Applying to join: common questions

If you are looking for support yourself, please go to our Support Directory.

The facts about regulators on this page come from the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the GOV.UK register of regulated professions. We last checked them on 6 October 2026.

Before you apply

Can we apply today?

Not yet. Solicitor membership is not open, so nobody can apply today. You can see how applying will work.

Yes. Solicitors and law firms can apply now: apply to join the Legal Directory.

What should we do before applying?

Before applying, check that solicitor membership fits your firm: read Solicitor membership: common questions.

What should we have ready?

The name of the person applying, your firm’s name, a work email address, a phone number and your firm’s website. Your firm’s SRA number is optional.

Do we need an SRA number?

No. The form asks for your firm’s SRA number, but it is optional. Every application is checked by hand either way.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulates all solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales. Solicitors in Scotland are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, and solicitors in Northern Ireland by the Law Society of Northern Ireland.

What is an SRA number?

It is the number that identifies a firm or a solicitor the SRA regulates. The SRA also calls it an SRA ID.

Under the SRA Transparency Rules, a firm the SRA authorises must show its SRA number on its website, and its letterhead and emails must show its SRA authorisation number. You can look up the solicitors and firms the SRA regulates on its Solicitors Register.

The steps

What happens after we apply?

1. You apply online. Applying does not create an account.
2. We check your application by hand. We approve it, ask you questions or decline it. If we decline it, we send you a message.
3. You set your own password. Once we approve your application, we email you a secure link to set it. We never email passwords.
4. You complete your listing: your firm’s public details, and at least one region and one type of claim.
5. We review your listing before it goes live in the Legal Directory.

Who checks our application?

We do, by hand. We may ask you questions before we decide.

What happens once we are approved?

We email you a secure link to set your own password. You then sign in and complete your listing. Once we have reviewed and approved it, it goes live in the Legal Directory, with your firm’s own website, phone number and email address.

After that, we review any change you make before it goes live, and your last approved listing stays live meanwhile. Each year, you confirm that your listing is still accurate. Read our questions about your listing.

The form

What does the form ask for?

• the name of the person applying
• your firm’s name
• a work email address
• a phone number
• your firm’s website
• your firm’s SRA number, which is optional

The form will appear when solicitor membership opens, on the page that now explains how applying will work.

The form is on our Apply page.

Your details

What do you do with our application?

We check it by hand. For each check we note what we checked, the public source we used, the date, and who did the check. We don’t keep copies of members’ documents.

Our privacy page explains how we use the details of professionals who contact us.

More questions

• Common questions for solicitors
• Solicitor membership: common questions
• Your listing: common questions
• Apply to join the Legal Directory

Where this information comes from

• SRA: Who we are and what we do
• SRA Transparency Rules, rule 4 (regulatory information)
• SRA: Solicitors Register
• SRA scam alert, November 2025, which gives a firm’s SRA ID and a solicitor’s SRA number
• GOV.UK register of regulated professions: Solicitor (England and Wales)
• GOV.UK register of regulated professions: Solicitor (Scotland)
• GOV.UK register of regulated professions: Solicitor (Northern Ireland)

Checked on 6 October 2026. Rules can change, so check the regulator’s own pages before you rely on them.