SRO: The Solicitors Remuneration Order and What It Sets

What this sro guide covers

SRO stands for Solicitors Remuneration Order, known in Malay as Perintah Saraan Peguamcara. It is the order that sets what a lawyer may charge for conveyancing work. That is why legal fees on a property purchase are not a price each firm sets on its own.

Is there an SRO 2026

No. The order in force is the Solicitors Remuneration Order 2023, effective 15 July 2023. People habitually append the current year when searching, so a search for SRO 2026 or SRO 2025 is pointing at the same order.

Before 2023 the governing instrument was the Solicitors Remuneration Order 2005 together with its 2017 amendment. If you come across an older scale in an article or an online calculator, check its publication date.

The scale under SRO 2023

The scale is tiered. Each band of value carries its own rate rather than one flat rate across the whole price.

The scale is applied twice on a financed purchase

This is what catches first time buyers out. If you are buying with a bank loan, the SRO scale is calculated twice, separately:

• Once on the property price, for the sale and purchase agreement and the transfer
• Once on the loan amount, for the loan documentation

Both use the same tiered scale but on different sums. Budget for only one and your estimate will be short.

What the SRO does not cover

The SRO sets professional fees only. It does not touch the other components that appear on your bill:

• Stamp duty. Set under the Stamp Act 1949 and paid to the Inland Revenue Board
• Service tax. Charged on the legal fee, not on the stamp duty
• Land office registration fees. For registering the transfer and the charge
• Disbursements. Official title search, bankruptcy search, courier, printing

That is why two quotes for the same property can look different. The SRO portion should be the same. What varies is usually whether the items above are shown or left out.

Can a lawyer give a discount

The SRO 2023 provides for discounts in certain circumstances. Which position applies depends on the type of transaction, so it should be confirmed for your own matter rather than assumed from a general article.

What can be said plainly: conveyancing fees are not something a firm sets freely, up or down. If someone quotes a fee far outside the scale, that itself is worth asking about.

Calculator

For figures on your own matter, the legal fee calculator takes the property price, loan margin, buyer status and location, then returns a full breakdown with the legal basis for each line.

For a full explanation of every cost component, see legal fees and stamp duty for property.

Frequently asked questions about sro