Terms of Business

Last updated: March 2026

1. About This Document

  1. 1.1 These Terms of Business govern the provision of QWE review and confirmation services by QWE Confirmed. By submitting an application through the QWE Confirmed portal, the candidate agrees to be bound by these terms.
  2. 1.2 In these terms, "QWE Confirmed", "we", "us" and "our" refer to the solicitor operating QWE Confirmed. "Candidate", "you" and "your" refer to the individual applying for QWE review and confirmation.
  3. 1.3 Please read these terms carefully before making payment. If you do not agree to these terms, you should not proceed with your application.

2. The Service

  1. 2.1 QWE Confirmed provides independent external solicitor verification of Qualifying Work Experience for individuals pursuing admission as a solicitor of England and Wales via the SQE pathway.
  2. 2.2 The service comprises:
    1. (a) review of the candidate's completed QWE training record and supporting evidence;
    2. (b) assessment of work experience against the competences in the SRA Statement of Solicitor Competence;
    3. (c) obtaining feedback from the candidate's workplace supervisor(s);
    4. (d) verification of placement details; and
    5. (e) confirmation of QWE to the SRA via the mySRA platform when requested.
  3. 2.3 The service does not constitute legal advice. QWE Confirmed does not advise candidates on eligibility for admission, the SQE assessments, character and suitability matters, or any other legal matter. No solicitor-client relationship is created by use of this service.
  4. 2.4 QWE Confirmed does not assess a candidate's competence to practise as a solicitor. That is the function of the SQE assessments. QWE Confirmed confirms only that work experience meets the SRA's criteria for QWE.
  5. 2.5 QWE Confirmed does not make a judgment on a candidate's suitability to be admitted as a solicitor. If any character and suitability issues arose during a placement being confirmed, QWE Confirmed is required to disclose those to the SRA.
  6. 2.6 QWE Confirmed is able to verify experience gained in any practice area of law, including experience obtained in non-traditional settings such as in-house legal teams, compliance departments, corporate governance roles, law clinics, and overseas legal departments, including where the day-to-day supervisor is not an English-qualified solicitor.

3. Regulatory Status

  1. 3.1 The confirming solicitor operating QWE Confirmed is a solicitor of England and Wales, on the roll of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
  2. 3.2 The confirming solicitor is bound by the SRA Principles and the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs, RFLs and RSLs in all professional activities, including the provision of this service.
  3. 3.3 QWE Confirmed is not an SRA-authorised firm and does not provide reserved legal activities.

4. Application Process

  1. 4.1 To use the service, a candidate must create an account on the QWE Confirmed portal, select the competencies to be verified, make payment, and submit placement details and supporting evidence through the portal.
  2. 4.2 The entire process is conducted online. No consultation calls or video meetings are required at any stage.
  3. 4.3 Candidates may save their application and return to it at any time by logging in to the portal.
  4. 4.4 An engagement between QWE Confirmed and the candidate arises only once payment has been made and placement evidence has been submitted. Prior to that point, creating an account does not create any engagement or obligation on the part of QWE Confirmed.

5. Fees and Payment

  1. 5.1 Fees are based on the number of competencies being verified, as follows:
    TierCompetenciesFee
    Essential2–3 competencies£250
    Standard4–6 competencies£400
    Comprehensive7 or more competencies£500
  2. 5.2 The fee is determined solely by the number of competencies being verified. There is no additional charge where work experience has been obtained across more than one placement. Whether the competencies being verified were gained in one placement or several, the applicable fee is the same.
  3. 5.3 All fees are inclusive of VAT (if applicable). If the VAT status of QWE Confirmed changes, fees will be updated accordingly and candidates will be notified before any payment is taken.
  4. 5.4 Payment is collected securely via Stripe at the time of application. QWE Confirmed does not store payment card details.
  5. 5.5 Payment must be made before placement evidence can be submitted for review. Evidence will not be reviewed until payment has been received in full.
  6. 5.6 QWE Confirmed reserves the right to amend fees at any time. Any fee change will not affect applications for which payment has already been made.
  7. 5.7 The fee includes one re-review of evidence. If the evidence initially submitted does not meet the SRA's requirements, QWE Confirmed will provide written guidance on what additional evidence is needed and will re-review the updated submission at no extra cost. If, following the re-review, the evidence still does not meet the SRA's requirements, QWE Confirmed may, at its discretion, conduct further reviews or close the application, subject to the refund provisions in clause 6.

6. Refunds

  1. 6.1 If, following review, QWE Confirmed determines that the candidate's work experience does not meet the SRA's criteria for QWE and is unable to confirm it, the candidate will be notified in writing via the portal with reasons. In that event:
    1. (a) if QWE Confirmed has not yet commenced the review (i.e., the evidence has not been reviewed and the supervisor has not been contacted), a full refund will be provided;
    2. (b) if QWE Confirmed has commenced the review but has not yet contacted the supervisor, a refund of 50% of the fee will be provided;
    3. (c) if QWE Confirmed has contacted the supervisor, no refund will be payable, as the substantive work will have been completed.
  2. 6.2 If a candidate withdraws their application before QWE Confirmed has commenced the review, a full refund will be provided.
  3. 6.3 If a candidate withdraws their application after QWE Confirmed has commenced the review, no refund will be payable.
  4. 6.4 Refunds will be processed to the original payment method within 10 business days.

7. Candidate Obligations

  1. 7.1 Candidates must provide accurate and complete information in their application. Candidates are responsible for the accuracy of all information submitted, including placement dates, descriptions of work, and supervisor details.
  2. 7.2 Candidates must complete the QWE training record in accordance with the SRA's requirements and provide supporting evidence of the work undertaken.
  3. 7.3 Candidates must provide valid contact details for their workplace supervisor(s) and, where necessary, obtain their agreement to be contacted by QWE Confirmed.
  4. 7.4 Candidates must not submit evidence that is fabricated, misleading, or materially inaccurate. If QWE Confirmed discovers that any information provided is false or materially misleading, QWE Confirmed reserves the right to refuse to confirm the QWE, terminate the application without refund, and report the matter to the SRA if considered appropriate to do so.
  5. 7.5 Candidates are responsible for submitting their QWE application to the SRA via mySRA once QWE Confirmed has confirmed that the evidence has been approved. QWE Confirmed will provide guidance on the process but cannot submit the application on the candidate's behalf.
  6. 7.6 Candidates must respond to any requests for additional information or evidence within 30 days. If a candidate does not respond within this period, QWE Confirmed may close the application. No refund will be payable in these circumstances.
  7. 7.7 Candidates are encouraged to redact any sensitive, commercially confidential, or personal information from documents before uploading them to the portal, to the extent that such redaction does not prevent a meaningful review of the evidence. QWE Confirmed will assess the evidence as submitted and cannot be held responsible for the content of unredacted documents.

8. QWE Confirmed Obligations

  1. 8.1 QWE Confirmed will review evidence thoroughly and in accordance with the SRA's guidance on confirming QWE.
  2. 8.2 QWE Confirmed will obtain feedback from the candidate's workplace supervisor(s) as required by the SRA.
  3. 8.3 QWE Confirmed will confirm QWE to the SRA when contacted by the SRA following the candidate's mySRA submission, provided QWE Confirmed is satisfied that the work experience meets the required criteria.
  4. 8.4 QWE Confirmed will communicate with candidates via the portal and, where necessary, by email. QWE Confirmed aims to provide an initial response to submitted evidence within five working days, though this is not guaranteed and may vary depending on volume.
  5. 8.5 Where the evidence initially submitted does not meet the SRA's requirements, QWE Confirmed will provide written guidance on what additional evidence is needed and will re-review the updated submission at no extra cost, as set out in clause 5.7.
  6. 8.6 QWE Confirmed will retain documented records of the review process in case of SRA inspection, subject to the data retention and deletion provisions in clause 9.

9. Confidentiality, Data Handling, and Deletion

  1. 9.1 Strict confidentiality. All information and evidence submitted by candidates is treated strictly confidentially by QWE Confirmed. QWE Confirmed will not disclose any candidate information to any third party except:
    1. (a) to the candidate's workplace supervisor(s), to the extent necessary to obtain feedback on the candidate's work, which is a regulatory requirement of the QWE confirmation process;
    2. (b) to the SRA, as part of the QWE confirmation process or if required by the regulatory obligations of the confirming solicitor; or
    3. (c) where required by law or court order.
  2. 9.2 Evidence deletion. Once the review of a candidate's evidence is complete and QWE Confirmed has either confirmed or declined to confirm the QWE, all evidence files uploaded by the candidate will be securely deleted from the portal and from any systems used by QWE Confirmed to conduct the review. QWE Confirmed will retain only a summary record of the review (including the competencies verified, the dates of the placement(s), the supervisor feedback obtained, and the outcome) for regulatory and audit purposes. This summary record does not include copies of the candidate's work product or uploaded documents.
  3. 9.3 Retention of summary records. The summary record referred to in clause 9.2 will be retained for a period of 24 months from the date of confirmation or closure of the application, whichever is later, to allow for any SRA inspection or audit of the confirmation process. At the end of this period, the summary record will also be securely deleted.
  4. 9.4 Redaction. Candidates are encouraged to redact any sensitive, commercially confidential, or personal information from documents before uploading them to the portal. QWE Confirmed will review evidence as submitted and will not request that candidates provide unredacted versions unless the redaction prevents a meaningful assessment of the relevant competency.
  5. 9.5 Non-disclosure agreements. Where required — for example, by a candidate's employer — QWE Confirmed is willing to enter into a non-disclosure agreement before any evidence is submitted. Candidates or their employers should request this at the time of application. QWE Confirmed will review and, if appropriate, sign the NDA before the candidate is asked to upload any evidence. QWE Confirmed does not charge for reviewing or signing an NDA.
  6. 9.6 Platform security. Evidence files are uploaded and stored on secure, encrypted third-party platforms (currently Softr and Airtable). QWE Confirmed does not download evidence files to local devices. Where evidence is reviewed, it is accessed through the secure portal platform. Further details on data security and international data transfers are set out in the QWE Confirmed Privacy Notice, which forms part of these terms.
  7. 9.7 Payment data. Payment card details are processed by Stripe, Inc. and are not stored by QWE Confirmed. Payment transaction records (amount, date, Stripe reference) are retained for 6 years from the date of the transaction, as required for tax and accounting purposes.

10. Limitation of Liability

  1. 10.1 The liability of QWE Confirmed to any candidate in connection with the service is limited to the fee paid by that candidate for the relevant review.
  2. 10.2 QWE Confirmed is not liable for any indirect, consequential, or special losses, including but not limited to loss of earnings, loss of opportunity, or delay in qualification, howsoever arising.
  3. 10.3 QWE Confirmed does not guarantee that the SRA will accept a candidate's QWE. The confirmation provided by QWE Confirmed is a professional attestation based on the evidence submitted, but the SRA retains discretion over admission decisions.
  4. 10.4 QWE Confirmed is not liable for any delay caused by a candidate's failure to provide information, evidence, or supervisor contact details in a timely manner, or by a supervisor's failure to respond to enquiries.
  5. 10.5 Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

11. Complaints

  1. 11.1 If a candidate is dissatisfied with any aspect of the service, they should contact QWE Confirmed at [email protected]. QWE Confirmed will acknowledge the complaint within five working days and aim to resolve it within 20 working days.
  2. 11.2 If a candidate remains dissatisfied following the response, they may contact the SRA directly, as the confirming solicitor is subject to SRA regulation. Contact details for the SRA are available at www.sra.org.uk.
  3. 11.3 As QWE Confirmed is not an SRA-authorised firm, the Legal Ombudsman does not have jurisdiction over this service.

12. Termination

  1. 12.1 A candidate may withdraw their application at any time by notifying QWE Confirmed in writing via the portal or by email. The refund provisions in clause 6 will apply.
  2. 12.2 QWE Confirmed may terminate an application if:
    1. (a) the candidate fails to provide information or evidence requested within 30 days;
    2. (b) QWE Confirmed discovers that information provided by the candidate is false or materially misleading;
    3. (c) QWE Confirmed identifies a conflict of interest that prevents it from acting; or
    4. (d) continuing to act would, in the reasonable opinion of QWE Confirmed, be inconsistent with its regulatory obligations.
  3. 12.3 If QWE Confirmed terminates an application under clause 12.2(b), no refund will be payable. In all other cases, the refund provisions in clause 6 will apply.
  4. 12.4 On termination or completion of an application, the evidence deletion provisions in clause 9.2 will apply.

13. General

  1. 13.1 QWE Confirmed may amend these terms at any time by publishing updated terms on its website. The terms in force at the time a candidate makes payment will apply to that candidate's application.
  2. 13.2 If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
  3. 13.3 Failure by QWE Confirmed to enforce any provision of these terms does not constitute a waiver of its right to do so.
  4. 13.4 These terms constitute the entire agreement between QWE Confirmed and the candidate in relation to the service and supersede any prior communications or representations.
  5. 13.5 These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from or in connection with these terms.

14. Contact

  1. 14.1 For any questions about these terms, please contact:

    Email: [email protected]
    Website: www.qweconfirmed.co.uk