The Council for Licensed Conveyancers, in plain English

Established:

What it regulates:

Scope:

Size of the regulated community (end 2023):

Code of Conduct:

Continuing competence:

What CLC regulates

What the CLC regulates

Under the Legal Services Act 2007, six activities are "reserved" — they can only be carried out by an Authorised Person under an Approved Regulator. The CLC authorises persons in respect of three of these:

• Reserved instrument activities — preparing or lodging documents that effect the transfer of real property. This is the legal core of conveyancing.
• Probate activities — preparing papers in support of an application for a grant of representation (probate or letters of administration).
• The administration of oaths — receiving sworn or affirmed statements (relevant to probate and certain conveyancing matters). 

The CLC also issues "certificates of recognition" to CLC Recognised Bodies — entities (sole practitioner, partnership, LLP, company, or unincorporated body) authorised to provide conveyancing and/or probate services. This is how CLC regulation reaches the practice rather than just the individual licensee.

CLC vs the SRA

CLC vs the SRA: the practical difference

A Licensed Conveyancer regulated by the CLC has the same legal authority to act in a conveyancing matter as a solicitor regulated by the SRA. The two professions are different routes to the same authorisation under the Legal Services Act 2007 — not "lite" versions of each other. The same applies for Licensed Probate Practitioners and probate-licensed solicitors.

The structural differences between the two regulators come down to specialism, scale, and approach:

How licensing works

How Licensed Conveyancers (and Licensed Probate Practitioners) are licensed

The qualification pathway

The standard route to a CLC licence runs through three stages: the Level 4 Diploma in Conveyancing (or Probate) Law and Practice; the Level 6 Diploma in the same; and a Statement of Practical Experience evidencing 1,200 hours of practical experience over a 24-month period, completed within the past 36 months at licence application.

For students apprentices, the same academic content is delivered alongside structured workplace experience, and culminates in an independent End-Point Assessment.

Some candidates qualify by alternative routes:

• The Professional Experience Exemption — for candidates with 4+ years' continuous supervised fee-earning experience and no disqualifying prior qualifications, the Level 4 stage may be waived.
• Recognition of Prior Learning — holders of LLBs, GDLs, CILEX, or other recognised qualifications may be exempt from specific modules at Level 4 or Level 6.
• Cross-qualification — practising solicitors and FCILEx Practitioners can fast-track into CLC licensure with specific modules required.

Initial licence and progression to full licence

A first qualifying licence is generally a limited licence, requiring continued supervision for the early period of practice. After three consecutive annual licences and a minimum of three years' employment in supervised practice, a Licensed Conveyancer or Licensed Probate Practitioner may apply for a full licence, allowing independent practice, partnership, or sole-practitioner status.

Licences are issued annually for the licensing year beginning 1 November. All licensees pay a Practice Fee, the OLC Levy (Office for Legal Complaints / Legal Ombudsman levy), and a Compensation Fund Contribution as conditions of licence.

Ongoing Competence

The CLC's approach to continuing competence shifted on 1 November 2025. The legacy CPD Code and Framework (which set fixed CPD-hour requirements) was replaced by the Ongoing Competence Code. The new regime is activity-based and outcomes-focused, not hour-based. Licensees plan their development around identified topics and risks, link learning activities to LSB Ongoing Competence Outcomes, and submit annual Ongoing Competence Records demonstrating they have met minimum activity requirements.

The Code of Conduct

The CLC Handbook and the Code of Conduct

The CLC Handbook is the parent document for all CLC regulatory arrangements. It contains the Code of Conduct (the overarching document) and a set of subsidiary topic-specific Codes that sit beneath it. All CLC-regulated individuals and bodies must comply with the Handbook.

The current Code of Conduct came into force on 1 January 2025, replacing the previous 2011 version. Where the 2011 Code used "Overarching Principles", the 2025 Code is built around six Ethical Principles, each with specific Outcomes that licensees and entities must deliver against:

• Maintain high standards of professional and personal conduct.
• Maintain high standards of work.
• Act in the best interests of your Clients.
• Comply with your duty to the court (currently dormant — applicable only if and when the CLC's regulatory remit extends to advocacy).
• Deal with regulators and ombudsmen in an open and co-operative way.
• Equality, diversity and inclusion.

Beneath the Code sit topic-specific Codes covering practice areas including Accounts, Anti-Money Laundering, Acting for Lenders, Equality, Estimates and Terms of Engagement, Insurance Intermediaries, Licensed Body ABS, Management and Supervision, Notification, Professional Indemnity Insurance, Recognised Body, Transaction Files, Undertakings, and Disclosure of Profits and Advantages.

The full Handbook and Code of Conduct are published on the CLC website. We don't reproduce regulatory text here — for the authoritative version, see the CLC's published Handbook.

Consumer protection

The consumer protection apparatus

Three separate mechanisms protect consumers of CLC-regulated services:

• The Legal Ombudsman — an independent body created by the Legal Services Act 2007, which handles consumer complaints about CLC-regulated lawyers (as well as those regulated by the SRA, BSB, and others).
• The CLC Compensation Fund — provides redress for client losses caused by dishonesty or failure to account on the part of a CLC-regulated lawyer or practice.
• Mandatory Professional Indemnity Insurance — every CLC-regulated practice must hold PII meeting minimum CLC PII Code terms.

Together these provide multiple layers of recourse for consumers, separate from any complaint a client might make directly to the practice itself.

Access Law's relationship

Access Law's relationship with the CLC

Access Law Online (Access Law Online Ltd) is a CLC Approved Training Provider and Qualifications Scotland Approved Centre, headquartered in Maidenhead, England. We deliver Ofqual-regulated qualifications and apprenticeships in conveyancing and probate law, leading to Licensed Conveyancer or Licensed Probate Practitioner status under the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. Registered in England and Wales, company number 11426418.

The CLC owns the qualifications we deliver — the Level 4 and Level 6 Diplomas in Conveyancing Law and Practice and Probate Law and Practice. Our students sit CLC assessments. On qualifying, students apply directly to the CLC for a Licensed Conveyancer or Licensed Probate Practitioner licence.

We are not the regulator — we're a regulated training provider preparing students for licensure under the CLC. There is no alternative awarding body for these specific licences.

For the broader picture of how Access Law sits within the regulatory stack — including Qualifications Scotland, Ofqual, Ofsted, and the DfE/ESFA — see our Accreditations & Regulation page.