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Changing your Practising Certificate

Certain procedures must be followed if you want to change:

• your practising details
• the status of your Practising Certificate.

Change in practice details

You must notify The Law Society of New South Wales about any change to your practice details IN WRITING within seven days in accordance with clause 21 of the Legal Profession Regulation 2005. Letters, faxes or emails should be sent to the Law Society Registry.

Change of status to principal or solicitor on the record

If you wish to practise as a sole practitioner, partner, legal practitioner director or solicitor on the record, then you must hold a Practising Certificate entitling you to act as Principal or a Solicitor on the record.

You will need to download and complete the Variation of a Practising Certificate to Practise as a Principal or Solicitor on the Record. The procedures to follow will depend on the conditions attached to your current certificate.

If your Practising Certificate is currently subject to:

1. A period of Supervised Legal Practice (Condition 2) – you must apply to have your ‘restricted’ status removed.
2. The requirement to complete a Practice Management Course (Condition 3) – you must complete a Practice Management Course approved by the Law Society of New South Wales. An undertaking to complete a Practice Management Course will be accepted by the Law Society to enable you to commence practising as a principal or solicitor on the record before completing the course. Download the Practice Management Course undertaking form and return it to the Law Society Registry. (An annual audit of solicitors who have given an undertaking is made to ensure that the undertakings have been complied with and a course has been completed).

Note: If you are applying for a Practising Certificate that entitles you to practise on your own account (e.g. sole practitioners, partners and legal practitioner directors), your Practising Certificate cannot be issued until confirmation is received from LawCover P/L that professional indemnity insurance is in place for your law practice.

Important fee information

Changing your Practising Certificate may attract additional fees.