# Which Legal Ombudsman time limit applies to this complaint? Five questions for a law firm > Five questions on who is complaining, when it was first raised and what the final response said, giving one of seven outcomes with the rule behind each. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/which-legal-ombudsman-time-limit-applies-to-this-complaint-law-firm/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Solicitors, SRA, AML and transparency - Published 2 October 2026 - Key fact: We wrote this questionnaire of 5 questions and 7 outcomes from the rules set out in 3 of our guides and the sources each outcome names. Two of the seven outcomes are reached before anything is asked about the final response: a complainant too large for the Ombudsman, and a complaint first raised more than a year after the problem. The wording of the response is asked before its age, because without the three items in rule 4.4 the six months never start. - Sources: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rule 2.1 and note 13; SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.3 and 8.5 (in force from 11 April 2025); read 2 October 2026; Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.5, 4.7 and 4.8; SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.5; read 2 October 2026; Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.1 and 4.2; Legal Ombudsman, Getting started with the Model Complaints Resolution Procedure; read 2 October 2026; Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.2, 4.4 and 6.3; SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.4 (in force from 11 April 2025); read 2 October 2026; Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.4 and 4.5, read 2 October 2026; Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.4, 4.7 and 4.8, read 2 October 2026; Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.4, 4.5, 4.8, 6.2 and 6.3, read 2 October 2026; each outcome names its source, and the linked guide shows the working. A client has complained and the firm wants to know which clock it is on. Three limits apply and they start at different points: the firm's eight weeks, the six months after a final response, and the one year from the problem. Which one matters depends on who is complaining, when the complaint was first raised and what the final response said. This questionnaire asks up to five questions and gives one of seven outcomes, each with the rule behind it. It follows the Legal Ombudsman's Scheme Rules of 1 April 2023 and the SRA Code of Conduct, both read on 2 October 2026. Nothing you choose leaves the page. **Free tool on the page:** Complaint about a law firm: which time limit applies. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/which-legal-ombudsman-time-limit-applies-to-this-complaint-law-firm/#tool and asks for no sign-up. ## The questions, and why each is asked **1. Who is making the complaint about the firm's service?** Scheme Rule 2.1 lets only certain complainants use the Legal Ombudsman: individuals, micro-enterprises, charities and clubs with income under £1 million, trusts with assets under £1 million, and the personal representatives or beneficiaries of an estate. **2. When the complaint first reached the firm, was it within a year of the problem, or of the client learning of it?** Scheme Rule 4.5 gives one year from the act or omission, or one year from when the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint. Either date keeps the complaint in time. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant. **3. Has the firm sent its final written response to the complaint?** Scheme Rule 4.1 expects the client to use the firm's procedure first. Rule 4.2 opens the Ombudsman to them once eight weeks have passed without a resolution they accept. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant. **4. Did the final response say the Ombudsman was available, give its full contact details and warn of the six months?** Scheme Rule 4.4 starts the six-month limit only if the written response included all three, prominently. A response without them leaves the complaint open to the Ombudsman for longer. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant. **5. Is the final response more than six months old today?** Where the response carried the three items, rule 4.4 says the client must ordinarily refer the complaint to the Ombudsman within six months of the date of that response. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant. ## Every outcome, and the rule behind it ### The Legal Ombudsman cannot take this complaint; the firm's own procedure still applies Reached when: "Who is making the complaint about the firm's service?" answered "A larger business, charity, club or trust". Scheme Rule 2.1 limits who can use the Legal Ombudsman. A business qualifies only as a micro-enterprise, broadly fewer than 10 employees and turnover or assets of no more than €2 million. A charity or club needs annual income under £1 million and a trust assets under £1 million, each measured when the complaint was made to the firm. A larger body has no route to the Ombudsman, but paragraph 8.5 of the SRA Code of Conduct still requires the firm to deal with the complaint promptly, fairly and free of charge. - Record the complainant's size at the date it complained, and how the firm knows. - Handle the complaint under the firm's own procedure and give the outcome in writing. - Leave the Ombudsman wording out of the response only once the size has been checked. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rule 2.1 and note 13; SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.3 and 8.5 (in force from 11 April 2025); read 2 October 2026. The working is in [Solicitors' complaints procedure](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/solicitors-complaints-procedure-model-procedure-case-fees/). ### Outside the one-year limit unless an ombudsman extends it Reached when: "When the complaint first reached the firm, was it within a year of the problem, or of the client learning of it?" answered "No, more than a year after both". Scheme Rule 4.5, as amended from 1 April 2023, says a complaint must ordinarily reach the Legal Ombudsman no later than one year from the act or omission, or one year from when the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause to complain. A complaint first raised with the firm after both dates is already outside it. Rule 4.7 lets an ombudsman extend a limit where that is fair and reasonable, and rule 4.8 gives serious illness as an example, so the firm should still answer in full. - Record the date of the act complained of and the date the client could first have known of it. - Answer the complaint within eight weeks all the same: paragraph 8.5 of the Code has no time bar. - Keep the Ombudsman's contact details and the six-month warning in the final response. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.5, 4.7 and 4.8; SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.5; read 2 October 2026. The working is in [Complaint deadline calculator for law firms](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/complaint-deadline-calculator-law-firm-eight-weeks-legal-ombudsman/). ### The firm's eight weeks are running: resolve it before day 56 Reached when: "Has the firm sent its final written response to the complaint?" answered "No, and the complaint is less than eight weeks old". Under Scheme Rule 4.2 the client can go to the Legal Ombudsman once a complaint has gone eight weeks from the day it was made without being resolved to their satisfaction, which is 56 days. Until then rule 4.1 expects them to use the firm's procedure, unless an ombudsman finds exceptional reasons or an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship. The Ombudsman's voluntary model procedure asks for an acknowledgement within five working days and no more than ten working days on early resolution. - Count 56 days from the day the complaint was made and diary that date and the halfway point. - Acknowledge in writing within five working days, with a copy of the complaints procedure. - Send the final response before day 56, with the three items rule 4.4 lists. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.1 and 4.2; Legal Ombudsman, Getting started with the Model Complaints Resolution Procedure; read 2 October 2026. The working is in [Complaint handling checklist for law firms](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/law-firm-complaint-handling-checklist-receipt-to-final-response/). ### Eight weeks have passed: the client can go to the Ombudsman now Reached when: "Has the firm sent its final written response to the complaint?" answered "No, and eight weeks have passed since it was made". Scheme Rule 4.2 lets a complainant use the Legal Ombudsman once a complaint has not been resolved to their satisfaction within eight weeks of being made. Paragraph 8.4 of the SRA Code of Conduct then requires the firm to tell the client in writing of any right to complain to the Ombudsman, the time frame for doing so and its full contact details. No six-month limit runs until a written response with that wording has gone. The case fee under rule 6.3 is £400 for a chargeable complaint. - Write to the client today with the Ombudsman's contact details and the time limits. - Send the final response as soon as it is ready, with the three items rule 4.4 lists. - Record why the eight weeks were missed and who now holds the complaint. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.2, 4.4 and 6.3; SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.4 (in force from 11 April 2025); read 2 October 2026. The working is in [Solicitors' complaints procedure](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/solicitors-complaints-procedure-model-procedure-case-fees/). ### The six-month limit has not started, because the response left something out Reached when: "Did the final response say the Ombudsman was available, give its full contact details and warn of the six months?" answered "No, or at least one was missing". Scheme Rule 4.4 says the six-month limit applies only if the firm's written response included prominently three things: an explanation that the Legal Ombudsman was available if the client remained dissatisfied, full contact details for the Ombudsman, and a warning that the complaint must be referred within six months of the date of the response. If any one is missing the six months do not run, and the only limit left is the one year in rule 4.5. - Send the client a dated written response that carries all three items where they will be seen. - Check the firm's final response template against rule 4.4 and the Ombudsman's current contact details. - Note the corrected response's date in the complaints register: six months can run only from that one. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.4 and 4.5, read 2 October 2026. The working is in [Complaint deadline calculator for law firms](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/complaint-deadline-calculator-law-firm-eight-weeks-legal-ombudsman/). ### Outside the six-month limit unless an ombudsman extends it Reached when: "Is the final response more than six months old today?" answered "Yes, more than six months old". The final response carried the three items in Scheme Rule 4.4, so the client ordinarily had six months from its date to refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, and that period has ended. Rule 4.7 lets an ombudsman extend any time limit where that is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances, and rule 4.8 gives serious illness as an example. The firm does not decide the point itself: if the Ombudsman makes contact, it will want to see the dated response. - Keep the dated final response and proof of how and when it was sent. - If the Ombudsman makes contact, send the response and the dates and say the firm considers it out of time. - Note the six-month date in the complaints register. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.4, 4.7 and 4.8, read 2 October 2026. The working is in [Complaint deadline calculator for law firms](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/complaint-deadline-calculator-law-firm-eight-weeks-legal-ombudsman/). ### Inside both limits: the client has six months from the final response Reached when: any other set of answers. The final response carried the three items in Scheme Rule 4.4 and is not yet six months old, so the client can still refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman: a response dated 20 November 2026 gives until 20 May 2027. The one-year limit in rule 4.5 also applies, but rule 4.8 says an ombudsman is likely to extend a limit that had not expired when the complaint was raised with the firm. The case fee under rule 6.3 is £400 for a chargeable complaint. - Diary the date six months after the final response and keep the file to hand until then. - Keep the response, the file and the costs information ready in case the Ombudsman asks for them. - Record the steps taken to resolve it: rule 6.2 waives the fee only where all reasonable steps were taken. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rules 4.4, 4.5, 4.8, 6.2 and 6.3, read 2 October 2026. The working is in [Complaint deadline calculator for law firms](https://aeolookup.com/solicitors/complaint-deadline-calculator-law-firm-eight-weeks-legal-ombudsman/). ## How to use the result Use it when a complaint arrives and again when the final response is drafted. An outcome that says a limit has passed is a strong position and not a guarantee, because rule 4.7 lets an ombudsman extend any limit where that is fair and reasonable. Put the dates in the complaints register and have the person the firm names for complaints sign the response. For the dates themselves, the complaint deadline calculator on this site counts the eight weeks, the six months and the year from the dates you enter. The outcome applies the rule to the answers given; it cannot see the facts behind them. Where an answer is a judgement, or the facts are unusual, the outcome may not fit. 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. None of these outcomes depends on them. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.