The ICAEW Regulatory Board is consulting on proposed changes to ICAEW’s Legal Services Regulations. These changes incorporate new provisions relating to the reserved legal service of the administration of oaths and requirements relating to first tier complaints introduced by the Legal Services Board (LSB) in May 2024.
Amendment 1: Administration Of Oaths
What the proposed amendment means for you
The aim of the proposal is to expand the scope of legal services available to ICAEW accredited firms. A firm that is already licensed or authorised to provide probate services will have the option to provide services relating to the administration of oaths.
Authorised legal services practitioners will be able to use the title ‘Commissioner for Oaths’ and will be authorised to verify the authenticity and accuracy of legal documents for their clients. This includes:
- administering an oath for a statutory declaration or affidavit
- verifying and witnessing signatures and identity
- certifying copies of documents as true copies.
Fees
The charges for oaths are set under statute as £5.00 for each affidavit, declaration, or affirmation and £2.00 for each exhibit or schedule required to be marked.
We do not propose to impose any additional regulatory fee for accredited ICAEW probate practitioners who wish to provide these services to their clients.
Requirements and training
ICAEW does not propose to introduce new requirements for ICAEW accredited legal services practitioners to meet to provide this service, on the basis that the Mercia course already provides some content on oaths. However, to support practitioners who wish to start providing this service, ICAEW will publish some explanatory guidance in relation to administering oaths.
Training materials provided by Mercia currently contain some course content on oaths. However, course materials will be expanded to ensure they meet the requirements of new practitioners.
Amendment 2: First Tier Complaints
The purpose of the proposed changes in Amendment 2 is to reflect the LSB’s new requirements, Guidance and Statement of Policy on first tier complaints.
First tier complaints are complaints made by a consumer to a firm, setting out their dissatisfaction with the service they have received. This is the first step in the complaints resolution process
These requirements provide a new framework focused on improving complaints handling processes and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Underpinning these proposals is evidence that nearly half of cases escalated to the Legal Ombudsman show inadequate complaint handling with 30% of complaints to the Ombudsman made prematurely, often due to a lack of confidence in or understanding of the first-tier process.
What the proposed amendment means for you
Collection of data on complaints
The LSB requires regulators to collect and publish information on both first tier and second-tier complaints. ICAEW will gather this data from firms through the annual return.
The data will be used to monitor how promptly complaints are resolved, identify trends such as high complaint volumes or premature referrals to the Legal Ombudsman and to support continuous improvement. ICAEW will publish aggregated data annually on first-tier complaints and second-tier complaints from the Legal Ombudsman.
Complaints procedures at ICAEW firms
The new LSB requirements for firms’ complaints procedures involve minimal changes for ICAEW probate firms but clarify how an authorised person should approach complaints and who can make a complaint. The proposed revisions made to Regulation 7 of the Regulations and are set out in full in Appendix 1 of the consultation document.
The proposed amendments are segmented as follows:
- Definition of a complainant
- Establishing effective and accessible complaints procedures
- Complaints procedures should be clear, prominent, and accessible
- How firms should approach complaints
- How and when first and second tier complaints information should be provided
- Firms should enable complainants to complain in a way tailored to their needs
- Complaints should be resolved at the earliest opportunity
- Complaints records
- Learning from complaints
- Collecting and sharing complaints data
Miscellaneous Amendments
Minor technical changes, including updates to numbering and grammar, have been proposed to enhance the clarity and readability of the Regulations. While these changes do not alter the substantive requirements, two key amendments are outlined in the consultation document.
Overview of all of the Proposed Changes to the Legal Services Regulations
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
We do not believe the proposed changes will result in a worse outcome or quality of service for anyone due to their background or life circumstances. Please tell us if you think your firm or any of your clients will be adversely impacted by the proposals due to a protected characteristic (such as age, disability or race). We will continue to consider EDI impacts as we finalise the changes.
How to respond
Or write to us with your response to:
FAO Regulatory Policy Team
Professional Standards Department
Metropolitan House
Avebury Boulevard
Milton Keynes MK9 3FZ
Please contact us if you need anything further (for example for accessibility reasons) to enable you to submit your response.
Timeline and Next Steps
This consultation closes on 7 March 2025.
After the consultation closes, we will consider all the feedback and comments received, discuss the results with the ICAEW Regulatory Board and relevant stakeholders, including committees, and make any resulting changes as appropriate. A summary of the results will be published by summer 2025.
Read and respond to the consultation
Read the full consultation document to understand all of the proposed changes to the ICAEW Legal Services Regulations
Download the consultationRespond to the consultation