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RBS- First Active 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 RBS- First Active Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status
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How can my firm be reinstated onto the RBS- First Active Conveyancing Panel?
Check your firm’s panel Status

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

This software is the only way you can demonstrate to lender panels that you are, and can stay fully compliant with their instructions, with alerts on RBS- First Active’s changes. While utilising the tool is not a prerequisite for RBS- First Active , demonstrating you can stay up to date with RBS- First Active’s Handbook requirements is an excellent support to your application to their lender panel and, just as importantly, safeguard your panel standing.

The system creates real-time alerts, automatically produces SRA and CQS reports, and will improve your firm's efficiency. In addition it is simply to use, cost-effective and, for many firms, results in a PII saving.

Find a Law Firm approved by RBS- First Active

Mortgage companies frequently change their requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements from RBS- First Active 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, RBS- First Active has made 223 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the UK Finance Handbook.
That equates to a section change every 12.2 days. In total, 53% of the sections of P2 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for RBS- First Active have been changed since 15/12/2008.

To find out more about lender panel compliance,
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RBS- First Active Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public

Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor is not isted on the RBS- First Active Conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s conveyancing?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows: (1) lack 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. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for RBS- First Active.
Please assist. My lawyer is not to blame but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from RBS- First Active was dated random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6. My solicitor says that as she is on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer valid.
One of the many conditions to being on the RBS- First Active approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on RBS- First Active)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to RBS- First Active.
I need to find a RBS- First Active panel solicitor in Inverness. Can you assist?
Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a RBS- First Active panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to RBS- First Active to find out which solicitors in RBS- First Active are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site
My uncle passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the house. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to RBS- First Active , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this possible?
If you intend to re-mortgage then RBS- First Active will insist on your using a conveyancer on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your RBS- First Active conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the RBS- First Active mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel?
A selection of banks and building societies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels.
Do most lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel requirements are different to RBS- First Active’s conveyancing panel criteria.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyers I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the RBS- First Active panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

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