A licensed conveyancer is a specialist legal professional in the United Kingdom,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

who has been trained to deal with all aspects of

property law Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual prope ...

. Typically, their tasks might include: # Taking instructions from a client in relation to the sale or purchase of land or property # Conducting searches in relation to the property with local authorities # Advising clients of any incurred costs such as

stamp duty land tax Stamp duty in the United Kingdom is a form of tax charged on legal instruments (written documents), and historically required a physical stamp to be attached to or impressed upon the document in question. The more modern versions of the tax no ...

and legal fees # Drafting contracts setting out the terms of the sale of a property # Liaising with mortgage lenders (banks and building societies) to ensure they have all the relevant information # Paying costs on behalf of the client such as stamp duty and estate agent fees Their role is very similar to that of a solicitor dealing with a property transaction. However, rather than being qualified as a solicitor, they will have completed all of the examinations and practical training provided by a regulatory body for licensed conveyancers.

England and Wales

The regulatory body for licensed conveyancers in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

is the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), established by the Administration of Justice Act 1985 to maintain consistent standards of professionalism and conduct among persons who practice as licensed conveyancers. Licensed conveyancers are also answerable to the Authorised Conveyancing Practitioners Board. A licensed conveyancer must be at least 21 years of age and be considered by the CLC to be a fit and proper person to hold a licence. Gaining the licence entails completing the examinations and practical training provided by the CLC. They may be employed by firms of solicitors or other institutions such as

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s and

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parce ...

s. Alternatively, after holding three consecutive annual (limited) licences and being employed for at least three years, they may apply for a full licence and practise on their own or in a partnership. A licensed conveyancer holding a limited licence is required to complete eight hours of professional training each year (CPD –

continuing professional development Professional development, also known as professional education, is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing praxis in addition to the transferab ...

). Licensed conveyancers with a full licence must complete 12 hours of professional training each year. A large part of this training must relate to property law and practice. Like solicitors and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

s, licensed conveyancers are also commissioners for oaths. A commissioner for oaths is a person appointed by the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

with power to administer

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

s or take

affidavit An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or ''deposition (law), deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by la ...

Australia

Conveyancing work may be performed by

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

s and/or licensed conveyancers (people who are not lawyers, but are licensed under the ''Conveyancers Act 2006 (VIC)''). In

, licensed conveyancers are governed by consumer protection legislations and regulators of the various States. Each State and Territory has different legislation governing Licensed Conveyancers. * In Victoria, a conveyancer must be licensed and are regulated by the Business Licensing Authority (BLA), a division of Consumer Affairs Victoria. Licensed conveyancers must also comply with all requirements pursuant to under the ''Conveyancers Act 2006 (Victoria).'' * In

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

(NSW), a conveyancer must hold a license issued by the NSW Fair Trading body. They are regulated by the Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 and the Conveyancers Licensing Regulation 2015. * Unlike other Australian states,

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

does not have a separate licensing system for conveyancers; instead, conveyancing is typically performed by solicitors with a Practising Certificate issued by the Queensland Law Society, as required under the ''Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld)'' Licensed conveyancers must complete a

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

or Advanced Diploma in Conveyancing, as well as practical training under the supervision of an Australian Legal Practitioner. They must be 18 years of age and considered able to perform conveyancing tasks. Anyone who is insolvent, under administration, a represented person under the ''Guardianship and Administration Act 1986'', or currently disqualified from holding a conveyancing license, is disqualified. To be issued with a license, applicants must be approved by the BLA body after application checks and record checks are made. Conveyancers may be employed by

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

conveyancing In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contract ...

firms,

s, and

property developers Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

. A conveyancer can also obtain a license to run their own licensed conveyancing business.

References

External links

Council for Licensed Conveyancers
(United Kingdom) {{Real estate in the United Kingdom Legal professions Solicitors Law of the United Kingdom