Find a regulated conveyancer in England & Wales with an itemised quote

A property conveyancer is a qualified legal professional who handles the transfer of ownership of land or property on your behalf. In England and Wales, this work can be carried out by a solicitor, a licensed conveyancer regulated by the CLC, or a CILEX practitioner. Their core job covers checking contracts, running property searches, dealing with HM Land Registry, and moving your money safely to completion.

• Most conveyancers are regulated professionals, with solicitors handling complex legal issues and licensed conveyancers specializing in property law for straightforward transactions.
• Using a regulated conveyancer is highly advisable for properties with mortgages, leaseholds, or unusual titles, as DIY processes carry significant legal and registration risks.
• Fixed fees with itemized disbursements are common, but comparing quotes and verifying regulation is essential to avoid surprises or unqualified providers.
• Checking registration numbers on official registers and understanding the escalation process can protect buyers if issues arise during conveyancing.
• Online tools provide quick, vetted fixed-fee quotes, streamlining the selection process while ensuring regulation and experience are verified upfront.

Table of Contents

What a conveyancer does: core duties and checks

A solicitor or conveyancer manages every legal step between agreeing a sale and getting the keys in your hand. That sounds simple. In practice, it is a chain of interlocking checks, each one designed to stop a problem surfacing after you have already moved in.

The work typically breaks down into several strands:

• Contract preparation and review — drafting or checking the sale contract, and the transfer deed once terms are agreed.
• Searches — local authority, drainage and water, and environmental searches, each flagging different risks (planning restrictions, flood risk, contaminated land, or nearby mining activity).
• Title checks — reviewing the Land Registry entry, spotting restrictions, easements, or boundary disputes before they become your problem.
• Exchange and completion — coordinating the point of no return (exchange) and the actual transfer of ownership and funds (completion).
• Liaison — talking to your mortgage lender, the estate agent, and the other side's legal team so nothing stalls quietly in an inbox.
• Registration — submitting the change of ownership to the Land Registry once completion has happened.

By the end, you should have a contract pack, written replies to your enquiries, and a clear completion statement showing exactly where your money went. If any of those documents feels vague or missing, ask before you sign anything. Understanding how long conveyancing takes also helps you judge whether your conveyancer's pace is normal or a warning sign.

Solicitor or licensed conveyancer: what is the practical difference?

Both are authorised to carry out conveyancing in England and Wales, and the choice usually comes down to regulation and fit rather than one being universally better. Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and trained across broader areas of law. Licensed conveyancers are regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and specialise specifically in property law, holding a recognised conveyancing diploma.

• Choose a solicitor if your transaction involves a legal dispute, a complicated title, or overlaps with other legal matters (a divorce settlement, for example).
• Choose a licensed conveyancer for a standard freehold or leasehold purchase where property law specialism matters more than general legal breadth.
• Licensed conveyancers are not confined to law firms; some work within housing associations, banks, and property developers.
• Both routes are regulated and normally carry professional indemnity insurance, so your protection does not hinge on which title is on the door.

For most straightforward sales and purchases, regulation and relevant experience matter more than the job title on the business card.

Do you actually need a conveyancer, or can you do it yourself?

If you have a mortgage, a leasehold property, or anything unusual on the title, instructing a regulated professional is strongly advisable rather than optional in practice. DIY conveyancing is legally possible for some cash purchases of unregistered or simple freehold property, but it means running your own searches, drafting your own contract, and handling the Land Registry application without a safety net.

Most lenders will not release mortgage funds unless a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is acting for you, which removes the DIY option for the majority of buyers anyway. The risks are not abstract: a missed drainage search can leave you liable for a shared sewer you did not know existed, and an incorrect Land Registry application can delay your ownership being formally recorded for months.

What conveyancing costs, and the disbursements to expect

Fees are usually charged as a fixed fee, a percentage of the property price, or occasionally an hourly rate, and the model affects how predictable your final bill is. Fixed fees are the most common structure for standard residential moves, because they let you budget without worrying about surprise hours creeping onto the invoice.

On top of the professional fee, expect disbursements, which are third-party costs your conveyancer pays on your behalf:

• Local authority and other search fees
• Land Registry registration fees
• Identity verification checks
• Bank transfer fees for moving completion funds

Always ask for a fully itemised written quote, and check exactly what a "no sale, no fee" promise excludes, since some disbursements can still be payable even if the transaction falls through.

Cost tends to track service continuity. Cheaper online conveyancing can genuinely save you money, but it can trade off having a consistent, reachable point of contact for that lower price. That is not a reason to avoid low-cost providers; it is a reason to ask, at quote stage, exactly who will be handling your file. Stamp duty is a separate cost again, and worth reading up on separately if you want the full picture on stamp duty before you budget.

How to choose a conveyancer: your quote-stage checklist

Comparing conveyancers properly takes ten minutes and saves weeks of frustration later. Work through this before you commit to anyone:

1. Verify regulation — check the firm or individual against the CLC or SRA register and confirm professional indemnity insurance is in place. 2. Check relevant experience — ask whether they regularly handle your property type (leasehold flats and new builds often need different expertise to a standard freehold resale). 3. Ask about contact — will you have a single named point of contact, and what is their typical response time to emails or calls? 4. Request a full written quote — itemised, with every disbursement listed and nothing left as "to be confirmed." 5. Watch for red flags — vague fee structures, reluctance to confirm regulatory details, or high-pressure sales tactics are all reasons to walk away.

Pro Tip: Ask for the conveyancer's practising or licence number before you instruct them, then cross-check it yourself on the register rather than taking their word for it. It takes two minutes and rules out an entire category of problem.

Reading up on what solicitor costs typically look like before you request quotes also makes it much easier to spot an outlier price, high or low.

Regulation, protection, and how to complain

Every legitimate conveyancer sits on a public register, and checking it takes moments. Cross-reference the CLC register for licensed conveyancers or the SRA register for solicitors, and ask for their practising or licence number as proof.

Professional indemnity insurance is a standard requirement for both routes, protecting you if something goes wrong through their error. If a problem does arise, the escalation path runs: raise it directly with the firm first, then the relevant regulator (CLC or SRA), and finally the Legal Ombudsman if it remains unresolved.

Why clarity in conveyancing matters more than people think

Most conveyancing complaints trace back to poor communication, not poor law. A conveyancer who explains each stage as it happens, and a quote that lists every cost upfront, do more to prevent stress than any clause in a contract. Comparing fixed-fee quotes side by side, rather than accepting the first one offered, is one of the simplest ways to avoid the nasty surprises that make people distrust the whole process.

Get a fixed-fee conveyancing quote in minutes

Comparing conveyancers manually against a checklist works, but it takes time you may not have when a chain is moving. Conveyancing-solicitor is the alternative to ringing round local firms individually: our instant quote tool matches you directly with SRA or CLC-regulated conveyancers and shows fixed-fee pricing upfront, so there is nothing hidden in the small print later. Every firm in our network is vetted, so the regulation check you would otherwise have to run yourself is already done.

Before instructing anyone, still compare the itemised quote and confirm their registration, whether you find them through us or elsewhere. When you are ready, you can get an instant conveyancing quote and see fixed-fee options from regulated firms without waiting on callbacks.

Where to check the facts yourself

• GOV.UK — conveyancing licensing rules and finding a solicitor or conveyancer
• CLC register — verifying licensed conveyancers and raising complaints
• HM Land Registry — checking title and registration status
• MoneyHelper — independent homebuying advice and cost guidance

Sources

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