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You will need to confirm that:

• you have an up to date understanding of the legal, ethical and regulatory obligations relevant to your role and
• you have reflected and addressed any identified learning and development needs and
• you are competent to perform your role.

If you do not remain competent, this will result in regulatory action being taken.

Learn more about continuing competence and the resources available, including a template to help you record your learning.

What is continuing competence and when is not applicable?

You are required to maintain your competence and keep your knowledge and skills up to date. This involves regularly reflecting on your practice and addressing any identified learning and development needs. It also means keeping your understanding of any relevant legal, ethical and regulatory obligations up to date.

You must do this if you are practising:

• as a solicitor, a registered European lawyer or a registered foreign lawyer and have a practising certificate or registration
• in-house and have a practising certificate
• as a solicitor but exempt from holding a practising certificate under Section 88 of the Solicitors Act 1974
• overseas and your practice predominantly relates to England and Wales as set out in rule 1.3 of our Overseas and Cross-border Practice Rules.

You are required to confirm that you are maintaining your competence when renewing your practising certificate. If you have not maintained your competence, you should tell us that you haven't and the reason why when making your declaration.

We will monitor your declaration. When making the declaration, you should satisfy yourself that you:

• are acting honestly and with integrity in making the declaration
• have addressed any identified learning and development needs
• are competent in all aspects of your role and not just technical legal practice.

We can restrict your practice if we have concerns about your competence based on the information you provide when making this declaration.

Whilst not a regulatory requirement, you should consider how you can evidence you are maintaining your competence if required by us through our work.

If we receive a complaint about you we will, as part of our investigation, review your declaration and may seek evidence from you in relation to what you have done to maintain your competence.

If you confirm 'no', you must explain why, for example, you have not practised in the last 12 months because you have been on long term sick leave.

If you confirm 'n/a', you must explain why the obligation to maintain competence does not apply to you.

If you are applying for your first practising certificate, the declaration does not apply to you. Please select 'no' and state that this is your first practising certificate (PC). Once you have been granted your PC, you must maintain your competence to carry out your role and keep your professional knowledge and skills up to date.

You can also take a look at our frequently asked questions.

Reporting regulatory breaches

You must tell us if something happens that could be a breach of your regulatory arrangements or ability to practice. For example, you have had a criminal charge, conviction or caution, if they have been declared bankrupt or have a significant health condition.Learn more

If you are currently on statutory maternity leave (or equivalent), or were between 1 November 2023 – 31 October 2024, you may be eligible for a reduced fee.

Equivalent is shared parental leave or adoption leave.

This is where you will confirm the information given within this application is correct and the declaration statement must be ticked to proceed.

The fee summary page will show you how the fee is broken down – administration, regulatory and compensation fund contribution.

In most cases we will approve your practising certificate or registration application immediately and you will pay all your fees in one go.

However, if we need to further assess your application, you will only pay your administration fee for now. If we approve the application, you will then pay the regulatory fee and compensation fund contribution.

You need to pay online by credit or debit card at the end of your application. We do not accept cheques, bank transfer or card payment by telephone.

More about practising fees and compensation fund contributions.