Admission to the roll of solicitors

To practise as a Scottish solicitor you first need to apply for admission, which is the one-off process to have your name put on the roll of Scottish solicitors.

Admission marks the final part of qualification via two routes:

• Requalifying as a Scottish solicitor from another jurisdiction
• The traineeship, the final stage of the route to qualification.

Once you have been admitted, you must apply for a practising certificate to enable you to perform the duties of a solicitor, which then needs to be renewed on an annual basis.

The whole admission process (Standard Disclosure Scotland check, verification of application, petitioning the court, the petition being granted and our records being updated) can take up to six weeks.

Our Education, Training & Qualifications team is on hand to help. If you have any questions, get in touch with David Macdougall, Admissions Coordinator.

When applying for admission, you must be deemed a 'fit and proper person to be a solicitor.' A copy of the guidance can be found here. To practise as a solicitor in Scotland you must be competent to do so and should not pose a risk to your clients, the public or other members of the profession. You must also maintain the standards of honesty, integrity and professionalism that the public and other members of the profession expect.

Fitness and properness is addressed when applying for admission to the roll for the first time, in addition to at the following stages:

• application for an entrance certificate
• application for restoration to the roll at any time
• application for a practising certificate having not held one for 12 months or more

We will carry out a Standard Disclosure Scotland check on you as part of the process. You can apply for this before making your application for admission (and it’ll speed the process up if you do!)

The admission fees are set out on the application form – they are subject to change but are currently around £350.

If you are looking to make a Disclosure Scotland application, please note that paper versions are not being accepted during the COVID-19 outbreak period.

Please follow the link below to find a Word Document version of the application form. You will be given the option to select 'application type'; please select 'standard'.

Link: https://www.mygov.scot/email-disclosure-application-form/

You should complete the form up to and including section 5, then email it as a Word Document to legaleduc@lawscot.org.uk for us to complete the Countersignature section. We will then submit the form to Disclosure Scotland on your behalf. Please do not send it directly to Disclosure Scotland.

Please also scan and email with the application form, the 3 forms of ID required, one of which must be photographic and one which must show  your current address.

Payment of the £25 fee should be made to the Law Society by card payment or bank transfer only. Please indicate in your email which method you are using.

If you have any questions, please contact legaleduc@lawscot.org.uk.