The CLC Exemptions Calculator

Choose the route you are aiming for and the highest legal qualification you already hold. The calculator maps your prior learning against the official Qualifications Scotland exemptions table to estimate the units you would still complete. It is a guide, not a final decision: Access Law Online confirms your exact exemptions free of charge once we have seen your transcript.

This calculator reflects the Qualifications Scotland document Routes to Entry onto SQA CLC Diplomas: Candidates with Other Legal Qualifications Awarded in England and Wales (version 01 Nov 2023) and the CLC's published exemptions guidance. Final exemptions are always confirmed by the CLC and Qualifications Scotland against your evidence.

How do CLC exemptions actually work?

To qualify through the CLC you complete two qualifications: the Level 4 Diploma (the entry-level academic stage) and the Level 6 Diploma (the advanced stage). Each is made up of separate units. Recognition of Prior Learning lets the CLC and Qualifications Scotland give you credit for units you have already passed elsewhere, so you only study what is genuinely new to you.

Exemptions work at three levels of generosity. A strong qualification such as a completed law degree can exempt you from the entire Level 4 Diploma, so you start at Level 6. A partial qualification can exempt you from specific Level 4 units (for example The English Legal System, Law of Contract and Land Law), leaving you to complete the practical and accounts units. And some advanced qualifications leave you with only a single Level 6 unit, most often Managing Client & Office Accounts, which the CLC will not exempt because it tests the conduct rules specific to licensed practice.

Does it matter how old my qualification is?

For Level 4 exemptions, no. Law degrees, CILEx and NALP qualifications used for Level 4 exemptions are not subject to any age limit, so an older or unfinished degree can still count.

For Level 6, the CLC operates an Age of Qualification policy. If your Level 6 or Level 7 legal qualification, or its conveyancing or probate units, was awarded more than six years before you apply, the CLC expects you to refresh your core knowledge before your licence application. In practice you pass one standalone Level 6 unit: Conveyancing Law & Practice for a conveyancing licence, or The Administration of Estates for a probate licence. The policy applies to LPC, CILEx and past CLC Record of Achievement holders from 1 January 2023, and it does not apply if you currently hold a valid licence from the CLC, SRA or CILEx Regulation.

I qualified outside England and Wales. Can I still get exemptions?

Often, yes. A law degree awarded outside England and Wales can let you progress straight to the Level 6 Diploma, provided it is based on a jurisdiction derived from English common law. The CLC assesses overseas qualifications individually, so the route depends on what your degree covered and where it sits against English and Welsh law.

Since the UK Centre for Professional Qualifications closed its advisory service at the end of 2023, professionals with overseas legal qualifications are directed to the Regulated Professions Register to check the CLC's requirements. Documents that are not in English must be officially translated, stamped and signed by the translator, and submitted alongside the originals. Send us your paperwork and we will map it for you at no cost.

Why is a Scottish body involved in an England & Wales qualification?

This is the single most common worry we hear, so let us put it to rest. The CLC Diplomas are awarded by Qualifications Scotland, which until December 2024 was called the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). Qualifications Scotland is the national awarding and accreditation body for Scotland, and it also acts as the awarding body for a range of UK-wide professional qualifications, including the CLC Conveyancing and Probate Diplomas.

It is purely the awarding body, the organisation that quality assures the assessment and issues your certificate. It does not change what you study, where you can work, or who regulates you. Your qualification is for England and Wales, your regulator is the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, and you qualify to practise as a Licensed Conveyancer or Licensed Probate Practitioner in England and Wales. The Scottish element simply means your diploma certificate carries the Qualifications Scotland name, in the same way a GCSE certificate carries an exam board's name.

How to claim your exemptions with Access Law Online (free)

Checking and registering your exemptions costs you nothing at Access Law Online. Here is the step-by-step process.

You should normally claim exemptions when you first enrol. If you gain further qualifications later, you can apply for additional exemptions at any time. You are also free to decline an exemption you have been awarded, for example if a qualification is old and you would prefer to refresh the material before sitting Level 6.

Qualifications that commonly count towards exemptions

The table below summarises the most common routes, taken from the Qualifications Scotland exemptions table. The calculator above turns these into a unit-by-unit list for your chosen route.

"Specialism unit" means Standard Conveyancing Transactions for the conveyancing route, or Law of Wills, Succession & Grants of Representation for the probate route. Always confirm against your own transcript: the CLC maps exemptions unit by unit.

Full exemptions list: exact units for every qualification

This is the complete unit-by-unit reference, the same output the calculator produces, set out in plain text. It shows the Level 4 and Level 6 units you would still complete on the conveyancing route and the probate route, for each prior qualification, based on the Qualifications Scotland exemptions table.

Qualifications that exempt you from all academic units

• Qualified solicitor with a current SRA practising certificate free from conditions: exempt from all educational requirements; you provide occupational evidence and current CPD instead.
• FCILEX with valid CILEx Regulation practitioner rights free from conditions: exempt from all educational requirements; you provide alternative occupational evidence.
• LPC (with a law degree or GDL) passed in the last 6 years, including the required core and occupational units: no further academic units. You move straight to 1,200 hours of supervised practical experience verified by a Statement of Practical Experience. Any missing or failed LPC units are taken as the equivalent SQA Level 6 unit.
• A Level 6 or 7 legal qualification awarded over 6 years ago: under the Age of Qualification policy you refresh your knowledge by passing one standalone Level 6 unit, Conveyancing Law & Practice for a conveyancing licence or The Administration of Estates for a probate licence.

Doing both Diplomas? You only pass one of the two Accounts units at each level. Figures are indicative; the CLC and Qualifications Scotland confirm your exact exemptions against your transcript, free of charge through Access Law Online.

CLC exemptions: frequently asked questions

Start on the right route

Already part way through? Browse individual conveyancing modules or individual probate modules and study only the units you need.

Sources and further reading: the CLC's Am I eligible for Exemptions? guidance, the CLC Diplomas pages, and the Qualifications Scotland document Routes to Entry onto SQA CLC Diplomas. Exemptions are confirmed by the CLC and Qualifications Scotland against your evidence; this page is a guide and not a substitute for their current published policy.