What are Practice Rights?
Gaining Practice Rights means that you can undertake reserved/regulated activities without the need to
be directed or supervised by an authorised person. 
There are number of practice areas in which practice rights are available as shown in the infographic.
The practice areas shown in blue are reserved activities under the Legal Services Act 2007. Immigration, although not reserved to people authorised through the Act, is a regulated activity and therefore we need to authorise you to undertake this work unsupervised.
Important notice
Please be aware that if you are not authorised in the conduct of litigation, you are only permitted under CRL’s rules and guidance to assist or support an Authorised Person in the conduct of litigation.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for practice rights, a CILEX Fellow must have 5 years’ experience of working in the legal sector of which 2 years must be in the area of specialism in which they are seeking practice rights.
CILEX Fellows with 5 years’ experience of working in the legal sector but do not have 2 years work experience in the area of specialism in which they are seeking practice rights, must choose the training and assessment option within the University of Law (ULaw) route to authorisation.[1]
Specialist Practice Areas
Litigation practice rights are currently available for:
Routes to Authorisation
For those seeking practice rights, the routes to authorisation are detailed below:[2]
ULaw route to authorisation
There are two options available under the ULaw route to authorisation:
Assessment only option: Available to CILEX Fellows with 5 years’ experience of working in the legal sector of which 2 years was spent working in the area of litigation for which they are seeking practice rights.
Training and assessment option: Available to CILEX Fellows with 5 years’ experience of working in the legal sector but DO NOT HAVE 2 years’ experience of working in the area of litigation for which they are seeking practice rights.
Assessment only option – £700 + approx. £40 for DBS check
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- Assessment consists of a 2-hour online assessment (a client interview followed by assessment of a written piece of work) with an occupationally competent and qualified assessor PLUS a 90 minute online exam consisting of 45 multiple choice questions.
- Sample assessment materials available to all enrolled candidates and materials for 2 part online assessment are released 2 weeks prior to booked assessment date.
- 1 free resit included.
- No portfolios, Skills Logbooks or redacted evidence required.
- Great feedback from CILEX Fellows who have already completed the programme.
- Find out more – please select the link for information on the assessment only option learner journey.
Training and assessment option – £2,350 + approx. £40 for DBS check
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- 24 weeks online, part time learning
- 10 units in each module
- Formative assessment (mock assessment) after Unit 4
- Candidates are required to produce work for each unit and are supported by a tutor
- Assessment identical to Assessment only option.
To book onto either the Assessment only or Training and Assessment programmes with ULaw, please visit the ULaw website at: CILEx Regulation Independent Practice Rights Assessment.
Approval Process
After successfully completing the ULaw Course, we will send you the Approval letter and Practising Certificate within 14 days after ULaw have published the provisional results. A pro-rata’d fee of £60 will be charged when you are authorised. There is no need for you to email or send us an application form.
Portfolio route to authorisation (via CRL)
The fees for the portfolio route to authorisation are £450 per application + approx. £40 for DBS check.
For your chosen specialist area you, will be provided with an:
- Application Form
- Skills Logbook Template
- Portfolio Template
- Applicant Handbook
- Summary of Application Requirements
To access these, please click on the links below dependent on which type of practice rights you are seeking authorisation for:
Approval Process
- When you’re ready to submit your application, please access this link to express your interest in applying for litigation practice rights and we will send you a customised KnowB4* link within 48 hours. Please do not complete the form multiple times.
- You must then upload your application form and supporting documentation to the KnowB4 portal. Please upload your application form separately from the rest of your application. Please note that we will not be able to send an acknowledgement email after we receive your application.
- Upon receipt of your application, we will carry out an initial screening to ensure you have submitted all the required supporting documentation. If any is missing, you will be asked to provide it.
- You will then receive your invoice.
- Upon receipt of the payment we will send your application to the External Assessor.
- We will also contact your referees and start the DBS application.
- When we receive the External Assessor’s decision, we will either:
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- send you the Approval letter and Practising Certificate; OR
- ask you for further information as requested by the External Assessor.
Please note: *KnowB4 is a cybersecurity platform which we use to store data safely as part of the process of assessing your application. By using KnowB4, the process of submitting the application will be easier as there are no size limitations for the attachments. The access is instant and the External Assessors get quicker access to the application to help speed up the authorisation process. For more information on how to use KnowB4, please contact practicerights@cilexregulation.org.uk.
[1] Please note: The training and assessment route is not available for Criminal Litigation.
[2] Please note: Immigration Practice Rights are only available through the Portfolio Route.
Further information
- Court of Protection – updated guidance September 2026
- CRL updated Litigation and supervision guidance – published 29.05.2026
- Considering Practice Rights? New video resources for applicants (published October 2026) provides practical support and information relating to eligibility, evidence required, costs, application routes and process –
Contentious (Litigation) Practice Rights
Non-contentious Practice Rights
- Case Study – How to apply for Litigation Practice Rights (Portfolio Route). Emma Hardie recently gained Litigation Practice Rights. She shares her thoughts on the application process and advice for other applicants.
- Top 10 Tips for Litigation Practice Rights – Portfolio Route
