There are three main fees payable by both licensed and authorised bodies:

  • An application fee which covers the cost of processing your application;
  • An authorisation fee which covers the cost of regulating your entity in its first year of authorisation. This is payable by those whose application has been approved.
  • An annual (renewal) fee which covers a review of the entity and the ongoing cost of supervision. This is payable by those authorised entities that wish to retain their authorisation for a further 12 months. The renewal process runs for all authorised entities annually during March/April. The application fee is pro-rated quarterly.

The fee is based on the number of authorised individuals providing legal services through the entity. They are correct as of 1 September 2019. Fees must be paid through the Entities Portal. In exceptional circumstances we can accept payment by credit card.  We can no longer accept cheques.


Authorised body fees

Size of Body

Application Fee

Authorisation Fee

Total Cost of Authorisation

Annual (Renewal) Fee

Single Person

260

330

590

365

2-5 Person

725

875

1,600

1,000

6-15 (Simple)*

1,000

1,200

2,200

1,450

6-15 (Complex)*

1,350

1,600

2,950

2,000

15+ Person

1,950

2,300

4,250

2,900

* The distinction between "simple" and "complex" body refers to the number of authorised individuals in the entity and the nature of the business model.  It is based on our view of the resource required to assess the application.


Licensed body fees

Size of Body

Application Fee

Authorisation Fee

Total Cost of Authorisation

Annual (Renewal) Fee

2-5 Person

1,460

1,190

2,650

1,725

6-15 Person

2,475

2,025

4,500

2,925

15+ Person

3,550

2,900

6,450

4,195


Other costs

  • Litigation authorisation - there is a one-off fee of £90 fee payable on authorisation.
  • Material Change - to change a HOLP, HOFA, Owner, or Manager, you must let us know and complete a form. In most cases there will be a charge of £90. 
  • Non-authorised individuals - as part of the application process for licensed bodies, we are required to carry out additional financial and probity checks into non-authorised individuals who will have an ownership or management interest in the body. The applicant will need to provide us with certain information which is likely to incur a charge. This charge will be borne by the applicant.