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Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

Looking for information about your firm's panel status?

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How can my firm apply to be on the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status
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How can my firm be reinstated onto the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status

Lexsure’s COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for property lawyers. It is supported by PI insurers. It is a unique risk management tool.

This software optimises the way you can demonstrate to lender panels that you are, and can remain fully compliant with their requirements, with alerts on Bank of Scotland’s changes. Notwithstanding that utilising the tool is not a prerequisite for Bank of Scotland , demonstrating you can stay up to date with Bank of Scotland’s Handbook requirements is a helpful support to your application to their lender panel and, more importantly, protect your panel standing.

COMPLETIONmonitor generates real-time alerts, automatically produces compliance and CQS reports, and will improve your firm's efficiency. In addition it is user friendly, cost-effective and, for many firms, leads to a PII saving.

Find a Law Firm approved by Bank of Scotland

Mortgage companies often change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from Bank of Scotland are not guidelines, they are instructions from a client. As with many clients, instructions can change - and they do change, frequently:

A Timeline of Policy Changes


Since 2008, Bank of Scotland has made 388 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the UK Finance Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 7.0 days. In total, 50% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bank of Scotland have been changed since 15/12/2008.

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Examples of recent questions relating to the Bank of Scotland Solicitor Panel from members of the public

On what basis would a firm of solicitors be removed from the Bank of Scotland approved conveyancing panel?
A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of solicitor practices had been excluded from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
  1. Low volume of transactions
  2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
  3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction
  4. regulatory contact by SRA
  5. accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Bank of Scotland
Can you help?. For no fault of my lawyer but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Bank of Scotland was issued random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6 months + 3. My solicitor informs me that as she is on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are no longer acceptable to the lender.
A precondition to being on the Bank of Scotland approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on Bank of Scotland)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than half a year old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Bank of Scotland.
Do all the licensed conveyancers and solicitor practices listed on your directory have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel?
No. There is no CML Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
I am considering applying for a Bank of Scotland mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) with 70% loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Bank of Scotland?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel, but Bank of Scotland would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
I have a mortgage with Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Bank of Scotland?
Bank of Scotland must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Bank of Scotland’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Bank of Scotland will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Bank of Scotland directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel solicitor.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Bank of Scotland mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the Bank of Scotland mortgage in order to sell?
As regards the Bank of Scotland mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of Bank of Scotland in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.
Bank of Scotland have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Bank of Scotland or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Bank of Scotland will tell you what documents they want. Bank of Scotland will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Bank of Scotland will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.

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