WIQS Explained: The Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme, and Why Lexcel Firms Start Ahead

WIQS is the Law Society’s quality mark for wills and estate administration work. Of the Law Society’s firm accreditations it is the least discussed, and it has a structure that catches firms out: a short desk-based assessment, an annual cycle rather than a three-year one, and a mandatory training deadline that starts running the day you are accredited.

This guide sets out what is published, and is explicit about what is not — because several things firms ask about are not on the public record.

What WIQS is

The Law Society describes WIQS as a best practice quality mark for wills and estate administration advice, and on its firm accreditations hub as the go-to quality mark for experts in drafting wills and managing estates, which helps minimise the risk of claims and safeguard a firm’s reputation.

Two documents supply the substance. The first is the Core Practice Management Standards, the practice management requirements shared across the Law Society’s firm schemes. The second is the Law Society’s Wills and Inheritance Protocol: scheme members must be able to demonstrate compliance with it, and adoption of the Protocol is a requirement of membership. The published Protocol includes the WIQS Client Service Charter, guidance and statutory extracts as appendices.

It applies to practices rather than individuals, and the Law Society sets no narrow eligibility test on the public pages.

The requirement that saves Lexcel and CQS firms most of the work

This is the single most useful fact about WIQS, and it is stated plainly on the Law Society’s own how-to-apply page: a practice will already meet the Core Practice Management Standards if it holds Lexcel or the Conveyancing Quality Scheme.

So for a Lexcel or CQS firm, WIQS reduces to the Protocol, the appointments and checks, and the training. For a firm with neither, the practice management standards are the bulk of the project. That changes the sequencing decision entirely: a private client firm thinking about both should usually do Lexcel first and WIQS second, not the other way round.

Note also that holding Lexcel or the Specialist Quality Mark is what a practice needs for a legal aid contract — covered in our guides to Lexcel and to the Specialist Quality Mark — so the practice management work is rarely wasted.

Appointments and checks

The application requires the practice to appoint a senior responsible officer, defined by the Law Society as the person accountable to it for making sure the practice complies with the scheme rules. A separate form is submitted for each additional relevant person.

Basic DBS checks are required for the senior responsible officer, the head of department and other relevant persons. An existing check is accepted if it is less than 12 months old when the application is received — which is the kind of detail that delays an application by a month if nobody checks the dates early.

The cycle: annual, not three-yearly

WIQS membership lasts for 12 months. Re-accreditation can be applied for up to six weeks before accreditation expires. That is a materially different rhythm from Lexcel, which runs on a three-year cycle with annual maintenance visits, and it means WIQS needs a diary entry every year rather than a project every third year.

Initial application takes around six to eight weeks, longer during periods of high volume or if information is missing.

Assessment is desk-based. The accreditation team assesses and reviews the application; the published pages describe no site visit and no file audit. Re-accreditation submission comprises the forms, the professional indemnity insurance certificate and a claims and notifications summary. Submission is by email, with large files sent separately.

The mandatory training deadline

This is where firms lose time. All relevant persons must complete mandatory training within six months of receiving confirmation of accreditation. On re-accreditation, all relevant persons must complete mandatory training again.

The clock therefore starts at accreditation, not at renewal, and a firm that treats the accreditation decision as the finish line has six months to discover otherwise. The Law Society’s own learning arm currently offers WIQS update courses in two streams — will drafting and estate administration — which suggests an annual update pattern, though the detail of what is mandatory is not published on the public pages (see the honest caveats below).

Two obligations that sit underneath WIQS and are worth aligning with it: the AML training requirements that apply to private client work through the Money Laundering Regulations, and the client care and conflicts duties covered in our guide to professional ethics, conflicts and client care.

What is not on the public record

Being straight about this matters more than filling the gap with a guess, so here is what we could not verify from Law Society sources:

• The numbered requirements of the WIQS standard itself. The Core Practice Management Standards document is linked from the how-to-apply page, but no Law Society-hosted copy was retrievable, and the only full text we could reach is a version headed for the Conveyancing Quality Scheme, which does not mention WIQS. We cannot confirm the two documents are identical.
• The current version number and date of the WIQS standard, the scheme rules and the Protocol. The published Protocol book dates from 2013; whether a later version exists is not stated on the scheme pages.
• Which specific courses are mandatory after accreditation, how many hours they involve, and precisely who counts as a relevant person.
• Whether re-accreditation involves any file sampling. The published pages describe only a documentary review.
• The fee schedule’s VAT basis. Fees are published, but whether the figures are inclusive or exclusive of VAT is presented inconsistently against the comparable scheme, so confirm the current figures with the Law Society rather than relying on a third-party summary.

Anyone planning a WIQS application should get the current scheme rules and the mandatory training list directly from the Law Society. The scheme is small enough that secondary summaries go stale quietly.

Frequently asked questions

How long does WIQS accreditation last?

Twelve months. Re-accreditation can be applied for up to six weeks before expiry.

Is there an assessment visit?

The published pages describe a desk-based assessment of the application by the accreditation team, with no site visit or file audit.

Do we need Lexcel first?

No, but it helps substantially. The Law Society states that a practice already meets the Core Practice Management Standards if it holds Lexcel or the Conveyancing Quality Scheme.

When does the mandatory training have to be done?

Within six months of receiving confirmation of accreditation, and again once re-accredited.

Who needs a DBS check?

The senior responsible officer, the head of department and other relevant persons. A basic check is required, and an existing one is accepted if less than 12 months old when the application is received.

How long does the application take?

Around six to eight weeks, longer at busy times or if information is missing.

Making the training part straightforward

WIQS’s training obligation is a deadline rather than an hours target, and the practical risk is simply missing it across a dispersed private client team. Learnsignal builds CPD and compliance training for professional firms with completion reporting you can produce on request rather than reconstruct. If you are preparing an application or a renewal, explore our CPD courses or see pricing for teams. The reconciliation and client money duties that run alongside private client work are covered in our guide to the SRA Accounts Rules.