Apply for a practising certificate

Apply for practising certificate for the practice year 2023/2024

Applications for a practising certificate for the practice year 2023/2024 (1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024) will be received from 1 March 2023. All applications are to be made through eLitigation, or through the Service Bureau if your law practice does not have an eLitigation account.

You are advised to apply for your practising certificate as soon as possible before the end of March 2023. A practising certificate issued in March 2023 will be dated 1 April 2023. A practising certificate issued in April 2023 will be dated with the date of issue but shall be deemed to be in force from the first day of April.

Please refer to the Law Society website for more information on the application process and requirements.

Who must apply

Every solicitor who wishes to act in the capacity of an advocate and solicitor must apply for a practising certificate.

When to apply

For every practice year, every solicitor must apply for a practising certificate before acting in the capacity of an advocate and solicitor. The term "practice year" means the period from 1 April in any calendar year to 31 March in the next calendar year.

Every practising certificate issued will be in force from the date of issue to the end of the practice year, except that a practising certificate issued in April shall be deemed to be in force from 1 April.

You may submit an application to the Registrar for a practising certificate in respect of a practice year no earlier than the month preceding the commencement of the practice year. Therefore, for the practice year 2023 to 2024 commencing 1 April 2023, the application for a practising certificate cannot be submitted before 1 March 2023.

How to apply

You can apply for or renew a practising certificate online through eLitigation.

If you do not have online access to eLitigation, you may:

• Apply for limited access to eLitigation's practising certificate e-filing function.
• Visit the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau to apply in person.

For more information, refer to:

• Part 18 of the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021 on the procedure to apply for practising certificates.
• The Law Society of Singapore's guide on applying for a practising certificate.

Request for waiver under Section 50(2) of the Legal Profession Act

Law Society Council Elections 2022

Practitioner members in the Middle Category and Junior Category who had in force a practising certificate on 10 October 2022 (nomination day) were required to vote in the Law Society Council Election on 25 October 2022 (election day).

Please note that under the Legal Profession Act, voting is compulsory and practitioner members who had failed to vote on election day may not be entitled to apply for a practising certificate.

Practitioner members who were not in Singapore on election day, or have a good and sufficient reason for not voting, may seek a waiver under section 50(2) of the Legal Profession Act from the voting requirement from the Registrar, Supreme Court. The Request for a waiver under section 50(2) of the Legal Profession Act (“Request”) is to be submitted for the Registrar’s consideration before the application for a practising certificate is submitted. A Request which is submitted after the application for a practising certificate has been submitted and after the penalty of $500 has been paid will not be considered.

For details on how to apply, please click here.

Estimated fees

The Supreme Court will collect the following fees for applications through eLitigation:

Note: This table does not include the applicable subscription fees, levies, contributions, and other fees and charges payable to the Law Society of Singapore or the Singapore Academy of Law. It also does not include additional fees payable for applications made through the LawNet & CrimsonLogic Service Bureau.

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