The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) is introducing a new reporting requirement for regulated practices as part of changes aimed at strengthening oversight of ongoing competence within conveyancing firms.

The requirement forms part of the regulator’s Ongoing Competence Code, which sets out expectations for how lawyers and practices maintain and evidence professional competence in day-to-day work. It sits alongside the CLC’s revised Code of Conduct, introduced earlier last year.

For individual lawyers, the code requires the completion and reporting of at least eight ongoing competence activities each year. At least four of these must be assessed activities, which may include marked work or structured feedback reviewed by a senior colleague. The aim is to evidence understanding and application of learning in practice.

Alongside this, the CLC is introducing a practice-level reporting requirement covering supervision, compliance and management functions. The intention is to capture competence-related activity within wider governance and risk management processes.

There is no set minimum number of activities for firms themselves. Instead, practices will record relevant activity and report it through designated compliance roles, including CLC-registered managers, heads of legal practice (HoLPs), heads of finance and administration (HoFAs), and money laundering reporting officers (MLROs).

Each practice must appoint a reporting officer responsible for submitting returns to the CLC. The first reporting deadline will be 31 October 2027.

The regulator said it will take a phased approach during the initial implementation period, which begins on 1 November 2026, as firms adapt to the new requirements.

Claire Richardson, director of authorisations at the CLC, commented: “By introducing a formal reporting requirement for practices, the CLC is the first legal services regulator to require firms to account annually for how ongoing competence is being used in a strategic and structured way to support, improve and assure the delivery of legal services.

“We already know from our close monitoring and inspection work that most practices are committed to maintaining high standards and take ongoing competence extremely seriously.

This new approach is designed to support that and encourage planning. At the same time, it will shine a light on practices that aren’t implementing ongoing competence strategically within their compliance function and management teams.

“Our focus, as always, is on improving competence but also supporting better outcomes for consumers and practices through clear expectations, proportionate evidence requirements and a framework that promotes continuous improvement.”