For law firms · England & Wales

Client Care Letter

A free, editable Word client care letter for solicitors in England & Wales, covering scope, who is doing the work and who supervises it, costs and disbursements, client money and interest, complaints and the Legal Ombudsman with the time limits that apply since April 2023, and your regulated status.

Get the free template

What's inside

A complete, UK-drafted client care letter

Scope of the retainer and what is expressly excluded from it
Who is handling the matter, who supervises it, and how to reach them
Costs information in three alternatives: fixed fee, hourly rates with an estimate and a ceiling, or a conditional arrangement
Disbursements and their VAT treatment, billing frequency, payment terms and interest on unpaid bills
Client money held in the client account, a fair sum of interest, and a bank-details fraud warning
Complaints: your internal route, then the Legal Ombudsman with current contact details and time limits
Regulated status, SRA number and professional indemnity insurance
Data protection, use of AI tools with a solicitor still responsible, file retention and ending the retainer

How it works

1
Tell us where to send it
Enter your name, work email and organisation. We email you an editable Microsoft Word (.docx) file, personalised with your name.
2
Fill in the bracketed fields
Open it in Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice and complete every [bracketed] field with your details and commercial terms.
3
Review and adapt before use
Adapt the clauses to your circumstances and have it reviewed by a qualified solicitor before you sign or publish it.

This template is not legal advice. Writford is a software company, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the SRA. This document is a starting point that must be reviewed, adapted and approved by a qualified solicitor before use. It was last reviewed on 4 September 2026.

Get the free template

We email you an editable Word copy, personalised with your name. No account needed.

Looking for something else? Browse all templates.

What must a client care letter include under the SRA rules?

The best possible information about how the matter will be priced and its likely overall cost, who is doing the work and who supervises it, the right to complain about service and charges and how, the right to the Legal Ombudsman and when it can be used, and whether and how your services are regulated.

Is a client care letter a legal requirement?: The letter itself is not prescribed, but the information in it is. The SRA Code of Conduct requires you to give clients specified information at the point of engagement, in writing where complaints are concerned, and a client care letter is how firms in England and Wales do that.
What are the Legal Ombudsman time limits?: Since 1 April 2023 a client must normally complain to the Legal Ombudsman within one year of the act or omission, or within one year of realising there was a concern, and within six months of the firm's final written response. The old six-year and three-year limits no longer apply, and templates still quoting them are out of date.
Does the six-month limit always apply?: Only if your final response prominently tells the client that the Legal Ombudsman is available, gives its full contact details, and warns that the complaint must be referred within six months. A final response that omits any of those leaves the complaint open for longer.
Do I need to give a costs estimate if I charge a fixed fee?: You still have to give the best possible information about price, which a fixed fee does clearly. What matters is that the client can see what is included, what is not, whether VAT is added, and what disbursements they should expect on top.
How often should costs information be updated?: The duty is not discharged by the opening letter. You must give the best possible information at engagement and as the matter progresses, so an estimate that is being overtaken needs a written update before the bill arrives, not with it.
Does the letter need a cancellation notice?: Where a consumer instructs you at a distance or away from your office, yes. The client has 14 days to cancel, you must tell them so and give them the model cancellation form, and if you do not the right runs for up to a further twelve months. A firm that starts work without giving the notice can find the client cancels months later and the fees are not recoverable. Clause 14 carries the notice and the statutory form; ask the client in writing to begin during the 14 days if the work cannot wait.
Can I use this template as it is?: It is a starting point and it needs completing. Scope, funding, rates, timescale and retention are different on every retainer, and the SRA requires the information to be the best possible information about that client's matter. Read it against your own procedures before you send it.

Draft your next document in Writford

Start Free 14-Day Trial Browse all templates

Client Care Letter

A complete, UK-drafted client care letter

Scope of the retainer and what is expressly excluded from it

Who is handling the matter, who supervises it, and how to reach them

Costs information in three alternatives: fixed fee, hourly rates with an estimate and a ceiling, or a conditional arrangement

Disbursements and their VAT treatment, billing frequency, payment terms and interest on unpaid bills

Client money held in the client account, a fair sum of interest, and a bank-details fraud warning

Complaints: your internal route, then the Legal Ombudsman with current contact details and time limits

Regulated status, SRA number and professional indemnity insurance

Data protection, use of AI tools with a solicitor still responsible, file retention and ending the retainer

How it works

Tell us where to send it

Enter your name, work email and organisation. We email you an editable Microsoft Word (.docx) file, personalised with your name.

Fill in the bracketed fields

Open it in Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice and complete every [bracketed] field with your details and commercial terms.

Review and adapt before use

Adapt the clauses to your circumstances and have it reviewed by a qualified solicitor before you sign or publish it.

What must a client care letter include under the SRA rules?

Is a client care letter a legal requirement?

The letter itself is not prescribed, but the information in it is. The SRA Code of Conduct requires you to give clients specified information at the point of engagement, in writing where complaints are concerned, and a client care letter is how firms in England and Wales do that.

What are the Legal Ombudsman time limits?

Since 1 April 2023 a client must normally complain to the Legal Ombudsman within one year of the act or omission, or within one year of realising there was a concern, and within six months of the firm's final written response. The old six-year and three-year limits no longer apply, and templates still quoting them are out of date.

Does the six-month limit always apply?

Only if your final response prominently tells the client that the Legal Ombudsman is available, gives its full contact details, and warns that the complaint must be referred within six months. A final response that omits any of those leaves the complaint open for longer.

Do I need to give a costs estimate if I charge a fixed fee?

You still have to give the best possible information about price, which a fixed fee does clearly. What matters is that the client can see what is included, what is not, whether VAT is added, and what disbursements they should expect on top.

How often should costs information be updated?

The duty is not discharged by the opening letter. You must give the best possible information at engagement and as the matter progresses, so an estimate that is being overtaken needs a written update before the bill arrives, not with it.

Does the letter need a cancellation notice?

Where a consumer instructs you at a distance or away from your office, yes. The client has 14 days to cancel, you must tell them so and give them the model cancellation form, and if you do not the right runs for up to a further twelve months. A firm that starts work without giving the notice can find the client cancels months later and the fees are not recoverable. Clause 14 carries the notice and the statutory form; ask the client in writing to begin during the 14 days if the work cannot wait.

Can I use this template as it is?

It is a starting point and it needs completing. Scope, funding, rates, timescale and retention are different on every retainer, and the SRA requires the information to be the best possible information about that client's matter. Read it against your own procedures before you send it.