Fidelity Fund Certificate

Fidelity Fund Certificate applications

All active legal practitioners practising as either directors/partners/sole practitioners, including Advocates practising in terms of s34(2)(b), are required to be in possession of a valid Fidelity Fund Certificates (FFC).

Fidelity Fund Certificates – Public Member Section

What a Fidelity Fund Certificate is

The Fidelity Fund Certificate Application Forms were gazetted on 20 July 2018.

All active legal practitioners practising as either directors/partners/sole practitioners, including Advocates practising in terms of s34(2)(b), are required to be in possession of a valid Fidelity Fund Certificates (FFC). A fidelity fund certificate is valid for a year, from January to December of a year.

The Legal Practice Council (LPC) issues these certificates annually to legal practitioners through an online system provided by the Legal Practitioner’s Fidelity Fund (the Fund), except for Advocates who are still required to complete and submit their applications to the LPC manually until further notice.

Legal practitioners applying for the FFCs are required to make a contribution for an amount of R345.00 to the LPC before they can be issued with a certificate.

The online application system receives information directly from the LPC through an interface between the system and the LPC’s systems. Legal practitioners should therefore ensure correctness of the information provided to the LPC, including informing the LPC of any changes to already provided information.

Legal practitioners, with the exception of Advocates, requiring to apply for their FFCs can access the online system from any computer system, smartphone, tablet, ipad, etc by typing: https://ffc.fidfund.co.za. Legal practitioners should note that the system operates on any web browser, except for Internet Explorer versions 8.0 or lower. While the system works well with others, it is advisable to use Chrome or Firefox for the best experience.

Legal practitioners not required to hold Fidelity Fund Certificates

The following categories of legal practitioners are not required to hold Fidelity Fund Certificates, but should be in the employ of or in association with a legal practitioner who holds a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate:

  1. Professional Assistants
  2. Candidate Attorneys
  3. Associates

APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND GUIDELINES

Legal practitioners, with the exception of Advocates, requiring to apply for their FFCs can access the online system from any computer system, smartphone, tablet, iPad, etc by clicking the below link:

https://ffc.fidfund.co.za.

Legal practitioners should note that the system operates on any web browser, except for Internet Explorer versions 8.0 or lower. While the system works well with others, it is advisable to use Chrome or Firefox for the best experience.

THE VALIDITY PERIOD

The validity period of a Fidelity Fund Certificate

A Fidelity Fund Certificate is valid for a period of a year from 01 January (or from date of issuance if issued after 01 January) to 31 December of the year for which it was issued.  The Fidelity Fund Certificate remains valid for the year for which it was issued unless it gets withdrawn by the Legal Practice Council.

ISSUANCE OF THE FIDELITY CERTIFICATE

Fidelity Fund Certificates are issued throughout the year for the eligible period/s. This allows for legal practitioners who practice for own account for the first time during the year to apply for the remainder of that year. Fidelity Fund Certificates are not issued retrospectively.

The application period for a Fidelity Fund Certificate to already practicing legal practitioners opens on 01 October; and legal practitioners are required to have applied by 01 December of that year for the following year.

WHO ISSUES THE FIDELITY FUND CERTIFICATE TO LEGAL PRACTITIONERS

The Legal Practice Council, as the Regulator of the profession, issues the Fidelity Fund Certificates to legal practitioners

WITHDRAWL OF A FIDELITY FUND CERTIFICATE

A Fidelity Fund Certificate can be withdrawn by the Legal Practice Council where the holder of the certificate is found to no longer fulfil the requirements to be in possession of one.  This includes instances where a legal practitioner is found to be unfit due to misconduct or being unethical.

HOW TO VERIFY VALIDITY OF A FIDELITY FUND CERTIFICATE

You can verify the validity of a Fidelity Fund Certificate by contacting the Provincial Office of the Legal Practice Council where the legal practitioner operates and enquiring on the status of the legal practitioner.

You can also verify the Fidelity Fund Certificate status of a legal practitioner that you wish to source legal services from using a public verification portal/website at https://ffc.fidfund.co.za/verification/

This portal allows you to search by:

  • the Fidelity Fund Certificate number,
  • the name of the legal practitioner,
  • the ID number of the legal practitioner,
  • the practitioner number with the Legal Practice Council,
  • the legal practice name, or
  • the legal practice number with the Legal Practice Council

HOW TO VERIFY VALIDITY OF A FIDELITY CERTIFICATE

You can verify the validity of a Fidelity Fund Certificate by contacting the Provincial Office of the Legal Practice Council where the legal practitioner operates and enquiring on the status of the legal practitioner.
You can also verify the Fidelity Fund Certificate status of a legal practitioner that you wish to source legal services from using a public verification portal/website at https://ffc.fidfund.co.za/verification/
This portal allows you to search by:

  • the Fidelity Fund Certificate number,
  • the name of the legal practitioner,
  • the ID number of the legal practitioner,
  • the practitioner number with the Legal Practice Council,
  • the legal practice name, or
  • the legal practice number with the Legal Practice Council

HOW TO SATISY YOURSELF THAT THE RESULTS ARE FOR TJE CORRECT LEGAL PRACTITIONER

Once you have entered your preferred search option, the results will indicate the status of the current certificate, previously issued certificates, and allow you to search further to see the legal practices that the legal practitioner is linked to

Right to ask a legal practitioner for his/her Fidelity Fund Certificate

It is within your rights to ask your chosen legal practitioner to produce a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate before engaging his/her services.  It is also advisable to regularly verify the validity of that certificate while continuing to use their services to ensure that it was not withdrawn at any point.

Should you discover that the legal practitioner providing you a service no longer holds a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate while servicing you, you are advised to terminate his/her services/appointment because the Fund may not entertain a claim arising after the certificate was withdrawn and information to that effect published on the public verification portal/website.

WHO CAN I CONTACT FOR ASSISTANCE IN MY PROVINCE?

Contact details of the Provincial Offices of the Legal Practice Council

Refunds to Practitioners

Practitioners are entitled to reclaim from the Fund (via their Law Society) their trust account bank charges and the cost of their trust audit fees.