use the exemption?

Yes, if you can show current STEP membership. If you cannot, the CLC's transitional concession accepts certificates up to 24 months beyond the six-year limit until 31 December 2028, provided you complete your practical experience and apply for your licence before your 24-month extension ends.

When does the aged qualifications concession end?

The concession is available until 31 December 2028. After that date, the CLC's standard Aged Qualifications Policy applies to the Advanced Probate Exemption.

Does the concession apply to other CLC exemptions?

No. It applies only to the Advanced Probate Exemption route and does not change the aged qualification rules for any other exemption or licensing arrangement.

Can my existing probate experience count towards the 1,200 hours?

Yes. You can record experience retrospectively, provided it was properly supervised and verified by a qualifying Authorised Person while you were in qualifying employment. The hours must fall within the 36 months before your application.

What does a CLC licence let me do?

It makes you an Authorised Person under the Legal Services Act 2007, so you can carry out reserved legal activities in your specialist area, such as probate, with full regulatory recognition as a Licensed Probate Practitioner.

Authoritative source: CLC, Advanced Probate Exemption. Always check the current CLC requirements, as rules can change.