How many solicitors are there in the UK?
Each part of the UK has its own regulator, so there is no single UK-wide figure. These are the most recent counts each body publishes.
| Figure | What it counts | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 182,070 | Solicitors holding a practising certificate from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, end of October 2026. People, not firms. | Solicitors Regulation Authority | 11 November 2026 |
| 8,878 | Head offices of firms authorised by the SRA (sole practices, recognised bodies and licensed bodies), October 2026. England and Wales only; branches are not counted. | Solicitors Regulation Authority | 11 November 2026 |
| Over 14,000 | Members of the Law Society of Scotland, which describes itself as the professional body for over 14,000 Scottish solicitors. | Law Society of Scotland | 11 November 2026 |
| About 3,200 | Solicitors practising in Northern Ireland, as stated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland (its own wording: approximately 3200 plus). | Law Society of Northern Ireland | 11 November 2026 |
| 16,285 | Workplaces (local units) registered for VAT or PAYE under SIC 69102 | ONS UK Business Counts 2026 | 2026 release |
The SRA only regulates solicitors and firms in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate professions with their own Law Societies, so adding the figures together gives a rough people count, not a list of firms.
For selling to law firms, the firm count matters more than the head count. A single City firm can employ hundreds of solicitors, while a high-street practice may have two. The SRA's figure counts head offices only, so a firm with five branches counts once. ONS counts workplaces registered for VAT or PAYE, which is why its figure is higher.
The SRA also publishes how its firms are set up. At the end of October 2026 there were 5,270 incorporated companies, 1,410 LLPs, 1,295 sole practitioners and 876 partnerships. That mix decides which marketing rules apply (see the rules section below).
Don't confuse practising solicitors with the roll. The SRA reported 218,413 names on the roll, which includes people who have qualified but don't hold a practising certificate, many of whom no longer work in a law firm.
Can I get a free list of solicitors?
There are four official directories. Here is what each one shows, and what its own terms say about using it to build a contact list.
SRA Solicitors Register and firm data feed
Limited marketing use
The official register of every solicitor and law firm the SRA regulates. Search by person or firm to see where someone works and whether a firm is authorised. The SRA also runs a free data feed (an API needing a subscription key), refreshed every 24 hours, with each firm's addresses, phone numbers, business email addresses, website, constitution type and areas of law.
“to transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of solicitation.”
The most generous of the four: the same terms say you are free to exploit the data commercially and combine it with other information. But you can't use it to send unsolicited promotional material. Use it to check a firm is regulated, size up the market or clean a list you already have, not as your mailing list. It covers England and Wales only, and it gives firm details, not the name of the person who buys.
Law Society Find a Solicitor
Not for marketing
The Law Society of England and Wales's client-facing directory, searchable by area of law and location. It says it holds 218,741 legal professionals, but its own terms note it does not list every solicitor and is not the official register.
“use the Find a Solicitor database as a source of material or contact data for any kind of marketing activity”
A clear no. The terms also forbid using it to create, update or verify mailing or prospecting lists, so you can't use it to check a list you bought either.
Law Society of Scotland Find a Solicitor
Not for marketing
Search Scottish law firms by name, town or area of law, or find a practising individual solicitor.
“You may view, print and download our website Information in a web browser for your own personal use only.”
Personal use only. The next clause also bans scraping the site for commercial purposes. Fine for finding one firm in Aberdeen, not for building a Scottish prospect list.
Law Society of Northern Ireland: find a solicitor
Not for marketing
A map and list of Northern Ireland practices with address and phone number. It showed 572 results when we checked, and some firms appear once per office.
“using an industry-standard Web browser, download and view the Content for your personal, non-commercial use”
Personal, non-commercial use only, and copying or republishing the content needs the Society's written permission.
So if you just need a handful of firms, say three conveyancers near you to ask for quotes, the free directories are the right tool. If you want to contact hundreds of firms about your product or service, none of them is licensed for it, and copying them by hand doesn't change that.
What's in a list of solicitors you can buy?
These are the solicitors available from us, and how many records include each kind of contact detail. They're the contacts we hold, not the size of the market: the official figures above are the market.
| Field | Records | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postal addresses | 10,205 | 100% | |
| Phone numbers | 10,205 | 100% | |
| Named contacts (a person, usually with job title) | 9,365 | 92% | |
| General company email addresses (info@, enquiries@ etc.) | 3,606 | 35% | |
| Named contact email addresses | 3,865 | 38% |
About six in ten of our solicitor records have no named contact email. We hold 3,865 named contact emails across 10,205 records, plus 3,606 general firm addresses such as enquiries@. Law firms guard partner inboxes closely, so for the rest, write to the named contact at the firm's address or use the switchboard number, which every record has.
Each record is a law firm at a postal address, not an individual solicitor. Most records (9,365) carry a named person with a job title. Large firms with several offices may appear more than once, one record per office, so check for duplicates by firm name if you only want one letter per firm.
Our list isn't limited to England and Wales, so it can include firms in Scotland and Northern Ireland that the SRA's figures leave out: ask for a free count by area to see how many we hold there. It is a marketing list, so it won't tell you whether a firm is authorised today. If that matters, check the firm on the SRA register before you send.
Who makes the buying decisions at law firms, and how do you reach them?
Law firms are run by their owners, whatever the legal form. The SRA calls these people managers: partners in a partnership, members of an LLP, directors of a company. Who signs off a purchase depends on what you sell.
| Job title | What they decide | Best way to reach them |
|---|---|---|
| Managing partner or senior partner | Strategy, big spending, new suppliers in a small or mid-sized firm. In a two-partner practice they decide almost everything. | A short addressed letter. Partners' diaries are billed by the hour, so a letter they can read later works better than a cold approach. |
| COLP (compliance officer for legal practice) | Every SRA-authorised firm must have one. They answer for the firm's compliance with its authorisation and the SRA's rules, so they care about compliance software, training, risk and anti-money laundering tools. | Post or email, naming the role. In small firms the COLP is often the managing partner too. |
| COFA (compliance officer for finance and administration) | Also required in every SRA-authorised firm. Responsible for compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules: client account banking, accounts software, audit. | Post addressed to the COFA. Finance-led offers do best when they show how they help with the Accounts Rules. |
| Practice manager or operations director | Day-to-day running: IT, phones, premises, office supplies, recruitment, outsourcing. | Phone or email. Usually the most reachable person in the firm and the first filter for suppliers. |
| Head of department (conveyancing, private client, family) | Tools and referral partners for their own team: searches, surveyors, case management, will storage. | Email or post naming the department. Match the offer to the work type. |
COLP and COFA are SRA roles, so they exist in firms in England and Wales. Firms regulated in Scotland or Northern Ireland use different structures, so address the partner or practice manager instead.
What are the rules for marketing to solicitors?
The rules depend on how each business is set up. Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), sole traders and ordinary partnerships count as individual subscribers, and limited companies, LLPs and other organisations count as corporate subscribers. Wherever a record names a person, UK GDPR applies as well: you need a lawful basis (usually legitimate interests), you must tell them where you got their details, and you must stop if they object.
How UK solicitors are set up, according to the Office for National Statistics (16,285 workplaces, UK Business Counts 2026, SIC 69102):
| Legal form | UK workplaces | Share | How PECR treats them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limited companies and LLPs | 11,895 | 73% | Corporate subscriber |
| Sole traders | 2,630 | 16% | Individual subscriber |
| Partnerships | 1,690 | 10% | Individual subscriber |
| Charities, clubs and other non-profits | 55 | under 1% | Corporate subscriber |
| Public sector | 15 | under 1% | Corporate subscriber |
| Channel | Sole traders and partnerships (about 27% of this sector, by ONS figures) | Companies, LLPs, charities and public bodies |
|---|---|---|
| Post | Allowed. PECR doesn't cover addressed mail; UK GDPR applies to a named person. | Allowed. UK GDPR applies to a named person. |
| Live sales calls | Allowed unless the number is on the TPS (or they've told you not to call). | Allowed unless the number is on the CTPS (or they've told you not to call). |
| Marketing email and text | Only with their prior consent (or the "soft opt-in" for your own customers). | Allowed without prior consent, if you say who you are and give a simple way to opt out. |
Three points specific to law firms:
- Most SRA firms are corporate subscribers. On the SRA's October 2026 figures, companies and LLPs make up about three quarters of regulated firms. Sole practitioners and partnerships (about a quarter) are individual subscribers under PECR, so marketing emails to them need consent. Check the legal form before an email campaign; the SRA's firm data records it as the constitution type.
- Register terms are separate from the law. Even where PECR allows an email to an LLP, the SRA data feed's own terms bar using its data to send unsolicited promotional material, and the Law Society's Find a Solicitor terms bar marketing use outright. A bought marketing list avoids that conflict.
- Three regulators, three regions. The SRA covers England and Wales. Solicitors in Scotland are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, and in Northern Ireland the Law Society of Northern Ireland is the regulator under the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976. A UK-wide campaign that mentions SRA rules will read oddly to a firm in Glasgow or Belfast.
How much does a list of solicitors cost?
You pay per record, and the price per record falls as the order grows:
| Number of records | Price per 1,000 |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 2,500 | £295 |
| 2,500 to 4,999 | £270 |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | £245 |
| 10,000 to 19,999 | £220 |
| 20,000 to 49,999 | £195 |
| 50,000 or more | £170 |
Other lists of UK businesses
Questions people ask about a list of solicitors
Where can I get a list of solicitors in the UK with decision-maker email addresses?
No free source gives you decision makers' email addresses for marketing. The SRA data feed has firms' business email addresses but its terms bar unsolicited promotional material, and Find a Solicitor bans marketing use. A bought list is the practical route. We hold 3,865 named contact emails across 10,205 law firm records, so expect a named email for about four firms in ten. Use post or phone for the others.
Is there a free list of solicitors I can use for marketing?
Not for marketing. The SRA register and the three Law Society directories are free to search, but Find a Solicitor forbids marketing use, the Scottish and Northern Ireland sites allow personal use only, and the SRA's free data feed bars sending unsolicited promotional material. Use them to check or research firms, and buy a list for outreach.
How many solicitors are there in the UK?
The SRA reported 182,070 practising solicitors in England and Wales at the end of October 2026, in 8,878 SRA-regulated firms (head offices). The Law Society of Scotland represents over 14,000 Scottish solicitors, and the Law Society of Northern Ireland puts its practising profession at about 3,200. ONS counts 16,285 solicitors' workplaces across the UK.
Can I download the SRA Solicitors Register as a spreadsheet?
The SRA's route to bulk firm data is its free data-sharing API: register for a subscription key and you can pull every regulated firm's addresses, phone numbers, business emails and constitution type, refreshed daily. You'll need some technical help to use it, and its terms bar using the data to send unsolicited advertising.
What's the difference between a COLP and a COFA?
Both are compliance roles every SRA-authorised firm must fill, approved by the SRA. The COLP is responsible for compliance with the firm's authorisation and the SRA's rules generally, and must be someone authorised to carry on reserved legal activities. The COFA covers compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules. In small firms one partner often holds both roles.
Is a list of solicitors the same as a list of law firms?
Not quite. Official solicitor counts are people: 182,070 practising in England and Wales. A marketing list is firms, because you write to a business at an address. Ours is 10,205 law firm records, most with one named contact.
Does your list include solicitors in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
It isn't limited to England and Wales, and lists can be narrowed by region, county or postcode area. Coverage varies by area, so ask for a free count for Scotland or Northern Ireland before you plan a campaign there.
How much does a list of solicitors cost?
Lists are priced per record: £295 per 1,000 for orders under 2,500 records, falling to £170 per 1,000 for 50,000 or more (excluding VAT). With 10,205 solicitors available, a UK-wide list falls in the 10,000 to 19,999 band. Ask for a free count for your area and an exact price.