According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requirements, any applicant who wishes to sit the test must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility. The certificate is issued by the SRA and certifies the competence of the applicant to practice law in his jurisdiction, with no criminal and disciplinary or other problematic background, and also that the applicant has the minimum of two years of relevant experience in his native jurisdiction.
If an applicant satisfies these requirements the SRA will normally issue a Certificate of Eligibility to be admitted as an English solicitor. The certificate will be valid for three years from date of issue and specify exactly which Heads of the Test the applicant is required to take in order to qualify as an English solicitor.
In the event that the applicant does not have two years post admission experience the SRA may take relevant pre admission experience into account, or issue a Certificate of Eligibility with the additional requirement that the applicant gain further relevant experience before being admitted as a solicitor. In certain cases, the SRA may grant a waiver of a part of the experience needed, subject to its discretion.
Once you enrol for our course, we will provide you with the application form for the Certificate of Eligibility. Alternatively, you may click here to download the form Along with the application form you should attach a transfer fee of £ 400 (as at July 2007) and a few documents certifying your academic and professional qualifications and experience.
It is important that you submit the completed application form to the SRA as soon as possible, as the issuing process takes approximately 4-8 weeks.
Any question regarding the Certificate of Eligibility's application process should be addressed to the information services of the SRA:
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Information Services, Ipsley Court, Redditch,
Worcestershire B98 OTD, UK. Tel: + 44 (0) 870 606 2555 or + 44 (0) 1527 504450 (from overseas). Alternatively, you may contact via email info.services@sra.org.uk
Please note that issuing the Certificate of Eligibility is in the sole responsibility of the SRA, and the applicant cannot sit the Test without a Certificate of Eligibility.

