Condition 6.8.2 of the Law Society's Standard Conditions of Sale (5th edition, 2018 revision) requires completion within ten working days after a notice to complete is given. The day on which the notice is given is not counted.
Before counting the ten days, confirm that the signed contract uses that condition without changing it. Then establish the date on which the notice is treated as given. This guide explains the calculation under the standard terms for residential conveyancing in England and Wales, checked on 7 October 2026.
Check the signed contract first
The Law Society publishes a specimen fifth edition. Condition 1.1.4 allows the contract to vary or exclude the standard terms, so check what the signed contract incorporates before calculating the period.
Four points are relevant to the calculation:
| What to confirm | Where to find it |
|---|---|
| The edition of the Standard Conditions of Sale | Which edition the signed contract says it uses |
| Any change to the notice or working-day provisions | The contract particulars and special conditions |
| Whether condition 6.8.1 permits a notice to be given | The incorporated condition and the transaction facts |
| The date on which the notice is treated as given | The contractual notice provisions and evidence of receipt |
Under the specimen conditions, condition 6.8.1 permits a party who is ready, able and willing to complete to give notice after the relevant time on the completion date. Check the contract and the facts to confirm whether those requirements are met and that the notice may be given before entering the dates in the calculator.
Establish when the notice is treated as given
The time at which an email was sent is not necessarily the contractual notice date. Under condition 1.3, a notice must be in writing, and a notice given to a party's conveyancer is treated as given to that party.
Condition 1.3 generally treats a notice as given when it is received, with rules for when receipt is treated as occurring. A notice received after 4pm on a working day is treated as received on the next working day. The same applies to a notice received at any time on a non-working day. Where receipt has not been proved, the specimen conditions set dates for treating notices sent by post, document exchange, fax and email as received. Check those provisions and your evidence before choosing the date.
Once you know the effective notice date, use it as the calculator start date and exclude it from the count.
Apply the contract's definition of a working day
Condition 1.1.1 defines a working day as Monday to Friday, excluding Christmas Day, Good Friday and statutory bank holidays.
For an unamended SCS calculation, select England and Wales in the calculator. The UK bank-holiday comparison lists the dates that differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland. A related transaction elsewhere in the UK does not change the calendar incorporated into this contract.
Do not add a general Christmas shutdown. The standard definition excludes the specified holidays, but it does not exclude every day on which a conveyancer's office may choose to close. Add another closure only if the contract makes it part of the working-day calculation.
Example: a notice given before Christmas
Assume that:
- the signed contract incorporates the fifth edition, 2018 revision without changing conditions 1.1, 1.3 or 6.8;
- condition 6.8.1 permits the notice to be given; and
- the notice is treated as given on Thursday 17 December 2026.
Exclude the notice date and count ten England and Wales working days, with no additional shutdown. The result is Tuesday 5 January 2027:
| Day | Date |
|---|---|
| 1 | Friday 18 December 2026 |
| 2 | Monday 21 December 2026 |
| 3 | Tuesday 22 December 2026 |
| 4 | Wednesday 23 December 2026 |
| 5 | Thursday 24 December 2026 |
| 6 | Tuesday 29 December 2026 |
| 7 | Wednesday 30 December 2026 |
| 8 | Thursday 31 December 2026 |
| 9 | Monday 4 January 2027 |
| 10 | Tuesday 5 January 2027 |
The calculation excludes the notice date, the weekends, Christmas Day on 25 December, the Boxing Day substitute bank holiday on Monday 28 December and New Year's Day on Friday 1 January.
Open the ten-working-day example in the calculator.
Use the result calendar to check each skipped holiday against the contract, then download the date and settings as a PDF for the transaction file.
For the full setup and result walkthrough, see the notice-to-complete use case. The counting settings guide explains the controls.
What the calculated date means
The result answers the date question once the contract terms and effective notice date are established. It cannot determine whether the notice is valid or what remedies follow from a failure to complete. Those questions require the signed contract and the transaction facts.
Payment cutoffs and arrangements for cleared funds may require action before the calculated date. An office closure does not extend the ten-day count unless the contract changes the relevant terms.
Sources
- Law Society, Standard Conditions of Sale, specimen fifth edition, 2018 revision; conditions 1.1, 1.3 and 6.8 checked 7 October 2026
- Law Society, Conveyancing Protocol, including the warning that not every standard condition suits every transaction
- GOV.UK, transferring ownership, the England and Wales contract, exchange and completion overview
- GOV.UK, bank holidays for the England and Wales dates used in the worked example
