The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is seeking significant increases in practising certificate fees and the compensation fund levy.
The proposed increases are outlined in the regulator’s business plan, which was published for consultation last Friday by the SRA’s chief executive, Sarah Rapson.
Overall funding of the SRA is set to increase by £25m (29%) to £111.5m for 2026/27.
Under the plans, the SRA-related portion of individual practising certificate fees will rise from £190 to £240, covering 40% of the SRA’s funding. Law firm fees, which are calculated on turnover and make up 60% of the total, will also increase.
Contributions to the compensation fund are also due to rise following a number of high-profile law firm collapses amid allegations of fraud, most recently that of Sheffield-based PM Law Group in February.
Proposed contributions to the compensation fund for 2026/27 would be set at £120 for individual solicitors and £3,600 for law firms, up from £70 and £1,950 respectively in 2025.
The proposals mean every practising solicitor would pay an additional £100 towards regulation and public compensation.
The SRA announced it was withdrawing plans to regulate legal executives, putting other proposed projects on hold, and reviewing whether solicitors should continue to hold client money.
Rapson said the draft plan outlined “a shift in regulatory effort to focus on where the risks to the public are greatest”.
She said: “This includes doing more to identify issues earlier, working more closely with firms where that helps prevent harm, and being clearer about where the SRA will focus its time and resources.”
Rapson added: “Moving forward, the SRA must focus on fewer priorities, move from a largely reactive to a proactive approach to regulation, and improve operational and technological capabilities to be better prepared for the scale and complexity of the challenges we face.”
The Law Society described the proposed fee increases as “deeply concerning” and called for a credible and transparent plan from the SRA to deliver improvements.
The society’s president, Mark Evans, noted that Rapson, who took up her post in November 2025, had “inherited a problematic legacy”. While he welcomed her openness and commitment to address problems at the SRA, which he said had “lost focus on its core role”, he called for the SRA to reassure the profession that it was “taking steps to actively avoid a repeat of past failings”.
The consultation comes as the Legal Services Board, which oversees the SRA, warned it was monitoring the regulator closely, given concerns “about the likelihood of further significant failures”.
Following the collapse of PM Law, it ordered greater scrutiny of the SRA’s work alongside existing statutory enforcement measures, citing the need to protect consumers
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