In shortThe SRA Transparency Rules require authorised firms to publish their complaints procedure, their SRA number and the SRA digital badge on their website. Firms that publicise any of nine listed services, including residential conveyancing, uncontested probate, immigration and employment tribunal claims, must also publish clear cost and service information for them.
The current version has been in effect since 11 April 2025. The rules set a minimum: the SRA Code of Conduct also requires the best possible information about pricing and publicity that is accurate and not misleading.
Who the Transparency Rules apply to
The rules apply to SRA-authorised firms and to solicitors practising in certain other circumstances set out in the SRA's authorisation regulations. Firms regulated by other bodies, such as licensed conveyancers regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, follow their own regulator's rules instead.
The price obligations are triggered by publicity. A firm must publish cost information for a listed service if it publicises that service as part of its usual business. The SRA's own case studies make the point: a firm that advertises probate must provide probate prices, even if it rarely does the work, while a firm that never advertises conveyancing to individuals is not caught for conveyancing. Publicly funded (legal aid) work is excluded from the price requirement (rule 1.2).
A firm without a website must make the same information available on request (rule 3).
Which services need published prices
Rule 1.1 requires cost information for the services listed in rules 1.3 (for individuals) and 1.4 (for businesses). The list is specific: a service that is close to one of these but not on it, such as commercial property or will-writing on its own, is not covered.
| Service | Limits | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Residential conveyancing | Limits: Freehold or leasehold sales and purchases; mortgages and remortgages | Rule: 1.3(a) |
| Probate and estate administration | Limits: Collecting and distributing a deceased person's assets; UK assets; not contested | Rule: 1.3(b) |
| Immigration applications | Limits: Preparing and submitting applications; excludes asylum | Rule: 1.3(c) |
| Immigration appeals | Limits: First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) appeals against Home Office decisions; excludes asylum appeals | Rule: 1.3(d) |
| Motoring offences | Limits: Magistrates' Court; summary-only road traffic offences dealt with at a single hearing | Rule: 1.3(e) |
| Employment tribunal claims (employees) | Limits: Unfair or wrongful dismissal claims brought by employees | Rule: 1.3(f) |
| Employment tribunal claims (employers) | Limits: Defending unfair or wrongful dismissal claims | Rule: 1.4(a) |
| Debt recovery | Limits: Up to £100,000, for businesses | Rule: 1.4(b) |
| Licensing applications | Limits: Business premises | Rule: 1.4(c) |
What the price and service information must include
For each listed service a firm publicises, rule 1.5 sets out what must be published and rule 1.6 says it must be clear, accessible and in a prominent place on the website. The SRA's guidance adds detail on what that means in practice.
- Prominent and accessible: the information should be clearly signposted and easy to find (rule 1.6).
- No barrier: visitors should not have to provide detailed information before they can see it.
- Quote calculators are allowed, but must produce a quote without requiring further contact at that stage.
| Requirement | What the SRA guidance says |
|---|---|
| Total cost, or an average or range where a total isn't practicable | What the SRA guidance says: A binding quote for every scenario is not required. A 'typical case' is suggested as simpler than an average. A range needs the basis for the charges, and good practice is to list the factors that raise or lower the cost. |
| The basis for charges, including hourly rates or fixed fees | What the SRA guidance says: Hourly pricing should give the rate and the estimated hours. If face-to-face service costs more than online service, say so. |
| Experience and qualifications of the people doing the work and their supervisors | What the SRA guidance says: Covers everyone who carries out the listed work. Names are not mandated, and the information can sit on team pages rather than the price page. |
| Likely disbursements, with a description and cost | What the SRA guidance says: Disbursements are payments to third parties, such as search or court fees. Taxes such as Stamp Duty Land Tax should be flagged as additional without estimating the exact amount. |
| Whether fees and disbursements attract VAT, and how much | What the SRA guidance says: State whether prices include VAT. A firm that is not VAT-registered should say so. |
| What the price includes | What the SRA guidance says: Make clear where the service stops, so the client can see what would cost extra. |
| The key stages and likely timescales for each stage | What the SRA guidance says: Average timescales are acceptable. Where timing depends on others, such as the Home Office or a land registry, say so. |
Complaints information: required for every firm
Rule 2.1 requires every firm covered by the rules to publish details of its complaints handling procedure on its website, including how and when a complaint can be made to the Legal Ombudsman and to the SRA. This applies whatever the firm's areas of practice.
The 'when' matters. Under the Legal Ombudsman's scheme rules in force since 1 April 2023, a complaint should generally be referred within one year of the problem, or of when the complainant should reasonably have known about it, and within six months of the firm's final response, provided that response clearly set out the Legal Ombudsman's details and the six-month limit. The Ombudsman can extend these limits where fair. It consulted on further scheme rule changes in 2026, so a firm's complaints page should be checked against the current scheme rules rather than copied from an old template.
The SRA number and digital badge
Rule 4.1 requires an authorised firm to display its SRA number and the SRA's digital badge in a prominent place on its website. Both are required: the badge does not replace the number. A licensed body whose legal services have their own website must display them there. Rule 4.2 separately requires the SRA number and the words 'authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority' on letterheads and emails.
The badge links visitors to the SRA's record of the firm, which is why it carries weight with cautious clients. It is also one of the easiest requirements to lose in a redesign or to leave off a new campaign or specialist site.
Beyond the Transparency Rules
The Transparency Rules set a minimum for published information. The SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors adds two broader duties that apply to all website content, and the SRA's price guidance refers to both: clients must receive the best possible information about how their matter will be priced (paragraph 8.7), and publicity must be accurate and not misleading, including about charges (paragraph 8.8).
In practice this means marketing copy, comparison claims and 'from' prices are part of compliance too. A headline fee that leaves out unavoidable costs, or a claim about results the firm can't support, is a conduct issue even if the price page itself is complete.
Where law firm websites usually fall short
Most failures aren't deliberate. They come from websites built without the rules in mind, or from information that was right at launch and then drifted.
- Prices that only appear after a visitor submits a form or contact details.
- Ranges published without the basis for the charges or the factors that change them.
- VAT and disbursements left unclear, so the headline figure can't be compared.
- Team experience and qualifications that are out of date after people join or leave.
- Complaints pages that mention the Legal Ombudsman but not when a complaint can be made.
- A missing SRA number or badge, often after a redesign or on a separate specialist site.
- Price pages buried several clicks deep, which sits awkwardly with the requirement to be prominent.
How we approach it
On the websites we build, the Transparency Rules are part of the design brief rather than a final check: price and service pages are written so they persuade and comply, the badge and regulatory details are built into the templates, and complaints information is placed where clients will find it. On the Growth programme we keep that information under review as the site changes.
We are a technology and marketing provider, not a law firm, and this guide is a summary rather than legal advice. Responsibility for compliance stays with the firm and its compliance officer for legal practice, and we work with them on the wording.
Sources
Checked 29 October 2026. This guide summarises the rules; it is not legal advice.