Guide
Conveyancing fees in Scotland: a different system, not a variation
Updated
Scotland is not England with different words. The point at which you are committed, the way offers are made and the tax you pay are all different, and each of the three catches people who have bought before.
What Scottish firms publish for a purchase
Three Scottish firms we read on 22 October 2026 publish a fixed legal fee for buying a home of £650, £850 and £1,000, each plus VAT, and itemise the outlays on top: dues to Registers of Scotland for registering the title and any mortgage, and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
| Firm | What the firm publishes | Legal fee | Outlays the firm itemises | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David C Clapham | Fixed fee for buying a home, with an example purchase at £160,000 part-funded by a mortgage | £650 plus VAT of £130 | £370 to Registers of Scotland for the title, £70 for the mortgage, £20 for the advance notice, and £300 of LBTT | David C Clapham, price transparency for clients (read 22 October 2026) |
| Innes Johnston | Fixed fee for purchasing an average-value house, between £100,000 and £150,000 | £850 plus VAT of £170 | £260 to Registers of Scotland for registering the title and £20 for an advance notice | Innes Johnston, our costs: conveyancing (read 22 October 2026) |
| Your Conveyancer | Example costs for a purchase at £200,000 | £1,000 plus VAT of £200 | £400 registration dues for the disposition, £80 for the lender's standard security, £20 for an advance notice, and £1,100 of LBTT | Your Conveyancer, purchase and sale fees (read 22 October 2026) |
These are three firms' own published figures, not an average for Scotland. Scottish firms are not bound by the SRA Transparency Rules, so many publish nothing; ask any firm for the same breakdown in writing.
Missives, not exchange
A Scottish purchase concludes through missives, an exchange of formal letters between the solicitors, and the contract becomes binding when the missives are concluded. There is no separate exchange of contracts in the English sense.
The practical consequence is that commitment arrives earlier in the process than an English buyer expects, so surveys, funding and title questions have to be resolved before the offer rather than after it.
The solicitor makes the offer
In Scotland the solicitor is commonly involved in making the offer itself, rather than being instructed once a price has been agreed with an agent.
That means you choose a solicitor earlier, and it means the offer is a legal document with conditions in it from the start rather than a number passed between agents.
A different tax and a different registry
Scottish residential purchases pay Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, not stamp duty, and it has its own bands and its own additional dwelling supplement. The stamp duty figures on this site do not apply to a Scottish transaction.
Registration is with Registers of Scotland rather than HM Land Registry, on its own fee scale.
| Purchase price | LBTT rate on that portion | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £145,000 | 0% | Revenue Scotland, LBTT residential property |
| £145,001 to £250,000 | 2% | Revenue Scotland, LBTT residential property |
| £250,001 to £325,000 | 5% | Revenue Scotland, LBTT residential property |
| £325,001 to £750,000 | 10% | Revenue Scotland, LBTT residential property |
| Over £750,000 | 12% | Revenue Scotland, LBTT residential property |
Revenue Scotland says first-time buyers relief raises the nil rate band to £175,000, a saving of up to £600, and that a return is needed for most residential purchases of £40,000 or more even where no tax is due. The additional dwelling supplement for buying a further home is charged on top and is not shown here.
Source: Revenue Scotland, LBTT residential property (read 22 October 2026)
Different regulator, different ombudsman
Scottish solicitors are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland, and complaints go to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission rather than to the Legal Ombudsman.
The SRA Transparency Rules do not apply, so the published-price advantage that makes English firms comparable is not there. Ask for the same breakdown anyway: total fee, VAT, outlays itemised, and the stages. A firm that will not provide it in writing has answered a different question.