Why your conveyancing solicitor still needs your ID

(Even If You’ve Already Shown It Elsewhere)

One of the most common questions we are asked is:

“Why do I need to give you my ID when I’ve already given it to my mortgage broker or estate agent?”

It’s a fair question — and the short answer is because the law requires each professional to take responsibility for their own checks.

In a recent speech the Prime Minister expressed surprise that friends had been required to verify their identity on multiple occasions when buying a property. While the frustration is understandable, conveyancing solicitors have very little flexibility in this area.

Why the checks are duplicated

A typical property transaction involves several regulated professionals, including estate agents, mortgage brokers, lenders and solicitors. Although all of them may request identity documents, they are not automatically entitled to rely on each other’s checks.

Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, every regulated business must independently satisfy itself as to:

• who its client is, and
• where the money involved in the transaction comes from.

For solicitors, these obligations are enforced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and reinforced by HM Land Registry requirements when property ownership is registered.

What Regulation 39 says — and why it rarely helps in practice

Clients sometimes hear that Regulation 39 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 allows one regulated professional to “rely on” another’s checks and ask why solicitors cannot do so.

Regulation 39 does allow reliance in principle, but only if strict conditions are met. In particular:

• the solicitor must obtain specific confirmation that the other professional has carried out full customer due diligence;
• the underlying identification and verification evidence must be made available immediately on request; and
• the solicitor remains fully responsible for any failure in those checks.

In practice, this means that even where reliance is theoretically possible:

• estate agents and mortgage brokers rarely provide the full documentation required in a compliant form;
• solicitors cannot control how or when those checks were carried out; and
• the legal and regulatory risk remains entirely with the solicitor, not the third party.

Because responsibility cannot be transferred, the SRA expects solicitors to be extremely cautious about reliance. For most conveyancing firms, reliance is therefore not a safe or acceptable option, and independent verification is required.

Why solicitors have very little discretion

Clients often ask whether we can “be flexible” or “skip” ID checks. Unfortunately, we have almost no discretion.

Solicitors must complete identity and source‑of‑funds checks before we can:

• open a file,
• receive money, or
• exchange contracts.

If we fail to do this properly, the consequences are serious and personal to the firm: regulatory fines, loss of practising rights, and in extreme cases, criminal liability. The SRA is clear that if the required information is not provided, we must stop acting.

Why even gifts from family need ID checks

Another common surprise is that we must also verify the identity of anyone gifting money to a buyer — for example, parents helping with a deposit.

This is not about mistrust. From a legal perspective, a gifted deposit is still part of the funds used to purchase the property. That means we must:

• confirm who the giver is,
• verify their identity, and
• check that the money comes from a legitimate source.

Anyone contributing funds to a purchase is therefore relevant to the transaction, even if they are not named on the title.

The wider context: why verification matters

Property transactions are a known target for fraud and money laundering. Identity and source‑of‑funds checks are designed to protect the integrity of the system and everyone involved in it — including genuine buyers and sellers.

While these checks can feel repetitive, they are a legal safeguard rather than an administrative preference.

In summary

We appreciate that providing ID more than once feels frustrating. However:

• duplication is required by law,
• Regulation 39 does not remove a solicitor’s responsibility,
• solicitors generally cannot safely rely on other professionals’ checks,
• discretion is extremely limited, and
• anyone contributing funds must also be verified.

Our aim is to make the process as smooth and secure as possible — and to ensure your transaction can proceed safely, lawfully and without delay.