SRA Practicing Regulations 2011 meaning

The SRA Practising Regulations 2011 were the SRA rules setting out how solicitors in England and Wales obtained, renewed and held a practising certificate, and how European and foreign lawyers were registered to practise with the SRA. They formed part of the SRA Handbook 2011 and were rules approved under the Legal Services Act 2007. Key features included applications and renewals, conditions and restrictions on practising certificates, suspension or withdrawal, registration as Registered European Lawyers (RELs) and Registered Foreign Lawyers (RFLs), disclosure/fitness requirements and related record-keeping. In practice the term arises in legacy compliance, disciplinary and due diligence matters, and in contracts (e.g. panel or PII terms) that refer to the 2011 Handbook. On 25 November 2019 the Handbook was replaced by the SRA Standards and Regulations; the Practising Regulations 2011 were superseded, principally by the SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations and related rules. Following Brexit, the REL regime closed on 31 December 2020; EEA-qualified lawyers now seek admission (for example via the SQE) or register as RFLs under current SRA rules. This terminology is specific to England and Wales; Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland have their own practising certificate regimes.