No, a degree is one entry route, not a requirement. CILEX qualifications or relevant legal work experience can also get you started.

CILEX Regulation offers two distinct routes to becoming authorised to practise conveyancing independently and we teach both, so the choice is yours.

CILEX Practitioner (Conveyancing Practitioner Qualification): you are authorised as a CILEX Practitioner (Conveyancing) rather than a Chartered Legal Executive but with the same conveyancing practice rights. Choose this route if you want to qualify more quickly and focus solely on conveyancing, you are already working in conveyancing and want authorisation limited to that area only, you do not need or want the broader Chartered Legal Executive status, and you prefer a streamlined, practice-specific route.

Chartered Legal Executive (Conveyancing Legal Practice Qualification): you are authorised as a Chartered Legal Executive with conveyancing practice rights. Choose this route if you want full Chartered Legal Executive status, not just practice rights; a broader professional identity recognised across the legal sector; the option to add further practice rights later (for example litigation, probate or immigration); the ability to progress towards partnership, judicial roles or senior legal positions where Chartered status carries weight; and a more comprehensive qualification covering wider legal knowledge, not just conveyancing.

CILEX Regulation offers two distinct routes to becoming authorised to practise probate independently and we teach both, so the choice is yours.

CILEX Practitioner (Probate Practitioner Qualification): you are authorised as a CILEX Practitioner (Probate) rather than a Chartered Legal Executive but with the same probate practice rights. Choose this route if you want to qualify more quickly and focus solely on probate, you are already working in probate and want authorisation limited to that area only, you do not need or want the broader Chartered Legal Executive status, and you prefer a streamlined, practice-specific route.

Chartered Legal Executive (Probate Legal Practice Qualification): you are authorised as a Chartered Legal Executive with probate practice rights. Choose this route if you want full Chartered Legal Executive status, not just practice rights; a broader professional identity recognised across the legal sector; the option to add further practice rights later (for example litigation, conveyancing or immigration); the ability to progress towards partnership, judicial roles or senior legal positions where Chartered status carries weight; and a more comprehensive qualification covering wider legal knowledge, not just probate.

Yes, the course is designed for exactly that, and your job does double duty by building your qualifying experience at the same time.

Often, yes. Law degrees, CILEX qualifications and prior professional training are all considered ask us to check before you enrol.

The pace is yours. Study is modular with three assessment windows a year, and the 2,300 hours of qualifying experience (around 14 months full-time) build alongside study rather than after it.

2,300 hours of qualifying legal work, assessed by CILEX Regulation, which most learners build in their existing role while studying. For the Chartered Legal Executive routes, your application must also show three years’ general legal experience, including practice in your specialism in the two years before you apply; the litigation routes also include a litigation experience portfolio of five cases.

The course is stage one of five. Once you complete the qualification, your qualifying experience and your portfolio, and CILEX Regulation authorises you, you become an authorised person under the Legal Services Act 2007 with independent practice rights in your specialism. We are precise about this because you deserve straight answers and the regulator requires them.

Yes, litigators can add rights of audience through an Advocacy Skills Course, and later extend them to the higher courts through a Higher Rights Course.

CILEX Regulation’s application fees (£92 + £450) and, once authorised, an annual practising fee all set out in the fees section above.

Minimum hardware requirements

• Computer / laptop / Google Chromebook / Apple MacBook
• Keyboard and a mouse or another pointing device
• Broadband connection with 10 Mbps average speed
• An Ethernet cable for maintaining internet stability
• Working microphone, either internal or external
• Webcam with 320 x 240 VGA resolution, either internal or external

Minimum system requirements

• Preferred internet browser: Google Chrome
• Operating system: Windows 7+ / macOS 10.11+ / Chrome 58+
• Free RAM: 2GB
• Processor: 2GHz Intel Pentium / Intel / ARM
• Free disk space: 1GB