A professional clearance letter is the letter a new accountant sends to a client’s existing accountant, with the client’s permission, asking whether there is any reason they should not take on the work and requesting the information needed to carry on. The professional bodies call this a professional enquiry, and the decision to accept the client always rests with the new accountant, not the old one. Done well, it protects you from inheriting problems and gives you what you need to meet the client’s next deadlines.
What is professional clearance?
When a client moves from one accountant to another, the incoming firm contacts the outgoing firm before accepting the appointment. The aim is to find out about anything that might affect the decision to act, such as unresolved irregularities, and to arrange the handover of information.
“Professional clearance” is the name most practices use, but ICAEW calls it a misnomer. Its guidance for outgoing accountants explains that the existing accountant has no authority to give or withhold clearance or permission to act. They answer an enquiry; you make the decision.
What the professional bodies say
The rules sit in each body’s code of ethics, which follow the international code. For ICAEW members, section 320 of the Code of Ethics covers changes in professional appointment, and ICAEW publishes separate helpsheets for incoming accountants and outgoing accountants. ACCA’s Code of Ethics and Conduct adopts the international code and, since 1 July 2025, adds its own requirements on professional appointments in section B15, as its guidance factsheet explains.
For AAT licensed members, the AAT Client Care Policy says that, as a matter of good professional practice, a member who has disengaged from a client should, with the client’s consent, correspond on request with the client’s new accountant.
Confidentiality runs through all of this. Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT), which applies to tax advisers in the main UK bodies and was updated from 1 January 2026, confirms that a member may only disclose client information without consent where there is an express legal or professional right or duty to do so. That is why the client’s written permission comes first.
What the new adviser should do
ICAEW’s incoming accountant helpsheet sets out a simple sequence:
- Explain to the prospective client that you need to contact their existing accountant, and ask for their authority, preferably in writing.
- Ask the client to tell their existing accountant about the change and authorise them to cooperate with you.
- Write to the existing accountant asking them to tell you about anything that might affect your decision, or to confirm there is nothing, and list the handover information you need.
Run your own client acceptance checks alongside this. The enquiry does not replace customer due diligence under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, which applies when you establish a new business relationship. Our client onboarding guide covers how the enquiry fits with ID checks, engagement letters and agent authorisation.
ICAEW’s guidance also says you must not ask the existing accountant whether they have reported suspicions of money laundering. They could not answer without risking the offence of tipping off.
Checklist: information to request
The exact list depends on the services you are taking on. These are common items to ask for:
| Area | Information to request |
|---|---|
| Professional matters | Any reason you should not accept the appointment, or confirmation there is none |
| Accounts | Last signed accounts, trial balance, working papers needed for opening balances, fixed asset register |
| Corporation tax | Last CT600 and computations, capital allowance pools, losses carried forward |
| Self Assessment | Last returns and computations, payments on account, losses and capital gains base costs |
| VAT | VAT scheme, return periods, last returns filed and any open queries |
| Payroll | Payroll year to date figures, pension scheme details and the last submissions made |
| HMRC matters | Open enquiries, disputes, time to pay arrangements and recent correspondence |
| Deadlines | Work in progress, anything due soon and what the old firm will finish before leaving |
| Records | Any original client records still held by the old firm |
Keep the request proportionate. Asking for everything the old firm has ever produced slows the reply down and may go beyond what they need to give you.
What the old adviser must and need not provide
ICAEW’s outgoing accountant helpsheet, updated in October 2025 for the revised Code of Ethics, is clear on the main points.
The old adviser should
- get the client’s consent before replying;
- respond promptly, saying either that there are no relevant matters or giving details of them (it is not enough to say unspecified matters exist);
- be honest and unambiguous;
- deal promptly with reasonable requests to transfer records;
- provide information where its absence might harm the client’s interests and the client cannot provide it themselves.
The old adviser need not
- give a substantive reply if the client refuses consent, although they should tell you consent was refused;
- repeat information they have already given to the client;
- disclose whether they have made a suspicious activity report;
- work for free on large requests, as charging may be reasonable for things like retrieving archived files.
Unpaid fees are not a reason to ignore a professional enquiry. The old firm may mention the debt in its reply, and may in some cases hold records under a lien, but it must still respond.
How long should you wait for a reply?
None of the bodies sets a fixed response time for the outgoing accountant; the requirement is to respond promptly. ICAEW’s incoming accountant helpsheet gives a practical route if nothing comes back:
- Chase the existing accountant, including by phone.
- If there is still no reply after a reasonable period, which ICAEW suggests might be 14 to 30 days, write again by a trackable method such as recorded delivery. Say that you intend to accept the appointment unless you hear back within a set, reasonable period. ICAEW says anything under two weeks is unlikely to be reasonable.
- If there is still no response, you may assume there is no adverse comment, but you still need to take other reasonable steps to satisfy yourself before accepting.
Other steps can include checking the professional body’s register, searching online and asking the client directly whether any regulatory or legal matters are ongoing. Note what you did and when on the client file.
How professional clearance fits into onboarding
The enquiry is one step in taking on a new client, and it works best when it runs alongside the others rather than after them:
- proposal agreed and client consent to contact the old firm obtained;
- AML checks started;
- professional clearance letter sent and logged;
- HMRC agent authorisation requested;
- engagement letter issued and signed;
- handover information received and deadlines added to your workflow.
Give the enquiry a follow-up date when you send it, so it does not sit unanswered while a deadline gets closer.
Frequently asked questions
Is professional clearance a legal requirement?
It is a professional requirement rather than a statutory one. The ethics codes of ICAEW and ACCA set out the procedure, and AAT expects its members to cooperate with new accountants when a client consents.
Can the old accountant refuse clearance?
No. The existing accountant cannot give or withhold permission to act. They can only tell you about relevant matters, and the decision to accept is yours.
Can I start work before I get a reply?
You should be satisfied that it is proper to act before accepting the appointment. If the reply is slow, follow the chasing steps above and record them, rather than starting work on assumptions.
Can the old accountant hold back records over unpaid fees?
Outstanding fees do not justify ignoring the enquiry. A lien over records may apply in limited circumstances, and AAT members can only exercise one if their engagement letter allows it.
How Engager helps
Engager includes professional clearance letters, so you can send the enquiry to the outgoing accountant as part of taking on a client, alongside proposals, letters of engagement and client onboarding forms.
AML checks run through integrations with Xama and Armalytix, and you can request HMRC 64-8 agent authorisation from the client record. Engager is part of TaxCalc and used by over 2,000 UK firms.
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