Withdrawal of residual client balances

8 August 2024

Use this form to apply for an authority to withdraw funds from client account for balances over £500.

• Rule 2.5 SRA Accounts Rules states that you are required to ensure that client money is returned promptly to the client, or the third party for whom the money is held, as soon as there is no longer any proper reason to hold those funds.
• Please complete the form with as much information as possible.  Failure to provide enough information/steps you have taken will delay a decision on your application.
• What are reasonable steps to return the money to the rightful owner? This will vary depending on the situation. Factors affecting what will be considered reasonable include, but are not limited to, age of the balance, the amount held, the client details available in respect of a balance and the costs associated with a particular tracing method. We will require more intensive tracing efforts for larger or more recent residual balances, or for balances where more details are held about the client.
• Where you incur out-of-pocket expenses (such as tracing agent’s fees), these can be considered by a decision maker, if the attempts to trace the client have not been successful.

Read the Statement of prescribed circumstances for balances of £500 and below.