It is the statutory responsibility of each solicitor to ensure that they have a Practising Certificate in force before providing legal services of any kind whatsoever, either restricted or non-restricted.

It is professional misconduct and a criminal offence for a solicitor (other than a solicitor in the full-time service of the State, or a solicitor solely engaging in conveyancing services for a non-solicitor employer) to practise without a Practising Certificate. A solicitor shall be deemed to practise as a solicitor if they engage in the provision of legal services of any kind, either restricted or non-restricted. ‘Legal services’ are services of a legal or financial nature provided by a solicitor arising from that solicitor’s practice as a solicitor.

Prohibition on practising as a solicitor without a Practising Certificate

A firm is not permitted to classify a solicitor employee as a ‘legal executive’ or ‘paralegal’ with a view to avoiding the requirement to hold a Practising Certificate, if the solicitor is engaged in the provision of legal services.

A solicitor found to be practising without a Practising Certificate may result in:

• a referral to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal,

• an application to the High Court, and

• a report to An Garda Síochána.

For further on this, see the Practice Notes outlining the prohibition on practising as a solicitor without a Practising Certificate published in July 2009 and February 2012.

If you are an employed solicitor

If you are an employed solicitor it is your statutory obligation to hold a Practising Certificate in force from the commencement of the year, or from the date at which you commenced providing legal services in that year. Employed solicitors cannot absolve themselves from this responsibility by relying on their employers to procure their Practising Certificates. However, it is the Law Society’s recommendation that all employers should pay for the Practising Certificate of solicitors employed by them. It should be noted that the Practising Certificate remains the property of the solicitor, regardless of who has paid for the Practising Certificate.

In-house solicitors must hold a Practising Certificate

In-house solicitors (solicitors practising as a solicitor by providing legal services as an employee of a non-solicitor) are required to hold a Practising Certificate regardless of the areas of law in which they practise.

Section 56(1) of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 provides that no solicitor shall practise as a solicitor unless a Practising Certificate in respect of him or her is in force. This prohibition does not apply to solicitors in the full-time services of the State or to solicitors employed to provide conveyancing services for a non-solicitor employer.

Section 56(2) of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994 provides that a solicitor shall be deemed to practise as a solicitor if he or she engages in the provision of legal services, whether as a sole practitioner or as a partner in a solicitor’s practice, or as an employee of any solicitor or of any other person or body, or as a solicitor in the full-time service of the State.

‘Legal services’ are services of a legal or financial nature provided by a solicitor arising from that solicitor’s practice as a solicitor, includes any part of such services, and includes any investment business services provided by a solicitor who is not an authorised investment business firm.

Other than the exceptions mentioned above, it is professional misconduct and a criminal offence for a solicitor, including in-house solicitors, to provide legal services of any kind without holding a current valid Practising Certificate.

Section 58 of the 1954 act sets out the so-called ‘reserved areas’ in which legal services can only be provided by solicitors and, in some cases, barristers. These reserved areas deal primarily with conveyancing, litigation and probate work. It should be noted that the requirement for solicitors, including in-house solicitors, to hold a Practising Certificate applies whether the legal services being provided are in reserved or unreserved areas.

The actions that can be taken against a solicitor found to be practising without a Practising Certificate include a referral to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, an application to the High Court, and a report to An Garda Síochána.

Any queries relating to Practising Certificate requirement should be addressed to the Practice Regulation Section at pc@lawsociety.ie.

For further information, see the Practice Notes on the requirement to hold a Practising Certificate as an in-house solicitor published in July 2014 and again in December 2021.

Solicitors in Full-Time Service of the State

If you are a solicitor employed in the full-time service of the State, you are required to complete and submit the appropriate application form. Solicitors are deemed to be in the full-time service of the State if they are employed exclusively in the service of the State and are remunerated in respect of such service wholly out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Solicitors in the full-time service of the State are exempt from the requirement to hold a Practising Certificate. However, if you access the PC application form as a solicitor employed in the full-time service of the State, you will be automatically directed to the correct application.

Contact and PC application

If you have a query, please email pc@lawsociety.ie.

• Apply for a PC