Rules
This section contains links to all the current rules made by the LSB under the terms of the Legal Services Act 2007.
- Rules for Designations and Alterations to Regulatory Arrangements
- Enforcement Rules
- Rules for Cancellation of Designation
- Multi-procedural Rules
- Internal Governance Rules
- Practising Fee Rules
- Rules relating to Alternative Business Structures (ABS)
- First Tier Complaints and Signposting Rules
- Levy Rules
- Guidance on Probate Services
Policy and Guidance
We have also published current Policy and Guidance issued by the LSB under the terms of the Legal Services Act 2007.
Rules for Designations and Alterations to Regulatory Arrangements
- Rules for approved regulator and qualifying regulator designation applications– These rules apply if a body wishes to apply to the LSB to be designated as an approved regulator. These rules also apply to current approved regulators wishing to regulate additional reserved legal activities and/or immigration advice and services.
- Rules for applications to alter regulatory arrangements – These rules apply if an approved regulator wishes to make an application to change its regulatory arrangements. They are accompanied by statutory Guidance.
- Rules for licensing authority designation applications – These rules apply to a body that wishes to apply to the LSB to become a licensing authority.
Enforcement Rules
- Intervention directions: sections 41(5) and 42(10) rules – These rules apply if the LSB wishes to nominate a person to exercise the regulatory function of an approved regulator in accordance with an intervention direction. These rules also provide for who may be appointed to enter and search the premises of an approved regulator as a result of an intervention direction.
- Intervention directions: rules for applications to revoke – These rules apply if an approved regulator wishes to apply to the LSB to revoke an intervention directions.
- Statutory instrument: The Legal Services Act 2007 (Maximum Penalty for Approved Regulators) Rules 2009 – This sets out the method for determining the maximum penalty the LSB may impose on an approved regulator.
Rules for Cancellation of Designation
- Rules for applications to cancel designation as an approved regulator – These rules apply if an approved regulator wishes to apply to have its designation as an approved regulator cancelled.
- Rules on powers of entry following cancellation of designation – These rules set out who the LSB may appoint to enter and search the premises of a former approved regulator and/or licensing authority if its designation has been cancelled.
- Rules for applications to cancel designation as a licensing authority – These rules apply if a licensing authority wishes to apply to have its designation as a licensing authority cancelled.
Multi-procedural Rules
- Rules for making oral and written representations and giving oral and written evidence – These rules apply if a person wishes to make oral and written representations or give oral and written evidence in relation to any procedure in which representations may be made.
Internal Governance Rules
- Section 30 Internal Governance Rules – These are the rules that the LSB has made setting out the requirements to be met by approved regulators in ensuring an adequate split between their regulatory and representative functions.
Practising Fee Rules
- Section 51(3) and (6) Practising Fee Rules – These rules set out the process for approved regulators applying to the LSB for approval of practising fees. We have published Guidance on Practising Fee Rules under section 162 of the Act. Approved regulators must have regard to this Guidance in the preparation of their practising fee applications, as required under Rule 4 of the Rules
Rules relating to Alternative Business Structures (ABS)
- Rules on the period for the making of appeals against decisions of a licensing authority in relation to financial penalties – These rules apply to a person who has had a financial penalty imposed against them by a licensing authority. The rules set out the period within which the person may appeal the penalty.
- Registers of licensed bodies: section 87(4) rules – These rules apply to licensing authorities. The rules set out the information that the licensing authority must include in its register of licensed bodies.
- Schedule 13: ownership of licensed bodies rules: prescribed time periods – These rules apply to licensing authorities. Certain actions taken by a licensing authority must be carried out within a prescribed time. These rules set out the prescribed times for various actions according to different sections of Schedule 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007.
- Schedule 13: rules for the prescribed period for the making of appeals against licensing authority decisions relating to ownership of licensed bodies – These rules apply to a licensed person who has had a decision made against them by a licensing authority. The rules set out the periods within which appeals against licensing authority decisions must be taken.
- Rules for LSB review of decisions about licence applications made to it – These rules apply to the LSB and set out the grounds on which the LSB can review its decision about an application made to it.
- Statutory instrument: The Legal Services Act 2007 (Licensing Authorities) (Maximum Penalty) Rules 2011 – This applies to licensing authorities. This sets out the maximum penalty a licensing authority may impose on a licensed body.
First Tier Complaints and Signposting Rules
- First-tier complaint handling statutory requirements and guidance – These are the statutory requirements and guidance that the Board has made for approved regulators to deliver through their regulatory arrangements. Approved regulator arrangements are to ensure that complaints made against authorised persons are dealt with properly and where appropriate, are directed to the Legal Ombudsman.
Levy Rules
- Statutory Instrument: The Legal Services Act 2007 (Levy) (No.2) Rules 2010, which must be read together with the Legal Service Act 2007 (Levy) (No.2) (Amendment) Rules 2014. These instruments apply to the LSB and to “leviable bodies” (i.e. approved regulators and the regulator for claims management services). These instruments set out the rules for determining the levy that the LSB imposes on leviable bodies to fund the LSB and the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC).
Policy and guidance
Current policy and guidance issued by the LSB under the terms of the Legal Services Act 2007.
- Guidance to Licensing Authorities on content of licensing rules – Guidance on the content of licensing rules for Alternative Business Structures.
- Supplementary guidance to Licensing Authorities as on the content of licensing rules – Supplementary guidance about the provisions Alternative Business Structures licensing rules should make for appeals against decisions made by licensing authorities.
- Statement of Policy – Cancellation of designation as a Licensing Authority – Guidance setting out the process by which the designation of a licensing authority can be cancelled.
- Guidance on referral fees, referral arrangements and fee sharing to approved regulators – Guidance on how the outcomes set out in the referral fees, referral arrangements and fee sharing decision document may be delivered.
- Guidance for legal services regulators on encouraging a diverse workforce (February 2017) – Guidance to regulators on their regulatory arrangements and other activities for encouraging a diverse workforce. This replaces guidance issued in July 2011.
- Statement of Policy for Enforcement – The LSB’s approach to compliance and enforcement and the way it will use its enforcement powers. For additional information, you can find flowcharts of the enforcement process here.
- Statement of Policy – Section 69 – Guidance setting out the circumstances in which the LSB is likely to consider it appropriate to make a recommendation to the Lord Chancellor to use powers to make an order under Section 69 of the Act.
- Guidance on regulatory arrangements for education and training (March 2014) – Statutory guidance on regulatory arrangements for education and training.
- Statement of Policy on section 15(4) of the Legal Services Act 2007 (February 2016) – sets out principles the LSB will have regard to when it consider applications proposing changes to regulatory arrangements that pertain to in-house lawyers.
- Statutory Guidance on the applications to alter regulatory arrangements rules 2021
- Statutory Guidance on Internal Governance Rules (July 2019)
- Guidance on Practising Fee Rules 2021
- Statement of Policy on Empowering Consumers 2022
- Statement of Policy – Ongoing Competence