Lawtech Grant Competition Phase III
Ministry of Justice
Award
£3.61m – £3.62m
Total fund Up to £3.62m
Deadline
Closes in 3 days (26 August 2026)
Where
UK-wide
Summary
The programme supports innovation in legal services by accelerating the development and adoption of lawtech across England and Wales. It also supports the government’s ambition to maintain the UK’s position as a world-leading legal centre by promoting innovation, improving access to legal services and strengthening the international competitiveness of English and Welsh law. Lawtech refers to technology that supports, supplements or transforms the delivery of legal services. Examples include artificial intelligence tools that help individuals understand their legal rights, software that automates routine legal processes, digital dispute resolution platforms and technologies that improve the efficiency and accessibility of legal services.
Who can apply
This competition is open to applications from UK-based registered entities. Applicants may take the form of sole legal entities or may wish to combine to form consortia, joint ventures (JVs), unincorporated associations or partnerships. Consortia will need to specify their lead applicant. Individual organisations are not permitted to apply as part of more than one consortium. Specific eligibility criteria for the competition are below: Applicant(s) must be registered corporate entities and have a significant UK presence. Public sector organisations are not eligible to receive this funding. Individual people are not eligible applicants. All awards will be made subject to successful due diligence checks. Such checks will include, but not be limited to, a review of financial statements to ensure financial viability, a review of proposed governance structures, adverse media checks and legal entity checks. MoJ reserves the right to take account of other factors that have a bearing on a bidder’s suitability. Additional guidance for applicants who put forward a joint approach can be found in the invitation to application. Funding will be awarded subject to successful due diligence checks.
Full details
Introduction The programme supports innovation in legal services by accelerating the development and adoption of lawtech across England and Wales. It also supports the government’s ambition to maintain the UK’s position as a world-leading legal centre by promoting innovation, improving access to legal services and strengthening the international competitiveness of English and Welsh law.We are seeking to award a grant of up to £3.62 million to a successful applicant to deliver the next phase of the programme from November 2026 to March 2029.Lawtech refers to technology that supports, supplements or transforms the delivery of legal services. Examples include artificial intelligence tools that help individuals understand their legal rights, software that automates routine legal processes, digital dispute resolution platforms and technologies that improve the efficiency and accessibility of legal services.The legal technology sector has developed rapidly in recent years, particularly following advances in artificial intelligence. Continued innovation is essential to ensuring that the UK legal services sector remains internationally competitive, meets the changing needs of businesses and consumers, and improves access to justice.This competition builds on the progress made through previous phases of the LawtechUK programme and seeks to support the continued growth of the UK’s legal technology ecosystem.Full information on the objectives of the grant, eligibility requirements and application process is set out below.If you would like to learn more about the competition or how to engage with the Ministry of Justice as a potential applicant, you can register for one of our bidder engagement events or contact us at MoJLawtechgrant3@justice.gov.uk Guidance for potential bidders For further guidance please see this Questions and Answers for potential bidders (PDF, 267 KB, 17 pages).