SRA Transparency Rules: what a law firm website must publish, and how to make it work for the brand
The direct answer
The SRA Transparency Rules, in the version in effect from 11 April 2025, require every authorised firm to display its SRA number and the SRA digital badge in a prominent place on its website, and to publish its complaints procedure, including how and when a complaint can go to the Legal Ombudsman and the SRA. Letterheads and emails must show the SRA number and the words "authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority". A firm that publicises any of nine listed services must also publish cost information for them: residential conveyancing, uncontested probate, immigration applications and appeals (excluding asylum), summary only motoring offences, employment tribunal claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal for employees and for employers, debt recovery up to £100,000, and licensing applications for business premises. The cost information must give the total or average cost, the basis of charges, the experience and qualifications of the people doing the work, likely disbursements, VAT, what is included with key stages and timescales, and any conditional fee terms. It must be clear, accessible and in a prominent place.
Five conclusions
The argument, compressed.
- Every authorised firm shows its SRA number, the SRA digital badge and its complaints procedure on its website, whatever work it does.
- Price publication applies to nine listed services, six for individuals and three for businesses, when the firm publicises them.
- Cost information has seven required parts, including who does the work, likely disbursements, VAT, key stages and timescales.
- The information must be clear, accessible and prominent. A page buried three clicks deep misses the rule.
- A pricing page that explains what is included and who does the work is a positioning asset, since most competitors publish the minimum.
Working framework · 5 decisions
The transparency page check
Five checks that cover the rules and turn the required information into a reason to choose the firm.
Decision 01 / 05
Badge
The SRA number and the digital badge sit in a prominent place on the site, and the letterhead and email footer carry the number with the required wording.
What every SRA regulated firm must show
Three requirements apply to every authorised firm, whatever its practice areas. Rule 4.1 requires the firm's SRA number and the SRA's digital badge in a prominent place on the website. Rule 2.1 requires details of the complaints handling procedure, including how and when a complaint can be made to the Legal Ombudsman and to the SRA. Rule 4.2 requires letterheads and emails to show the SRA authorisation number and the words "authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority".
A firm without a website must make the price and complaints information available on request under rule 3.1.
The short version
Badge, number and complaints procedure for every firm. Prices in seven parts for any of the nine listed services the firm publicises.
Which services need published prices
Rule 1.1 applies when a firm publishes, as part of its usual business, the availability of a listed service. Rule 1.3 lists six services for individuals: residential conveyancing (sales, purchases, mortgages and remortgages), uncontested probate where the assets are in the UK, immigration applications excluding asylum, immigration appeals at the First tier Tribunal excluding asylum, summary only road traffic offences dealt with at a single hearing in the Magistrates Court, and employment tribunal claims by employees for unfair or wrongful dismissal.
Rule 1.4 lists three for businesses: defending employment tribunal claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal, debt recovery up to the value of £100,000, and licensing applications for business premises. Publicly funded work sits outside the rule.
The seven parts of cost information
Rule 1.5 sets out what the cost information must include, and rule 1.6 requires it to be clear, accessible and in a prominent place on the website.
- The total cost of the service or, where that is impracticable, the average cost or a range.
- The basis for charges, including any hourly rates or fixed fees.
- The experience and qualifications of anyone carrying out the work, and of their supervisors.
- A description and the cost of likely disbursements, with an average or range where the actual cost is unknown.
- Whether fees or disbursements attract VAT, and the amount.
- What is included in the price, with the key stages and likely timescales, and anything a client might expect to be included that is left out.
- For conditional fee or damages based agreements, the circumstances in which clients may have to pay anything themselves.
From compliance page to positioning
Most firms publish the minimum: a table of ranges, a paragraph of caveats and a list of names. A client comparing three firms learns nothing from it, so the cheapest range wins by default.
The same rule can carry the firm's position. The requirement to describe who does the work is an invitation to show why this team suits this kind of client. The requirement to set out stages and timescales is an invitation to show a process that feels calmer than a competitor's. The requirement to say what is left out is a chance to be the firm that tells clients the truth before they ask.
Firms that write the page for a worried first time client, in plain words, with one clear example of a typical matter, tend to find that the price conversation gets shorter. The rule sets the content; the brand decides how it reads.
Before you use it
Questions that can change the recommendation.
What must every law firm website show under the SRA Transparency Rules?
The firm's SRA number and the SRA digital badge in a prominent place, and its complaints handling procedure, including how and when a complaint can be made to the Legal Ombudsman and the SRA. Letterheads and emails must also carry the SRA number and the words "authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority".
Which legal services need published prices?
Nine services, when the firm publicises them: residential conveyancing, uncontested probate, immigration applications and immigration appeals (both excluding asylum), summary only motoring offences, and employee claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal; and for businesses, defending those tribunal claims, debt recovery up to £100,000 and licensing applications for business premises.
Can a law firm ask for an email address before showing prices?
Rule 1.6 requires cost information to be clear, accessible and in a prominent place on the website. The SRA's guidance on price and service transparency explains how it reads that requirement, so check it before placing prices behind a form.
Do the rules apply to a firm with no website?
Yes. Under rule 3.1 a firm without a website must make the cost and complaints information available on request.
What does brand strategy cost for a UK law firm?
At Branding Tatva the Foundation engagement starts at £1,950 for UK clients. Its published scope includes discovery and positioning, audience definition, a core visual identity, starter brand guidelines and launch messaging direction. Regulatory approval is outside the scope: the firm remains responsible for meeting the SRA rules, and the SRA resolves uncertain interpretations.
Research record
What this guide draws from.
Each source note describes what the reference supports. Platform guidance, research findings and Branding Tatva's practical suggestions have different scopes.
- SRA Transparency Rules
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Version in effect from 11 April 2025. Rules 1.3 to 1.6, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1 and 4.2.
- Transparency in price and service: guidance
Solicitors Regulation Authority
