Complaint deadline calculator for law firms: the eight weeks, the six-month limit and the one-year limits

A complaint to a law firm starts three clocks. One belongs to the firm: eight weeks to put things right. Two belong to the client: six months from your final response, and one year from the problem. The calculator gives the dates for all three.

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Complaint deadline calculator for law firms: the eight-week date, the six-month Legal Ombudsman limit and the one-year limits

Date you received the complaint Date of your final response (blank if not sent yet) Date of the event complained about (if known) Date the client became aware of it (if later)

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The firm's clock: eight weeks

The Legal Ombudsman's guidance to consumers says a service provider has up to eight weeks to put things right. The calculator counts 56 days from the day the complaint arrived. If the complaint is not resolved by then, the client can go to the Ombudsman without waiting for you.

For a complaint received on 1 October 2026 the date is 26 November 2026. The calculator also shows the halfway point, 29 October 2026. That is our suggestion and not a rule: a date in the diary at four weeks to check that someone has the file, the client has been spoken to and a response is being written. Complaints that reach week seven without a draft are the ones that go to the Ombudsman by default.

Eight weeks is the outer limit, not a target. Your own complaints procedure may promise something faster, and the client was told about that procedure at the start of the matter. Our client care letter checklist lists what that letter has to say about complaints.

The client's first clock: six months from the final response

Once you send a final response, the client has six months from its date to refer the complaint to the Ombudsman. A final response dated 20 November 2026 gives a limit of 20 May 2027.

There is a condition, and it is the most useful thing on this page. The Ombudsman's guidance on signposting says the final response must:

• say that it is the firm's final response;
• say that the client can refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman;
• give the six-month time limit; and
• give the Ombudsman's full contact details.

If the final response leaves out the six-month warning or the contact details, the six-month clock does not start. A firm that sends a careful four-page response and omits the last paragraph has left the complaint open for far longer than it thinks.

The contact details the guidance lists are: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH; telephone 0300 555 0333; enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk; www.legalombudsman.org.uk. Check them against the Ombudsman's website before you put them in a template, and check the template once a year.

The client's second clock: one year

Since 1 April 2023 the client must also refer the complaint within one year of the act or omission complained about, or within one year of when they should have realised there was cause to complain.

Enter the date of the event, and the date the client became aware of it if that was later, and the calculator gives both one-year dates. For an event on 15 March 2026 the limit is 15 March 2027; if the client only became aware on 1 August 2026, it is 1 August 2027.

Both tests apply. A complaint has to be inside the six months and inside the year. The Ombudsman has discretion to accept a complaint outside the limits where it considers that fair and reasonable, so a date that has passed is a strong position, not a guarantee.

A paragraph for the end of every final response

This wording covers the four points. Have the person responsible for complaints at your firm check it against the Ombudsman's current guidance before it goes into use.

This letter is our final response to your complaint. If you are not satisfied, you can ask the Legal Ombudsman to look at it. You must do so within six months of the date of this letter. You must also contact the Ombudsman within one year of the problem you are complaining about, or within one year of when you should have realised there was a problem. The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted at PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH, on 0300 555 0333, at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk and at www.legalombudsman.org.uk.

Keeping complaints from starting

Many complaints begin with silence. A client who hears nothing for three weeks assumes nothing is happening. A short update on a fixed day, even when the answer is "we are still waiting for the other side", removes the reason most people write the first angry email. Our conveyancing client update template gives the wording, and the guide to what the SRA Transparency Rules require you to publish covers the complaints information that has to be on your website.

What the calculator does not do

It counts dates from the Ombudsman's published rules. It does not decide whether something is a complaint, whether the Ombudsman has jurisdiction, or what a fair remedy is. It covers the Legal Ombudsman for England and Wales only. A complaint about a solicitor's conduct, as distinct from service, is for the SRA and runs on different rules.

A supervising solicitor, or the person the firm has named to handle complaints, reviews and signs every complaint response, whatever tool helped to draft it. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Overlyft can set up an AI assistant that drafts routine client updates for a fee earner to approve. It does not answer complaints.