SRA practising certificate renewal 2026/27: the £552 fee, the 31 October deadline and what a small firm pays in total

Renewing a practising certificate for 2026/27 costs £552 a solicitor, and the renewal window is 1 to 31 October 2026. A firm also pays a periodic fee set by its turnover and, if it held client money in the year, £2,170 to the compensation fund. For a three-solicitor firm that comes to £6,302, about 17% more than last year.

What each solicitor pays

The rise is £156 a head, and £100 of it is the compensation fund contribution. The SRA's fee page, dated 1 September 2026, says the 2026/27 figures are subject to approval by the Legal Services Board. A search result from the Law Society reports that approval was given in early September; that page would not open for us, so check the SRA's page before paying.

What the firm pays

The periodic fee. The SRA's formula is: fee = (turnover minus the bottom of the band) × the band's percentage + the band's minimum fee, rounded to the nearest pound. These are the bands a small firm falls in.

We quote the table as printed. On those figures a firm at the top of band A would pay about £284 and a firm at the bottom of band B £184, so a sole practitioner near £20,000 should run the SRA's calculator, not ours.

The compensation fund. Every firm that held or received client money between 1 November 2025 and 31 October 2026 pays £2,170, whatever its size. Last year's figure was £1,950.

Two firms, worked

Both firms hold client money. We use the same turnover in both years so the change shown is the change in the SRA's rates.

The smaller firm pays £2,101 a solicitor and the larger £1,725, because the £2,170 compensation fund charge is flat.

Which turnover figure the SRA uses

The 2026/27 periodic fee is worked on the turnover figure the firm gave in its 2025/26 application, from its latest closed accounts before 31 October 2025. A firm whose figure changed had until 30 September 2026 to say so. The figure entered this October, for a 12-month period before 1 November 2026, sets next year's fee. From closed accounts the SRA wants the exact number, not a rounded one. Turnover means gross fees, including work in progress, without interest, VAT or reimbursed expenses.

The October timetable

1. From 1 October. The bulk renewal form opens in mySRA as "Pay your periodic fees and apply for bulk renewal". An organisation contact can fill it in; only the authorised signatory can submit it.
2. Before submitting. Opt out anyone who has left or will not be employed after 31 October 2026. The firm is charged for everyone opted in when it submits, and the SRA says it does not give refunds.
3. Client money figures. Have the highest, lowest and average client account balances from the monthly reconciliations for the 12 months to 31 August 2026. The SRA wants them exact.
4. On submitting. Pay by card at once, or ask for an invoice to pay by bank transfer or the Law Society's endorsed spread payment facility. The invoice appears in mySRA within 24 hours and is not emailed. The payment method cannot be changed once chosen.
5. By 31 October 2026. Every certificate has a replacement date of 31 October, and the SRA gives 1 to 31 October as the renewal window, so submit inside it.

What the form asks for

The SRA says there are no new questions this year. Have ready: the indemnity insurance policy, with insurer, policy number and dates; the firm's financial arrangements; claims in the last indemnity period; turnover; the number of complaints received from clients in the last 12 months; client money held; continuing competence records for everyone in the application; and whether the firm's work falls under the money laundering regulations.

Three of those are easier with other records in order. The insurance answers come from the current policy, and the PII renewal guide covers the firm that has not yet got one. The complaints count comes from the log the complaints procedure should already produce. The client money balances come from the reconciliations that the residual balances guide starts from.

Joining part way through the year

A solicitor with no current certificate who applies during 2026/27 pays a pro-rated total, each including the full compensation fund contribution: £469 for a certificate starting in January to March, £385 for April to June and £302 for July to October. A certificate first issued in October 2026 has to be renewed at once; the SRA suggests waiting until 1 November if it is not needed sooner.

Overlyft can set up an AI File Opener that keeps the firm's compliance calendar, including the renewal and insurance dates; it does not fill in or submit the SRA's form. A supervising solicitor reviews and signs anything a tool drafts, and the authorised signatory submits the renewal. This page is general information, not legal advice.