Law Firm Website Checklist: SRA Rules to Check

What does the SRA expect a firm's website to show?

The SRA Transparency Rules, in the version in effect from 11 April 2025, set out four things. Rule 1 covers costs information for certain types of work. Rule 2 requires firms to publish their complaints procedure, including how and when to complain to the Legal Ombudsman and to the SRA. Rule 3 says that firms without a website must give the same information on request. Rule 4 requires an authorised body to show its SRA number and the SRA digital badge in a prominent place on its website. The rules also cover letterheads and emails: the SRA authorisation number and the words "authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority" must appear there. Beyond the Transparency Rules, the Code of Conduct says publicity must be accurate and not misleading, which affects every claim on your pages. Treat this guide as a working checklist, not a legal opinion, and read the rules themselves on the SRA website.

The checklist

This checklist turns the rules into a review sheet that a practice manager and a COLP can work through together. It covers the items that the SRA Transparency Rules name, plus the company law, data protection and advertising points that most often sit alongside them on a firm's website. Give each row an owner and a date checked, and record where on the site the item appears, so that nothing depends on someone's memory. Review the sheet whenever you add a new practice area, change the website supplier, redesign the footer or change your domain. Also review it when the SRA publishes updated rules or guidance, since some of the sources below carry dates from several years ago. A list like this cannot replace the rules themselves, and it does not cover every obligation your firm may have, so use it to prompt questions rather than to close them.

How should the digital badge and SRA number appear?

The digital badge is the SRA's clickable logo. When a visitor clicks it, they reach a page hosted by the SRA that confirms the firm is regulated and explains the protections that follow. The SRA says the logo only works on websites registered in the firm's mySRA account, and that you should allow at least 24 hours after updating those details. Extra websites or subdomains must also be added in mySRA, which can take up to five working days. The logo is checked against the register each day, and a static copy is not allowed because its date will not update. This is how the SRA spots misuse. The SRA's page does not say where on the site the badge must sit or how large it should be, only that it should be displayed prominently. Many firms put it in the header or footer of every page. Test it on mobile, because pop-ups and cookie banners can cover it.

What goes in a complaints and price page?

Your complaints page is a regulatory item and a trust signal at the same time, so write it for a worried client, not only for the SRA. It should set out your internal procedure, with a link to the full version, and explain how and when to complain to the Legal Ombudsman and the SRA. The SRA's guidance notes that the Legal Ombudsman usually expects you to have tried to resolve the matter with the firm first, and that a complaint should be made within six months of the firm's final response and within one year of the act or omission, or of when the person should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint. The guidance includes suggested wording that you can adapt. Put the page where visitors expect to find it, such as a link in the footer, and make sure it is also reachable from your contact page and engagement paperwork.

Price and service information

For price and service information, the Transparency Rules list the work covered. It includes residential conveyancing and remortgages, uncontested estate administration, non-asylum immigration applications, summary road traffic matters, employee unfair dismissal claims, and, for business clients, defending dismissal claims, debt recovery up to £100,000 and licensing applications. If you advertise this work, your page must show the cost, the basis of charges, likely disbursements, whether VAT is included, what is and is not included, key stages and typical timescales, and who does the work. It must be clear, accessible and prominent.

What else should you check?

Several other rules apply to a firm's website, even though they are not SRA Transparency Rules. They come from company law, data protection law and advertising rules, and they are easy to overlook because they sit outside the SRA Handbook. Limited companies, including most law firms that trade as companies, have to show basic details on their websites. Any form that collects names, phone numbers or details of a problem triggers the duty to give privacy information. Any quote from a happy client is advertising, so it needs evidence and permission. Any claim about speed, success or awards falls under the duty to keep publicity accurate and not misleading. Ask your supplier to build these items into the template, so they appear on every page, and then check each one yourself before launch. The list below gives the main points.

• Company details. A company's website must show its registered name, the part of the UK where it is registered, its registered number and its registered office address.
• Privacy information. The ICO says that when you collect personal data directly, for example on an enquiry form, you must give people privacy information at the time you collect it. Link your privacy notice next to the form.
• Testimonials. The ASA says you must hold documentary evidence that a testimonial is genuine, hold contact details for the source, and have permission to use it. See our guide on Google reviews for law firms.
• Claims. Check any claim about speed, results or awards before you publish it.

What do you need to tell your website supplier?

Give your supplier a written list of items you will supply and approve. That list should include your SRA number, your complaints text, the price and service information for each relevant practice area, the company details and the wording of any claims. Ask them to build a standard footer and a regulatory page so that these items appear on every page without being retyped. Agree who will update them when rules change, and put a review date in the diary. Make sure the contract says that final sign-off rests with your firm. A supplier can build the structure, but only your firm can confirm that the content is correct. Our guides on website design and practice area pages show where each item fits. For a self-check, you can also use our SRA website checklist tool.

Next step

If you would like a second view of your site against this list, request a free audit. Our law firm website service builds space for the regulatory information you provide, and your COLP signs it off.