The Legal Services Board has approved the level of the individual practising fee at £428 per solicitor for 2010/11.

Solicitors, recognised European lawyers and recognised foreign lawyers (RFL) will pay the individual fee, while their firms will also pay a firm-based fee, which will be calculated based on its turnover.

Reduced individual fees will be available for those on maternity leave. RFLs based mainly outside England and Wales will pay a lower fee of £100.

According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the total funding requirement for 2010/11 is £121.7m, compared with £122.2m last year. An additional £2.1m will be collected to boost the compensation fund.

The SRA says it is bringing in the new fee system because ‘the way the cost of regulation is currently allocated among the profession through the practising certificate fee leads to anomalies and unfairness in the context of modern legal practice’.

Guidance and policy documents, as well as the table setting out firm fees, are available here.