AML Certificate 2024: Submission period will open early 2025

Yes, under Accounts Rule B9, completion of the AML Certificate is compulsory. The usual process for non-compliance will be followed where necessary, which may result in referral of a complaint to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.   

No. The AML registration process, whereby firms must keep us informed of Partners, Beneficial Owners etc, is distinct from the AML Certificate.

Being up to date with your AML Registrations is not the same as being covered for your AML Certificate. You must still complete the AML Certificate process annually.

If your practice does not offer any of the services listed below, it may be that you do not need to submit an AML Certificate. You will of course need to satisfy yourself on the legal position.

Any practice that is exempt from reporting under the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations should complete a declaration of exemption to be entered in the firm's record.

If you do not yet have this, but believe you are exempt, you can either download and complete a Word version exemption declaration and send it to us at aml@lawscot.org.uk or you can complete an exemption declaration form online here.

The service provision bringing firms within scope of the Money Laundering Regulations are:

• the buying and selling of real property or business entities
• the managing of client money, securities or other assets
• the opening or management of bank, savings and securities accounts
• the organisation of contributions necessary for the creation, operation or management of companies
• the creation, operation or management of trusts, companies, foundations or similar structures
• forming companies or other legal persons
• acting or arranging for another person to act;
  • as a director or secretary of a company
  • as a partner of a partnership; or
  • in a similar capacity in relation to other legal persons
• providing a registered office, business address, correspondence or administrative address or other related services for a company, partnership or any other legal person or legal agreement
• acting or arranging for another person to act, as;
  • a trustee of an express trust or similar legal arrangement; or
  • a nominee shareholder for a person other than a company whose securities are listed on a regulated market.

The MLRO should sign in to the Members' Area of our website using their own credentials, then select AML from the menu on the left hand side. They should then select the AML Certificate tab, read the notes and scroll down to begin completing the form. 

Please remember to use the Select Firm Box to confirm the Firm you are completing on behalf of.

Please also note the certificate is available to download and print to aid you in completion. You may also wish to save this for future submissions.

We have prepared a Guidance Booklet with a visual guide to the process.

For the 2023 AML Certificate, the deadline for submission was originally Tuesday, 30 April 2024. It has been extended to Thursday, 16 May 2024, due to IT issues affecting access to the website and AML Certificate portal.

Some fields are mandatory. The most likely explanation is that you have not completed all of the mandatory questions. If your answer to any question is No/None, 0, or Not Applicable this must still be entered.

Please remember to also complete the Position within the Firm field on the first page and then Select Your Firm field on the first page.

Yes, a Word copy of the certificate and a copy will be made available on the AML Certificate pages of our website.

A Word copy will also be available at the bottom of the AML Certificate tab, when you log in to the portal in the AML section of the members area.  Please note that theses copies of the certificate are for reference only and your AML Certificate must be completed online.

The time taken to complete the certificate will be dependent on a range of factors within your business, for example the information systems you use or staff knowledge. It is recommended you begin completing the Certificate as soon as possible. Please note, while it may take some time to complete it in the first year, you will then have a good base from which to complete the certificate going forward.

Having a system in place to record information necessary for completion of your AML Certificate going forward is recommended and your case management provider may be able to help you.

Accuracy is important when completing the certificate, as the answers you provide allow the Society to profile the risks inherent across the sector, and at individual practice level. It also supports us in adopting a risk-based approach to our supervisory inspection regime, minimising impact to both the Society and those practice's selected for inspection

The information we request is information we expect Practice Units to collate in order to satisfy regulatory and practice rule requirements, and will allow practice's to demonstrate good AML control and governance to the Society in line with LSAG Guidance. Firms should therefore be able to answer the questions posed with a high level of accuracy, based on records held by the practice.

To help you answer, please familiarise yourself with the guidance available on this page, as well as checking the information 'pop up' boxes where they appear as an ‘I’ next to questions within the Certificate.

Following that you can contact aml@lawscot.org.uk if you continue having difficulty providing an answer to a question.

The MLRO should log in to the portal using their individual details rather than firm login details. The MLRO must submit the form. A designated person may be set up to enter information into the portal but the MLRO remains responsible for the information entered and must submit the form.

The MLRO should email member.registration@lawscot.org.uk to name a designated person. They should provide full name, company, business address, phone number, email address and date of birth of the designated person. That person will then be assigned specific log-in details to allow them access to the form.

No.

Previously as part of the AML Certificate process, you were also required to submit a copy of your Practice Wide Risk Assessment (PWRA). Whilst the requirement to maintain a PWRA remains a statutory obligation within the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (Reg. 18) and you should already have one in place, there is no longer a requirement to provide a copy of this along with your 2022 AML Certificate. 

Should you require further assistance, the AML Toolkit on our website has a Practice Wide Risk Assessment template should you require one.

No, you should not complete the certificate if you are registered outside of Scotland.

The responses will be used to assign inherent AML risk profiles across our supervised population. An inherent AML risk profile is a consideration of your firm’s AML risk before any mitigating controls are put into place and is therefore not a reflection of, or judgment on, your policies, controls and procedures or your firm’s ability to mitigate risk. The results of any analysis will inform our risk-based approach to supervision.

The data is stored in our internal data management system, along with all other information about firms that we hold. The data is also drawn down into a protected Excel dashboard platform to allow any risk analysis to take place. More information can be found in on our Privacy Policy.

We currently intend to store data for up to five years for each AML Certificate return.

We do not intend to share your data outside of the regulatory functions of the Law Society of Scotland. However, where our regulator (OPBAS) carries out any audit of our files, they may have sight of the data as part of that audit function. Collated or anonymised data may be used to educate or inform governmental departments as well as our membership. At all times we remain bound by the reporting obligations contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and other legislation.

Previously any practice which we recorded as starting after 1 July in the 'Relevant Period' was not required to complete the AML Certificate for the year in which they started operating.

However, we now require all practices within the scope of the AML Regulations to complete a return for the period which they have been operating within the 'Relevant Period'.

These practices will then be required to complete the AML Certificates in full each year thereafter.

No, the certificate can be completed over a number of sessions, but make sure you use the 'Select Firm' box before you log out or your changes may not be saved.

No, under the MoU, firms who have a head office in Scotland come under LSS supervision and so won’t need to complete the SRA AML questionnaire. The MoU can be found here