Licensed conveyancer Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Licensed conveyancer

Hours

30-40 per week
Starting salary

£14,000 + per year

The work

Conveyancing is the legal process of transferring a house or flat, commercial property or piece of land from one owner to another. Licensed or qualified conveyancers are specialist property lawyers who deal with the paperwork and finances involved in buying and selling property in England and Wales.

As a conveyancer, your main duties would include:

advising clients on the buying and selling process
researching who legally owns the property being bought
conducting ‘searches’ – asking local authorities about any plans that might affect the property in the future
drafting contracts with details of the sale
liaising with mortgage lenders, estate agents and solicitors
paying taxes such as stamp duty
preparing leases and transfer documents
keeping records of payments
checking that contracts are signed and exchanged.

Hours

You would typically work standard office hours, Monday to Friday, although some employers offer a service seven days a week. Part-time work may be available.

You would be office-based, but you may sometimes travel to visit clients and local authority planning offices.

Income

Starting salaries can be between £14,000 and £20,000 a year.
After qualifying, earnings can be between £20,000 and £50,000.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

To become a licensed conveyancer you must pass the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) exams.

To begin CLC training, you will usually need at least four GCSEs (A-C) including English, or equivalent qualifications. However, if you have relevant work experience from a solicitor's or licensed conveyancer's office, you may be accepted without the minimum qualifications. Contact CLC for advice.

In practice, people often start with higher qualifications, for example law degrees, LPC or Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) qualifications.

You do not need to be working in the legal profession to start studying for the CLC exams.

Some solicitors specialise in conveyancing. If you are already a qualified solicitor, you don't need to pass any further exams but you must apply to the CLC for a licence to practise as a conveyancer.

Training and development

To fully qualify as a licensed conveyancer, as well as passing the CLC exams you must also spend at least two years in practical training with a 'qualified employer' such as a solicitor or another licensed conveyancer.

The CLC exams are in two parts:

Foundation – assignments in Introduction to Licensed Conveyancing and Introduction to Law and Legal Method, and exams in Law of Contract and Land Law
Final – three final exams in Landlord & Tenant, Conveyancing Law & Practice and Accounts.

You can study for the CLC exams part-time at several colleges in England and Wales, or by distance learning. See the CLC website for more details.

You may be exempt from some of the CLC exams if you have legal qualifications such as an LPC, ILEX or a law degree. If you have previous legal work experience you may be able to bypass some or all of the practical training period. Contact the CLC for advice.

You will receive your first licence (known as an 'employed' licence) after you have completed all the CLC exams and the practical training requirement. You must stay in qualifying employment for another three years to be able to apply for a full licence, so that you could set up in business on your own, in partnership or as a limited company following qualification, subject to your skills competence, knowledge and experience.

Skills and knowledge

good spoken and written communication skills
the ability to explain complex legal information to clients
tact and diplomacy
the ability to deal with people from all backgrounds
accuracy and attention to detail
problem-solving and research skills
good mathematical skills, for making financial calculations
calmness under pressure.

More information

Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) (Opens new window)
16 Glebe Road
Chelmsford
Essex
CM1 1QG
Tel: 01245 349599
www.clc-uk.org

Opportunities

As well firms of solicitors or licensed conveyancers, you may find opportunities with banks and building societies, local authorities and property developers. Job prospects can depend on the state of the housing market in your area.

With experience, you could manage a conveyancing department in a large company, or you could set up your own conveyancing firm. You could also choose to study further to become a solicitor.

Jobs may be advertised in the local press and by agencies specialising in law recruitment. You may also find the following useful for job vacancies (links open in new window):

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The property and planning industry is part of the facilities management, housing, cleaning and support services, and parking sector, represented by Asset Skills Sector Skills Council. The sector workforce, which has continued to grow since 1998, represents 3% of the total UK workforce.

The property and planning industry covers both the private and public sectors and includes: acquiring, planning, surveying and valuing of commercial and residential property; plus valuing, selling, letting and managing of commercial and residential property.

Key facts:

The property and planning industry includes key areas of commercial and residential sales and lettings and property management.
There are 155,300 people working in the property industry in 37,200 companies.
There are significantly more full‐time than part‐time employees in the industry.
96% of all housing and property organisations have 10 or less employees.

Jobs in the industry include: estate agent; letting agent; surveyor; town planner; auctioneer; residential property or block manager; domestic energy assessor; and emerging jobs such as commercial energy assessor, housing energy adviser and community energy adviser.

National and regional data

The following provides a breakdown of the number of property sector employees in each of the Nations and English regions.

Region	Number of employees	Regional key characteristics
East Midlands	9,400	Nearly half (46%) of the property sector workforce in the East Midlands is aged over 50. A higher than average proportion is employed on a part‐time basis (43%)
East Of England	13,100	A significant proportion of the property sector workforce in the East of England is male (53%) and employed on a full‐ time basis (85%)
London	29,500	London is the largest employer of the property sector in England (19%). A significant proportion of employment is full‐time (81%), and a large proportion of the workforce is black and ethnic minorities (17%)
North East	6,300	The North East employs the smallest proportion of the property sector workforce across the English regions (4%)
North West	14,400	The North West employs 9% of the property sector workforce in England. A significant proportion of the workforce is female (61%)
South East	26,500	After London, the South East region is the second highest employer of the property sector (17%)
South West	15,200	The South West employs a significantly higher proportion of males (51%) compared to the workforce across England. 98% of the workforce is white
West Midlands	15,100	The West Midlands accounts for 10% of the property sector workforce in England.
Yorkshire & The Humber	11,000	Compared with other English regions, a significant proportion of the workforce is female (64%) and the majority is white (98%)
Northern Ireland	*	A significant proportion of the property sector workforce in Northern Ireland is female (66%) and the majority (58%) of the workforce is aged between 20‐29 years
Scotland	9,400	Scotland employs 6% of the total UK property sector workforce. Women make up 60% of employees, 98% of the workforce is white, with the majority employed on a full‐time basis (81%)
Wales	4,600	Wales employs 3% of the total UK property sector workforce. The majority, (60%) of the workforce is female and 99% of the workforce is white. Compared to the UK, high proportions are employed on a part‐time basis (36%)

Source: Annual Population Survey, Housing and Property Labour Market Intelligence Update, Asset Skills, 2008
* Due to a low sample base this figure is excluded.