How to check a solicitor is genuine and regulated
Handing sensitive documents, money, or the details of a legal dispute to someone is one of those situations where trusting the wrong person can be genuinely costly. Anyone can call themselves a "legal consultant" or set up a professional-looking website. Being a solicitor, entitled to give legal advice and hold client money in a regulated way, is a different matter entirely, and it is worth understanding exactly what that difference means before you get in touch with anyone.
In England and Wales, solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the SRA maintains a free public Solicitors Register that anyone can search. You can look up an individual by name to check whether somebody is actually a solicitor and find out where they currently work, or look up a firm by name to check whether the SRA regulates it at all. A genuine entry will show the solicitor's or firm's current status, the firm they are practising with, and any regulatory decisions or restrictions on record — the SRA generally keeps disciplinary decisions visible on the register for a period, though for the fullest and most current picture of an individual's regulatory history it is worth contacting the SRA directly. The register is the definitive source, so it is worth checking directly rather than relying on badges or claims shown on a firm's own website.
The Law Society of England and Wales runs a separate but related tool, Find a Solicitor, which is aimed more at helping the public locate a solicitor by legal issue and location, with filters for accreditations in specific areas of law and for legal aid provision. It draws on SRA-regulated firms, but it is worth knowing it does not list every solicitor — some choose not to be listed, and it should not be treated as a substitute for checking status directly on the SRA register itself.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate regulators and their own registers, and it is a common and understandable mistake to check the wrong one — the SRA only covers England and Wales. In Scotland, solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, which runs its own Find a Solicitor search by name, postcode, town or area of law, including which firms undertake legal aid work. In Northern Ireland, the Law Society of Northern Ireland maintains a "Finding a Solicitor" directory, but it is worth being aware that this directory is explicitly not the official Roll of Solicitors and does not include everyone, including some solicitors working in-house or for government — to inspect the official Roll itself, the Law Society of Northern Ireland can be contacted directly by email.
A pattern worth knowing about specifically is the "clone firm" scam, which the SRA has warned about repeatedly. This is where fraudsters use the name of a genuine, regulated firm — sometimes even quoting a real SRA reference number — but give out their own phone number, email address, bank details or website instead of the real firm's. Targets are often approached out of the blue, for example about a personal injury claim or a conveyancing transaction, and asked to send money or personal details to the fraudulent contact details. This is exactly why it is worth cross-checking any phone number, email address or bank account you have been given against the details actually shown on the firm's own SRA register entry, rather than simply confirming that a firm of that name exists. The SRA publishes ongoing scam alerts on its website covering specific cloned firms and fake websites as they are identified.
In practice, checking a solicitor takes only a few minutes. Search the SRA register for the firm and the individual, confirm the entry shows a current status rather than a lapsed or struck-off one, note the firm's registered address and SRA number for your own records, and if you have been given contact details by someone claiming to work at the firm, call the firm back on a number found independently — from the register or the firm's own established website — rather than a number given to you directly.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it is not a recommendation of any specific firm. Whichever solicitor or firm you are considering, it is worth checking their current status on the SRA register — or the relevant Scottish or Northern Irish register — yourself before any conversation about your case or your money goes further. Our directory lists solicitors by area and specialism, but the SRA Solicitors Register is always the definitive place to confirm regulation.
Frequently asked questions
It is the Solicitors Regulation Authority's free, public record of every solicitor and law firm it regulates in England and Wales. You can search it by individual name or firm name to confirm someone is genuinely a solicitor and check where they currently practise.
No. Find a Solicitor, run by the Law Society, is a directory aimed at helping the public locate a solicitor by legal issue and location, drawing on SRA-regulated firms — but it does not list every solicitor, and the SRA register remains the definitive source for checking regulatory status.
No. The SRA only regulates solicitors in England and Wales. Scotland has its own register run by the Law Society of Scotland, and Northern Ireland has its own directory run by the Law Society of Northern Ireland, whose official Roll of Solicitors can be checked by contacting them directly.
It is where fraudsters use a genuine, regulated firm's name — sometimes with a real SRA reference number — while giving out their own contact and bank details. Cross-checking any phone number, email or bank detail against the firm's actual SRA register entry, or calling the firm back on an independently found number, is the most reliable way to catch this.