Frequently Asked Questions

KanunSetu is an online legal advisory marketplace that connects clients with Bar-Council-verified advocates across India. You can search by city, practice area, language and budget; book a 30?60 minute consultation; pay securely; and meet over chat, audio, or video ? all from one place.

Anyone in India who needs a legal consultation ? individuals, families, small business owners, NRIs, and startups. We focus on direct client?advocate sessions; we are not a law firm and we do not represent you in court ourselves.

Yes. Creating a customer account is free and takes under a minute. You only pay when you book a consultation ? the advocate's hourly rate plus a small platform booking fee, both shown upfront before checkout.

You need to be logged in to view the full advocate list and book a consultation. This protects advocates from scraping and helps us recommend better matches over time.

Both work. You can register with email + password (and verify your phone via Firebase OTP), use Mobile-OTP-only sign-in, or sign in with Google. Whichever method you pick, you can add the others later from Settings.

Open an advocate's profile, pick an available date and time slot, choose the consultation mode (chat / audio / video), and pay. The advocate is notified instantly. The booking shows in your "My Bookings" page and you can join the consultation when the slot starts.

A standard slot is 60 minutes. Some advocates also offer shorter 30-minute consultations for follow-ups. The slot length is shown on the advocate's availability calendar.

There is no minimum lead time ? you can book a slot starting a few minutes from now if the advocate has it open. Slots remain bookable until 30 minutes after their scheduled start, so a 14:00 slot stays open until 14:30.

Yes. If you cancel 6 or more hours before the slot starts, the consultation fee is automatically refunded to your original payment method (the small platform booking fee is non-refundable). Cancellations within 6 hours of the slot are not eligible for a refund.

A confirmed booking whose slot end time has passed without being marked complete is labelled "Missed". Refunds for missed sessions are handled on a case-by-case basis ? write to support@kanunsetu.com with your booking id.

Yes. Inside the consultation chat there's a paperclip button that lets you upload PDFs, Word/Excel files, images, plain text, CSV and ZIP archives (up to 50 MB). All uploads are encrypted at rest and only you and the advocate on the booking can open them. Images preview inline in chat.

Payments go through Razorpay. We support UPI, debit and credit cards, net-banking and major wallets. The total at checkout is the advocate's consultation fee plus a small platform booking fee, both shown clearly before you pay.

Eligible refunds (cancellations 6+ hours before the slot) are initiated automatically the moment you cancel. Razorpay typically credits the original payment method within 5?7 business days.

The booking fee covers payment processing, secure chat / video infrastructure, and the operating cost of running the marketplace. It is fixed (currently ?50) and shown separately at checkout. It is non-refundable on cancellations.

Yes. Each verified advocate sets their hourly rate, which is shown on their profile and on the booking page. KanunSetu retains a 15% commission from the advocate's earnings; the rest is paid out to them after the consultation completes and the platform reviews the payout.

Every advocate provides their State Bar Council registration number when registering. Our admin team manually checks the registration documents and bar registration before activating the profile. Only verified profiles appear in search results, and a "Verified" badge is shown next to their name.

Click "Register" on the homepage, pick the Advocate role, and complete the profile (bar registration number, experience, hourly rate, practice areas, bio, and bank details for payouts). Upload a clear scan of your bar enrolment certificate. Our team reviews and verifies new profiles within 1?2 working days.

After a consultation completes, a payout is created and queued for admin approval. Once approved, the consultation fee minus the platform commission is transferred to the bank account on the advocate's profile. We currently process payouts via NEFT/IMPS based on the bank details provided.

Yes. After a consultation ends, you can submit a 1?5 star rating and a written review. Reviews show on the advocate's public profile and influence how they rank in search results. Please keep reviews factual and respectful.

Yes. Chat messages and documents shared in the consultation are visible only to you and the advocate on that specific booking. Documents are encrypted at rest using AES-256 and are scanned at upload to block malicious files.

Passwords are hashed with bcrypt (strength 12). Phone numbers and email changes are gated behind OTP verification. All API traffic uses HTTPS. We never store payment card details ? those go directly to Razorpay.

Email support@kanunsetu.com immediately. We can suspend the account, force a logout across all devices, and help you reset credentials. If you suspect fraudulent payments, also raise a dispute with Razorpay through your bank.

Go to Settings ? Account. Phone changes are OTP-gated (you'll receive a code on the new number). Email changes send a 6-digit code to the new address; the change takes effect once you enter the code (within 10 minutes).

You can request account deletion by writing to support@kanunsetu.com from your registered email. We will retain transactional records (bookings, payments, payouts) as required by law and tax regulations, but personal identifiers will be removed from active use.

On the login page click "Forgot password". You'll be asked for your registered phone number. After verifying with a Firebase OTP, you can set a new password without needing the old one.