Lawyers' monthly and quarterly certificates
Regulation 17, Lawyers and Conveyancers (Trust Account) Regulations 2008
To file your monthly and quarterly Trust Account certificates online:
- Register for online filing using this form. We will send you a password and further instructions.
- If you are already registered, you can file here.
If you are still using paper certificates, please include your firm name, address and the individual identification code allotted to you on the original forms sent from Regulatory Services.
Completed paper forms should be faxed to the Inspectorate on 04 463 2984.
Please do not send additional copies if you have faxed or filed online.
Monthly certificates
Monthly certificates are due in by the 10th business day of the following month, except in January when they are due by the 15th business day. You can download a blank master certificate here.
Do not send attachments such as reconciliations or lists of balances when you file your certificate.
If you have an inadvertent overdraw in the trust account:
- if it was due to lawyer or staff error and has since been remedied, write 'NO' under Item 5 on the monthly certificate with a very brief explanation. No separate letter is necessary.
- if it was due to an error on the part of a bank or another law firm, and has since been remedied, the trust account itself is in order and no exception need be noted.
Quarterly certificates
The other periodic certificate required is the quarterly certificate, required from all practices at the end of March, June, September and December of each year.
Certificates are due by the 10th business day of the following month, except in January when the deadline is the 15th working day for filing the December quarterly certificate. The certificate briefly summarises the scale of the lending operation and any loans in default. You can download a blank master certificate here.
If there are no such loans, answer only Question 1.
Processing paper certificates
Please send certificates by fax, where possible:
- Do not add cover sheets
- Do not mail a duplicate certificate. Certifying twice can cause confusion - faxing is reliable and we can confirm your transmission from the fax record if any doubts arise.
More information about certificates is available here.
Updating records
If there is a merger of practices, start of a new practice, or other reorganisation following dissolution of a partnership (but not admissions or retirements of partners where the practice continues otherwise unchanged), please update our record of your firm.
If notifying the New Zealand Law Society, please:
- quote your firm's ID, as shown on the certificate
- indicate whether or not your practice continues under the same name and at the same address(es)
- indicate any change to TAS appointments.
Your firm's name, address and individual identification code must be included with all certificates in order for us to process them.
The Financial Assurance Scheme certification programme helps alert NZLS Inspectorate at an early stage to any compliance problems. It's in your interest to ensure that certificates are correctly completed and promptly lodged.