# Small law firm compliance readiness check: ten yes-or-no questions on AML, complaints, client money, insurance and renewal > Ten yes-or-no questions for a small SRA-regulated firm on AML files, complaints, client money, price pages, insurance, AI and October renewal. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/small-law-firm-compliance-readiness-check/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Solicitors, SRA, AML and transparency - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: We wrote ten questions from the rules set out in 9 of our guides; for 4 of the ten the answer that is in order is "no", so the check cannot be passed by ticking yes. The first asks: If the SRA's anti-money laundering letter arrived today, could the firm send its firm-wide risk assessment, proliferation financing assessment and policies within ten calendar days? A desk-based review gives ten calendar days to send those documents with the template risk assessments and the fee earner and matter lists. Of 833 firms rated after proactive work, 270 (32%) were not compliant. - Sources: DG Legal on SRA desk-based reviews, Legal Futures, 9 September 2026; Money Laundering Regulations 2017; SRA thematic review of source of funds and wealth compliance, 5 November 2025; Money Laundering Regulations 2017 reg 28(11)(a); SRA thematic review of source of funds and wealth compliance, 5 November 2025; Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023; Office for Legal Complaints consultation, June 2026; Legal Ombudsman, 'Signposting consumers to the Legal Ombudsman' and Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023; SRA Accounts Rules 2.5 and 5.1(c); SRA Transparency Rules, edition in force from 11 April 2025; SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules and Minimum Terms and Conditions; SRA warning notice on misuse of artificial intelligence, 17 August 2026; SRA Code of Conduct 2.4 and 3.5; SRA Fee policy 2026/27 and mySRA bulk renewal page, read 1 October 2026; each rule is set out with its source in the guide the question links to. The test record is in tests/readiness/tools-check.txt. This check is for the partner, COLP or practice manager of a small SRA-regulated firm in England and Wales doing conveyancing, probate, family or private client work. The ten questions cover the anti-money laundering file, complaints, client money, the price pages, insurance, AI and the October renewal, each taken from a rule set out in our guides. A supervising solicitor reviews and signs anything a tool drafts, and this page is general information, not legal advice. There are ten questions and they take about five minutes. Answer from memory. "Not sure" counts as a gap, because a rule nobody in the office can recall is a rule nobody is checking. **Free tool on the page:** Small law firm compliance readiness check: ten yes-or-no questions on AML, complaints, client money, insurance and renewal. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/small-law-firm-compliance-readiness-check/#tool and asks for no sign-up. ## What each question checks **1. If the SRA's anti-money laundering letter arrived today, could the firm send its firm-wide risk assessment, proliferation financing assessment and policies within ten calendar days?** The answer that is in order is "yes". A desk-based review gives ten calendar days to send those documents with the template risk assessments and the fee earner and matter lists. Of 833 firms rated after proactive work, 270 (32%) were not compliant. Source: DG Legal on SRA desk-based reviews, Legal Futures, 9 September 2026; Money Laundering Regulations 2017. The working is in [SRA AML desk-based review](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/sra-aml-desk-based-review-10-day-checklist/). **2. Does every purchase file carry a note of where the client's money came from, or a written reason why no check was needed?** The answer that is in order is "yes". The SRA read 5,873 files in 2024 to 2025; 648 of the 5,026 that needed a source of funds check (11%) had none. It expects a written reason on the file when a firm decides a check is not needed. Source: SRA thematic review of source of funds and wealth compliance, 5 November 2025; Money Laundering Regulations 2017 reg 28(11)(a). The working is in [Source of funds checks for solicitors](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/source-of-funds-checks-solicitors-evidence-file-note/). **3. Do fee earners ever accept money into client account before anyone has read the source of funds evidence?** The answer that is in order is "no". The SRA lists checks done on the day funds are expected as poor practice. On 18% of files it read the evidence had not been adequately scrutinised, and on 8% the ledger did not match the evidence. Source: SRA thematic review of source of funds and wealth compliance, 5 November 2025. The working is in [Source of funds checks for solicitors](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/source-of-funds-checks-solicitors-evidence-file-note/). **4. Has any complaint in the last twelve months gone more than eight weeks without a final response?** The answer that is in order is "no". A firm has eight weeks to resolve a complaint: one received on 1 October 2026 must be resolved by 26 November 2026. The Legal Ombudsman's case fee is £400 today, and proposals for 1 April 2027 add £400 where no final response came in time. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023; Office for Legal Complaints consultation, June 2026. The working is in [Solicitors' complaints procedure](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/solicitors-complaints-procedure-model-procedure-case-fees/). **5. Does your final response to a complaint state the six-month limit and give the Legal Ombudsman's full contact details?** The answer that is in order is "yes". A final response dated 20 November 2026 gives the client until 20 May 2027 to go to the Legal Ombudsman, but only if it states the six-month limit and the Ombudsman's full contact details. If it does not, that clock does not start. Source: Legal Ombudsman, 'Signposting consumers to the Legal Ombudsman' and Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023. The working is in [Complaint deadline calculator for law firms](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/complaint-deadline-calculator-law-firm-eight-weeks-legal-ombudsman/). **6. Is the firm holding any balance in client account on a finished matter that nobody has tried to return?** The answer that is in order is "no". Client money must be returned promptly once there is no reason to hold it. A balance of £500 or less can go to charity only after reasonable steps to return it, recorded and kept six years; above £500 the SRA must authorise it in writing. Source: SRA Accounts Rules 2.5 and 5.1(c). The working is in [Residual client balances under the SRA Accounts Rules](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/sra-accounts-rules-residual-client-balances-500-rule/). **7. Does each priced service on your website say who does the work and what their experience is?** The answer that is in order is "yes". The SRA Transparency Rules name six services for individuals and three for businesses, with seven price items for each. The two most often missing on small-firm sites are the experience of the people doing the work and the SRA digital badge. Source: SRA Transparency Rules, edition in force from 11 April 2025. The working is in [SRA transparency rules](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/sra-transparency-rules-price-information-what-to-publish/). **8. Does the firm's indemnity policy give at least £3 million for any one claim if it is an LLP or limited company, or £2 million if it is not?** The answer that is in order is "yes". Those are the SRA minimum terms. A firm whose policy expired on 30 September 2026 with no replacement has 30 days of extended cover, then a 60-day cessation period with no new instructions, to 29 December 2026. Source: SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules and Minimum Terms and Conditions. The working is in [Solicitors' PII renewal](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/solicitors-pii-renewal-minimum-terms-90-day-clock/). **9. Does anyone in the firm type or paste client information into a public AI tool?** The answer that is in order is "no". The SRA's warning notice of 17 August 2026 says client information may only go into an AI system with contractual, technical and organisational safeguards, because entering it into a public tool can waive privilege. The firm stays accountable for the work. Source: SRA warning notice on misuse of artificial intelligence, 17 August 2026; SRA Code of Conduct 2.4 and 3.5. The working is in [The SRA's warning notice on AI](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/sra-ai-warning-notice-small-law-firm-ai-policy/). **10. Before submitting this October's bulk renewal, have you opted out everyone who will not be employed after 31 October 2026?** The answer that is in order is "yes". The firm is charged £552 for every solicitor opted in when the bulk renewal is submitted, and the SRA says it does not give refunds. Renewal runs from 1 to 31 October 2026. Source: SRA Fee policy 2026/27 and mySRA bulk renewal page, read 1 October 2026. The working is in [SRA practising certificate renewal 2026/27](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/sra-practising-certificate-renewal-2026-27-fees-deadline/). ## How to use the result The list under your score is a to-do list. Each line names the rule, where it comes from and the page that shows how to deal with it. Put a name and a date against each one. A gap that has an owner and a date is being handled; a gap that everyone knows about and nobody owns is how firms end up explaining themselves later. Do the check again each quarter, and again whenever a rule in this sector changes. Give it to a second person in the office without showing them your answers. Where the two of you disagree, the procedure is not written down clearly enough, and that is worth knowing whichever of you is right. A good score is not a certificate. The questions cover the points our guides cover, which are the ones that come up most often in a small firm; they are not every duty a firm has. A supervising solicitor reviews and signs anything a tool drafts, and this page is general information, not legal advice. Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) sets up AI assistants for solicitors: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not make a firm compliant, and none of the ten answers depends on them. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.