CLC Professional Experience Exemption: The Fee-Earner Route to Level 6
CLC Professional Experience Exemption: The Fee-Earner Route to Level 6
The CLC Professional Experience Exemption lets experienced conveyancing or probate fee earners who hold no formal legal qualifications skip the Level 4 Diploma and start directly at Level 6. With at least four years' supervised fee-earning experience, you can qualify as a Licensed Conveyancer or Licensed Probate Practitioner faster and for less, paying the Level 6 fee only. You still sit the nationally assessed Level 6 exams, so standards are unchanged.
What is the CLC Professional Experience Exemption?
It is a route the CLC offers to people who have learned the job at the desk rather than in a lecture theatre. The principle is simple: if you have been doing high-level conveyancing or probate work for years, you should not have to study the foundations you already apply every day.
A successful application exempts you from the Level 4 Diploma in Law and Practice entirely. You progress straight to the Level 6 Diploma in Conveyancing Law and Practice or the Level 6 Diploma in Probate Law and Practice. You must still pass the Level 6 assessments, which are nationally set, so every licensed lawyer meets the same academic standard. What the exemption saves you is the 18 to 24 months and the cost of Level 4.
Who is eligible for the fee-earner exemption?
This route is designed for non-graduates who have built their expertise through practice. To apply, you must meet all of the following:
- No prior legal qualifications. You must not hold a Law Degree (LLB), GDL, LPC, or Level 3 or above CILEX or CLC qualifications. If you do, you use the APL route instead (see below).
- Current relevant employment. You must be working in a regulated legal services or accountancy firm in England or Wales.
- Four years' continuous experience as a conveyancing or probate fee earner, gained within the last six years. Any single absence from employment in the last four years must not exceed 12 months (planned career breaks aside).
- Proper supervision. You must be supervised by an Authorised Person, such as a Licensed Conveyancer, Solicitor or FCILEx practitioner, who holds a valid licence free of conditions.
You are not an assistant who needs sign-off on routine matters; you are a fee earner with genuine autonomy. Your employer must confirm that you manage your own caseload of chargeable matters, have income-generation targets, supervise or mentor junior colleagues, and have strong knowledge of procedural rules and client care. Locums working through an agency are not eligible; consultants contracted to one or two firms may be.
Once you are registered with Qualifications Scotland on the Level 4 Diploma you become ineligible for the Professional Experience Exemption. The same applies to anyone already studying CLC Level 4 or CILEX qualifications: you cannot switch onto this route and must continue through the standard pathway (or claim APL). If you have recently enrolled, contact your training provider straight away to change route before you are registered.
Exemption or APL: which route is yours?
Choosing the wrong route is the most common reason an application is rejected. In short: the Professional Experience Exemption is for people with no formal legal qualifications, while Accredited Prior Learning (APL) is for people who already hold them.
| If you have... | Your route is... |
|---|---|
| No formal legal qualifications (learned on the job) | Professional Experience Exemption |
| A Law Degree (LLB) or GDL | Accredited Prior Learning (APL) |
| An LPC or LPC-LLM | Accredited Prior Learning (APL) |
| CILEX Level 3 or Level 6 | Accredited Prior Learning (APL) |
| Incomplete or partial qualifications | Depends on the age of the units; check with the CLC |
Not sure which units you could be exempt from on the APL route? Use the ALO Exemptions Calculator to check before you apply.
How do you prove your experience? The SoSPE
You cannot simply state that you are experienced; you have to evidence it. You and your supervisor complete the Statement of Supervised Professional Experience (SoSPE), which maps your real work against the CLC's technical standards. For conveyancing, that typically means demonstrating competence in areas such as:
- Technical knowledge: proving registered freehold and leasehold titles, and drafting contracts;
- Financial management: compiling financial statements and understanding lender requirements;
- Risk and compliance: identifying anti-money-laundering issues and conflicts of interest, and managing client files; and
- Communication: drafting correspondence and maintaining client relationships.
Your supervising Authorised Person must verify and sign every section. Incomplete forms are rejected automatically.
How to apply, step by step
The CLC does not currently charge a fee to process a Professional Experience Exemption application.
From the CLC: the Professional Exemption Request Form and the SoSPE and Employer Statement of Support.
With your supervising Authorised Person, who must not be a spouse or relative without prior CLC agreement.
On company letterheaded paper, confirming your role and scope, that you meet the "experienced fee earner" definition, and their backing for your progression to Level 6.
Once approved, the CLC issues your Professional Experience Exemption Certificate.
The certificate is valid for 12 months. Register with an approved training provider and start the Level 6 Diploma within that window, or the exemption expires.
You can request the CLC application form here. Once your certificate is approved, our admissions team can enrol you directly onto the Level 6 Diploma.
Your next step: the Level 6 Diploma
The final academic stage to qualify as a Licensed Conveyancer. Study online, around your job.
The route to qualifying as a Licensed Probate Practitioner after your exemption.
Accelerate your Level 6 with the Knowledge Mapping Assessment
Starting Level 6 with years of practice behind you, you already know large parts of the syllabus. Our Conveyancing Knowledge Mapping Assessment (KMA) is a free, interactive diagnostic that tests your knowledge sub-topic by sub-topic and builds you a personal study plan, so you spend your time only on the gaps rather than re-covering what you do every day.
- Pinpoints exactly which Level 6 topics you have already mastered and which need work;
- Generates a tailored study plan that links straight to the right learning resources; and
- Lets confident, experienced fee earners move through the Diploma faster.
Already employed? Fund your Level 6 through an apprenticeship
If you are employed by a firm in England, you may be able to complete your Level 6 through the Licensed Conveyancer or Licensed Probate Practitioner Apprenticeship (standard ST1311) rather than self-funding, with the cost met through your employer's apprenticeship levy or government co-investment.
The Professional Experience Exemption works hand in hand with this route. Your prior experience is recognised at the apprenticeship's initial assessment, and by applying your exemption the requirements of the apprenticeship can be reduced by half, so the programme is shorter and focused only on what is genuinely new to you.
Why this matters for employers
For firms, the exemption is one of the most effective ways to tackle the shortage of Authorised Persons. Supporting a senior fee earner through this route lets you retain talent by showing a clear path to licensure, increase your number of licence holders without the downtime of the full academic course, and formally recognise the leaders already in your team.
Frequently asked questions
Experienced fee earners who have mastered the practical side of conveyancing or probate but hold no formal legal qualifications. If you have at least four years of continuous experience managing your own caseload, and have never taken a Law Degree, LPC or Level 3 or above qualification, this is your route.
No. If you hold a Law Degree, LPC or older CILEX or CLC qualifications you are not eligible for this exemption. You should apply through the Accredited Prior Learning (APL) route, which has its own exemptions for prior academic study.
Yes. The exemption is based on competence and supervision rather than strict hours. As long as you have four years of continuous experience, with no single absence exceeding 12 months, and you meet the competency standards, you can apply.
The CLC does not currently charge a fee to process the application. Once issued, your Exemption Certificate is valid for 12 months, within which you must register with an approved training provider and begin the Level 6 Diploma.
No. The exemption applies only to the Level 4 Diploma. To qualify as a licensed CLC lawyer you must still complete the Level 6 Diploma in Conveyancing or Probate, which is nationally assessed, so all licensed lawyers meet the same standard.
No. The exemption is issued for either conveyancing or probate, not both. You apply on the basis of the area your supervised experience is in, and you then study the matching Level 6 Diploma.
Once you are registered with Qualifications Scotland on Level 4 you become ineligible, so do not enrol on the Level 4 Diploma first. If you have only recently enrolled, contact your training provider straight away to change route before you are registered. Only units that are 12 or more years old are treated as "aged".
You obtain a separate SoSPE from each employer covering the relevant part of the last four years. If you cannot get a statement for the full period, the CLC advises deferring your application until the whole four years can be evidenced.
Your legal name, exactly as it appears on your passport. The CLC issues the exemption (and any Qualifications Scotland certificates) in your legal name so it matches your eventual licence application. A preferred name cannot be used.
No. Within the 12 months you only need to register with an approved provider and begin the Level 6 Diploma. Your studies can run beyond the 12 months. You then submit your exemption certificate alongside your Level 6 certificate when you apply for your first licence.
No, it is not required. The CLC recommends it for candidates who have not studied formally for some time, as a way to refresh foundational legal knowledge before starting Level 6, but it is optional.
Only with the CLC's written agreement, obtained before the period of supervised experience begins. You set out the exceptional circumstances to the CLC, and if they agree you submit that written confirmation with your application.
The exemption is a discretionary concession rather than an entitlement, so there is no formal appeal. A refusal usually means the eligibility criteria were not met. You can review the criteria and submit a fresh application later if your circumstances change.
It can. Supervised experience gained for the exemption may support your first licence application, but the Statement of Practical Experience for the licence cannot be signed for supervision completed before your Level 6 certificate is issued. Your provider and the CLC can guide you on the practical-experience requirements.
If you are employed in England, often yes. The Level 6 can be delivered through the Licensed Conveyancer or Licensed Probate Practitioner Apprenticeship (ST1311), funded by the levy or government co-investment. Applying your Professional Experience Exemption can reduce the apprenticeship requirements by half.
Contact our admissions team. We enrol you directly onto the Level 6 Diploma so you can begin the final steps toward your licence.
Related guides
How to Become a Licensed Conveyancer
Why Become a CLC Licensed Conveyancer
Turn your experience into a licence
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