The Solicitors Regulation Authority has added two extra days to the time allowed for renewing practising certificates - but stated this will be the last extension.

The renewals process, due to finish the end of this month, will now close at 5pm on 2 March. The SRA has been beset by difficulties caused by the new mySRA online renewal system but said today this date will be the ‘final deadline’.

The authority repeated its ‘sincere apologies’ to solicitors who have struggled to access the new system and advised anyone who believes they won’t make the 2 March deadline to call its contact centre. The postponement of the closure date for online renewals means other regulatory deadlines have had to be moved back.

The process of registering compliance officers for legal practice (COLPs) and compliance officers for finance and administration (COFAs) - nominations for which were supposed to be in at the end of March - will take place later than planned, the SRA said.

The process to update the roll of all solicitors in England and Wales will also be delayed.