Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme

What it is

The Law Society's own WIQS page states, verbatim: "Our Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQS) accreditation is a best practice quality mark for wills and estate administration advice."

Eligibility is drawn tightly around two services at once. The owner's page lists practices which, verbatim, "offer both wills and probate/estate administration advice" and "are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)".

The requirements sit in one named document. The owner states, verbatim: "You must be able to demonstrate compliance with the Wills and Inheritance Protocol (PDF 360 KB). This may involve amending existing policies to meet the requirements." That protocol was not opened for this record, so its contents are not reproduced here.

The application steps the owner's page lists are appointing a senior responsible officer (SRO) and submitting an application form.

The owner states the timescale, verbatim: "approximately six to eight weeks".

The training deadline is counted from the accreditation, not from the application. The owner states, verbatim: "All relevant persons must complete mandatory training within six months of the date that your practice receives confirmation of accreditation."

The cycle is annual. The owner states, verbatim: "Membership of the accreditation lasts for 12 months." and "You should apply to be re-accredited up to six weeks before your accreditation expires."

Fees are split into an application fee and a membership fee, with one component calculated per SRO and relevant staff member, separate rates for sole practitioners and other practices, and separate rates for a first application and for re-accreditation. The owner states, verbatim: "Application fees are non-refundable." This record reproduces no fee figures.

The owner points to its own register of holders. Its WIQS page states, verbatim: "Find solicitors with WIQS accreditation using our Find a Solicitor website." and links a Find a Solicitor search filtered by accreditation.

Two further conditions sit on the owner's how-to-apply page. On checks, verbatim: "The SRO, head of department and other relevant persons will need to apply for a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check." and "your application will be refused if you fail to complete the process"; an existing check is accepted if it is less than 12 months old. On submission, verbatim: "Submit your application by email" and "Do not send files larger than 18 MB." — unlike CQS, whose own page states it no longer accepts applications by email or post.

Who owns it

The Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme is owned by the Law Society of England and Wales, which publishes the Wills and Inheritance Protocol the scheme is built on, sets the application and membership fees and grants the accreditation. The owner's page carried its own date stamp of 22 August 2025 when it was opened on 2 September 2026.

Who assesses it

The Law Society assesses applications itself. Its how-to-apply page states, at its final step, verbatim: "Our accreditation team will assess and review your application."

Validity

The Law Society states: "Membership of the accreditation lasts for 12 months." It adds: "You should apply to be re-accredited up to six weeks before your accreditation expires."