Higher rights of audience are the qualification that lets a solicitor in England and Wales appear as an advocate in the senior courts: the High Court, Crown Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court. You earn them by passing an accredited assessment in civil or criminal advocacy (or both), then applying to the Solicitors Regulation Authority through mySRA for a £75 fee. Once granted, your record shows you as a solicitor-advocate and you can run cases end to end without instructing a barrister for the hearing.1Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience
What the Qualification Lets You Do
Solicitors already have automatic rights of audience in the magistrates’ court and county court. Higher rights extend that authority upward, into the courts where the most serious criminal trials, complex civil disputes, and appeals are heard.1Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience A solicitor-advocate can conduct a Crown Court trial for a client facing a serious charge, or argue a civil appeal, without passing the case to a barrister for the hearing itself.
The appeal is continuity. A solicitor who has handled a matter from first instructions already knows the evidence, the client, and the strategy. The qualification is designed to confirm you can also do what barristers do: stand up and run the hearing.
Who Can Apply
You must be admitted to the roll of solicitors and hold a current practising certificate in England and Wales.2GOV.UK. Solicitors Practising Certificate (England and Wales) The SRA sets no minimum number of years of post-qualification experience and no mandatory training requirement beyond passing the assessment.1Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience Most candidates arrive with lower-court advocacy experience behind them, because the assessment is pitched at a level that assumes it.
The regulatory basis sits in Regulation 9.10 of the SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations. It allows a solicitor to exercise civil or criminal advocacy in the higher courts once the SRA is satisfied they have successfully completed the appropriate higher courts advocacy qualification after admission.3Solicitors Regulation Authority. SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations
Character and Suitability
Character and suitability are assessed as part of the application. You must disclose criminal convictions, regulatory findings, financial difficulties such as bankruptcy or county court judgments, and any disciplinary action by another professional body. Dishonesty, fraud, and violence are weighed especially heavily, and financial conduct matters: deliberate avoidance of debt, insolvency of companies you manage, or six or more consecutive missed payments can all draw scrutiny. Where you disclose something, give supporting evidence such as a personal statement, proof of rehabilitation, a credit report, or a discharge certificate. The duty is ongoing. If something changes after you submit the application, tell the SRA promptly.4Solicitors Regulation Authority. Assessment of Character and Suitability Rules
Civil or Criminal: Choosing the Pathway
Higher rights come in two separate qualifications. You choose the one that matches your practice, and each has its own assessment. You can also hold both, applying separately after each.5Solicitors Regulation Authority. Apply for Higher Rights of Audience
The civil pathway covers the Civil Procedure Rules (case management, interim remedies, disclosure, trial procedure) and evidence law under the Civil Evidence Act 1995, including hearsay, expert evidence, and privilege.6Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience Civil Standards 2021 The criminal pathway focuses on the Criminal Procedure Rules, covering disclosure, witness statements, expert evidence, and the court’s case management powers.7Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience Criminal Standards 2021 Both require knowledge of ethics and professional conduct: your overriding duty to the court, the prohibition on misleading the tribunal, handling adverse authority you are aware of, and the rules around witness coaching and suppressing unhelpful evidence.
The Assessment
The assessment tests procedure, evidence, ethics, and practical advocacy through a case study or simulation.1Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience The competence standards behind it are the SRA’s Statement of Standards for Solicitor Higher Court Advocates, which describe what a competent solicitor-advocate should be able to do before and during trial in terms of case analysis, preparation, and presentation.8Solicitors Regulation Authority. Statement of Standards for Solicitor Higher Court Advocates
The practical advocacy element is where most preparation time should go. Assessors look at how you structure submissions, examine and cross-examine witnesses, handle judicial questioning, and hold composure under pressure. Knowing the rules is the floor. Showing you can apply them on your feet while a judge presses you on a weak point is what the assessment is really measuring.
Who Runs the Assessment
As of October 2025, The University of Law is the single accredited provider.1Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience That is a change from earlier years, when more than one provider offered the qualification. Fees are set by the provider and sit separately from the SRA’s own application fee, so contact The University of Law directly for current pricing and scheduling.
Applying Through mySRA
Once you have passed the assessment, you apply through the mySRA online portal. Log in, start a new application, enter your details, and confirm that you passed the relevant assessment. Specify whether you are applying for civil, criminal, or both. The application fee is £75, payable by credit or debit card at the end of the process.5Solicitors Regulation Authority. Apply for Higher Rights of Audience
Make sure your practising certificate is current when you apply, because any lapse can delay things. The SRA verifies your assessment result with the provider before updating your record. Once approved, your entry on the solicitors’ register reflects your solicitor-advocate status.1Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience
If Your Application Is Refused
A decision not to grant a higher courts advocacy qualification under Regulation 9.10 can be reviewed internally by the SRA. You have 28 days from notification to submit a review application, which must explain your grounds and include any supporting evidence. A different decision maker handles the review, usually on the written evidence alone.9Solicitors Regulation Authority. SRA Application, Notice, Review and Appeal Rules
If the internal review does not resolve matters, you can appeal to the High Court or the relevant tribunal, again within 28 days of notification. The SRA will not ordinarily review a decision made more than a year earlier, so the timing matters.9Solicitors Regulation Authority. SRA Application, Notice, Review and Appeal Rules
Keeping the Qualification Live
Higher rights are not a one-off tick. The SRA’s continuing competence regime, which replaced fixed CPD point targets, expects you to reflect on your practice, identify learning needs, address them, and evaluate the results. There is no mandatory number of training hours. Each year, when you renew your practising certificate, you declare to the SRA that you have done this.1Solicitors Regulation Authority. Higher Rights of Audience
In practice that means tracking changes to the procedural rules, case law on evidence and advocacy, and shifts in judicial expectations. If you hold criminal higher rights but have not run a Crown Court trial in years, the honest reflection is likely that you need refresher training before stepping back in. The SRA does not police this granularly, but the duty is real: if something goes wrong in court and it emerges you were practising beyond your competence, the regulatory consequences are serious.
Registered European Lawyers and Other Routes In
Registered European Lawyers who are EU, EEA, or Swiss nationals and qualified in an EU jurisdiction can also apply under Regulation 9.10. The route differs: RELs contact the SRA directly and complete an assessment table that helps the regulator decide which assessments, if any, are required. The process reflects the Recognition of Professional Qualifications framework, to the extent those provisions continue to apply after Brexit.3Solicitors Regulation Authority. SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations Other internationally qualified lawyers who are not RELs must first qualify as solicitors in England and Wales through the SRA’s standard admission routes before higher rights become available.