SQE Exam: The Complete Study Guide for Aspiring Solicitors 2026 June

The sqe exam — formally known as the Solicitors Qualifying Examination — is the centralised assessment that every aspiring solicitor in England and Wales must pass to qualify. Introduced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in September 2021, it replaced the old Legal Practice Course and Graduate Diploma in Law pathway, creating a single, standardised benchmark that all candidates must meet regardless of which law school or training provider they use. Understanding what the exam involves is the essential first step toward building an effective preparation strategy.

The examination is split into two distinct stages: SQE1 and SQE2. SQE1 tests functioning legal knowledge through two sittings of 180 multiple-choice questions each, covering the full breadth of substantive and procedural law a solicitor encounters in practice. SQE2 tests practical legal skills — client interviewing, legal research, legal drafting, case and matter analysis, and advocacy — assessed through a series of oral and written tasks conducted at authorised assessment centres across the country.

Candidates are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds. Some hold qualifying law degrees, others come through non-law graduate routes and complete a conversion programme, and a growing number are paralegals, legal executives, or career changers who bring years of workplace experience to the table. The SQE is deliberately designed to accommodate this diversity: there is no mandatory prior course, meaning you have genuine freedom to choose how you study, at what pace, and with which provider — or independently, if you prefer.

Preparation timelines vary considerably. Full-time students typically spend six to twelve months preparing for SQE1 alone, while part-time candidates juggling work commitments often spread preparation across twelve to eighteen months. SQE2 preparation adds another three to six months on top of that. Building a realistic, structured schedule from the outset — one that maps specific subjects to specific weeks and includes regular practice testing — dramatically improves your chances of passing both stages on the first attempt.

Pass rates matter when you are deciding how seriously to take preparation. Since the examination launched, roughly half of all candidates pass SQE1 on any given sitting, and SQE2 pass rates sit in a broadly similar range. These figures underline that the exam is genuinely challenging: broad in scope, demanding in depth, and unforgiving of patchy revision. Candidates who treat it like an undergraduate exam and cram in the final weeks consistently underperform those who sustain steady, cumulative revision throughout their preparation period.

Cost is a real consideration for most candidates. The SQE1 assessment fee is £1,798 and the SQE2 fee is £2,422, meaning the examination itself costs well over £4,000 before you factor in preparation courses, study materials, living costs during study, or resit fees. Many training providers offer preparatory courses that range from a few hundred pounds for online question banks up to £15,000 or more for comprehensive, tutor-led programmes. Understanding the full financial picture helps you budget realistically and choose preparation resources that deliver genuine value.

This guide walks you through every dimension of SQE preparation: exam format, subject coverage, scoring, costs, study strategies, common pitfalls, and the practical steps you need to take from registration through to results day. Whether you are just beginning to research the qualification or you are weeks away from your first sitting, the information that follows will help you prepare with confidence and purpose.

The SQE1 exam tests what the SRA calls Functioning Legal Knowledge — the substantive legal rules and procedural frameworks that a newly qualified solicitor must be able to apply from day one. The subject list is broad and deliberately so: solicitors encounter an enormous range of legal issues in practice, and the SRA wants to ensure that every qualified solicitor has at least a working knowledge of each area before they are permitted to advise clients unsupervised.

Sitting 1 covers Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Criminal Law and Practice, Property Practice, and Solicitors Accounts Rules. Sitting 2 covers Wills and Administration of Estates, Solicitors Accounts (continued), Land Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, Legal Services, and Equity and Trusts.

Each of the 180 questions in a sitting presents a realistic client scenario or legal problem and asks the candidate to select the best answer from five options. There is no negative marking, which means you should never leave a question blank — an educated guess is always worth attempting.

The questions are not designed to trick you with absurdly obscure law; they are designed to test whether you can apply well-established legal principles accurately and quickly under timed conditions. Speed matters: with 180 questions in 150 minutes, you have an average of fifty seconds per question, and some questions take longer than others to read and analyse.

Effective SQE1 preparation requires a different approach from traditional law school revision. Because the exam is entirely multiple-choice, you need to practise answering MCQs from the very start of your preparation — not just read notes and then attempt questions at the end. Each practice question you answer, regardless of whether you get it right, teaches you something: either it confirms your understanding, reveals a gap in your knowledge, or shows you how the SRA frames scenarios. Candidates who complete thousands of practice questions before their sitting consistently outperform those who spend the same hours reading textbooks without testing themselves.

Subject weighting across SQE1 is not officially published by the SRA, but analysis of past sittings suggests that Business Law, Property Practice, and Dispute Resolution collectively account for a substantial proportion of questions.

This does not mean you should neglect Criminal Law or Trusts — a candidate who is weak in any one area can fail the overall sitting — but it does mean that prioritising the high-frequency subjects early in your preparation is a sensible strategy. Once you have a solid foundation in the major subjects, you can allocate more targeted revision time to the subjects that appear less frequently but still carry material weight.

SQE2 is a fundamentally different kind of challenge. Rather than testing whether you know the law, it tests whether you can use it: can you interview a client sensitively and extract the relevant facts? Can you research an unfamiliar legal point accurately and present your findings clearly? Can you draft a contract, a letter before action, or a statutory declaration to a professional standard? Can you present an oral argument persuasively while maintaining appropriate professional conduct? These are skills that require deliberate, repeated practice under conditions that simulate the real assessment environment.

The SQE2 assessment consists of sixteen tasks spread across two sittings. Each task is marked on a pass/fail basis against the Statement of Solicitor Competence, which describes the skills a competent newly qualified solicitor should possess. You do not receive an overall numerical score for SQE2; instead, you receive a pass or fail for each individual task, and you must pass a specified number of tasks overall to be awarded a pass for the stage.

If you fail SQE2 overall, you can resit; you do not need to resit tasks you have already passed, subject to certain conditions, which makes it important to understand exactly which tasks you failed and why before booking a resit.

Qualifying Work Experience — commonly called QWE — runs alongside both stages of the exam. You must complete two years of full-time equivalent QWE (or the part-time equivalent) in one or two legal organisations before you can be admitted as a solicitor.

QWE does not need to be completed before you sit either stage of the SQE, and it does not need to be a formal training contract, but it must be in a genuine legal role where you work under the supervision of a solicitor. Many candidates complete QWE as a paralegal, legal assistant, or in an in-house legal team while they study, which has the added benefit of reinforcing the legal knowledge they are revising.

Understanding how SQE1 is scored is essential for calibrating your preparation strategy. The exam is marked on a criterion-referenced basis, meaning your result depends on whether you meet a fixed standard of competency — not on how you perform relative to other candidates in your cohort.

The pass mark for each sitting is set after the exam by a panel of subject matter experts using the modified Angoff method, which means the exact pass mark varies from sitting to sitting depending on question difficulty. Historically, the pass mark has fallen in the range of approximately 55 to 65 percent of questions answered correctly, but you should not treat any specific number as guaranteed.

Because the pass mark fluctuates, aiming for a comfortable margin above what you expect the threshold to be is prudent. Candidates who prepare to answer roughly 70 to 75 percent of questions correctly give themselves meaningful headroom against an unexpectedly high pass mark and against the natural variation that occurs under exam pressure. Candidates who prepare just to scrape through — targeting 60 percent in practice — frequently find that minor errors, time pressure, and unfamiliar question framings push their actual score below the pass mark on sitting day.

Pass rates for SQE1 since the exam launched have averaged around 54 percent across all candidates. This figure masks significant variation by sitting: some cohorts see higher pass rates, others lower, depending on the makeup of the candidate pool and the specific questions in that sitting. First-time candidates who have completed structured preparation consistently pass at higher rates than the cohort average, which underscores the value of thorough preparation rather than treating the exam as something that most people pass with modest effort.

SQE2 pass rates tell a broadly similar story. Overall, roughly half of candidates who sit SQE2 pass on their first attempt, although again there is variation across individual task types. Candidates who have significant relevant work experience in the practice areas assessed — particularly those who have worked in litigation, property, or commercial law — tend to perform better on the corresponding SQE2 tasks. This is one reason why completing your QWE in practice areas that overlap with SQE2 task types can give you a meaningful preparation advantage.

Results for SQE1 are typically released approximately six to eight weeks after the sitting, and SQE2 results follow a similar timeframe. Results are delivered online through the Kaplan candidate portal. You receive a statement of results that indicates whether you have passed or failed overall, and for SQE2, which individual tasks you passed and which you failed. If you fail SQE1, you receive a breakdown of your performance by subject area, which is invaluable for planning your resit preparation.

Resit rules are worth understanding before your first attempt. For SQE1, there is no limit on the number of times you can resit, but each resit incurs the full assessment fee. For SQE2, the position is similar: you can resit as many times as necessary, and the SRA has confirmed that candidates who fail SQE2 overall can resit only the failed tasks (subject to specific conditions), rather than the entire assessment. However, resit rules are subject to change, and you should always check the current SRA guidance before booking a resit.

Tracking your performance systematically throughout your preparation period means you should arrive at results day with a reasonably well-calibrated sense of whether you have passed. Candidates who consistently score in the 70 to 75 percent range on timed full mocks very rarely fail the actual exam. Candidates who are still scoring in the low 60s in the final weeks before sitting, or who have not completed any full timed mocks, should seriously consider whether deferring to the next available sitting would be more cost-effective than attempting the exam underprepared and paying resit fees.

The financial cost of the SQE pathway is one of the most significant practical considerations for most candidates, and it deserves honest, detailed treatment. The SQE1 assessment fee is £1,798, and the SQE2 fee is £2,422, giving a combined exam cost of £4,220 for a candidate who passes both on the first attempt.

Add a resit of SQE1 and the figure jumps to nearly £6,000 in examination fees alone — before preparation costs are counted. Candidates who resit multiple times can find their total expenditure on exam fees alone running to £10,000 or more, which is a powerful financial argument for investing in thorough preparation the first time rather than hoping to pass on minimal effort and resitting if necessary.

Preparation course costs vary enormously across providers. At the budget end, online question banks and self-study materials are available for a few hundred pounds, and some providers offer modular courses — covering individual subjects or specific skills — for £500 to £2,000.

Full-service, tutor-led SQE preparation programmes that cover all subjects and both stages can cost between £8,000 and £15,000 or more, depending on the provider, the level of contact time, and whether the course includes mock assessments and individualised feedback. The most expensive courses are not necessarily the most effective: course quality varies significantly, and candidate reviews and pass rate data (where providers publish them) should inform your choice as much as headline price.

Employer funding is increasingly available to SQE candidates, particularly those who are already working in law firms or in-house legal teams. Many larger law firms sponsor candidates through SQE preparation, covering some or all of the course and exam fees in exchange for a commitment to remain with the firm for a specified period after qualification.

Some firms also offer a salary or bursary during the study period. If you are currently employed in a legal role, it is always worth asking your employer whether any financial support is available — even if the firm does not have a formal sponsorship programme, some will contribute to exam fees for valued employees.

Candidates who are not employer-sponsored have several options for managing costs. The SRA does not currently offer means-tested fee reductions for SQE candidates, although various legal charities and diversity organisations offer bursaries and grants to candidates from underrepresented backgrounds. The Law Society, Aspiring Solicitors, and several law school foundations maintain bursary programmes that are worth researching if cost is a significant barrier. Preparing independently — using the official sample questions, free legal textbooks available through public libraries, and free or low-cost online resources — is genuinely viable for disciplined, self-motivated candidates, particularly for SQE1.

Registration for the SQE is managed through the SRA's online portal. Before you can register to sit, you must create an mySRA account and confirm that you meet the eligibility requirements: specifically, that you hold a degree or equivalent qualification (in any subject), or that you can demonstrate equivalent experience under the SRA's alternative eligibility criteria. You do not need to have completed a law degree or a conversion course to sit the SQE, although having some prior legal knowledge — whether from a degree, a course, or workplace experience — obviously helps with preparation.

Once you have confirmed eligibility, you register for each stage separately through the Kaplan portal, which is the organisation appointed by the SRA to deliver the SQE. Kaplan publishes assessment windows and deadlines on its website, and you book your specific test date and centre through the Pearson VUE booking system (for SQE1) or the Kaplan assessment centre booking system (for SQE2). You will need valid photo ID — a passport or driving licence — for both stages.

If you require reasonable adjustments due to a disability or learning difficulty, you must apply for these through Kaplan in advance of the registration deadline; adjustments cannot be made on the day of the assessment.

After you have passed both stages of the SQE and completed your QWE, the final step is applying to the SRA for admission as a solicitor. This involves submitting your results, your QWE record, and a character and suitability declaration through the mySRA portal. The SRA reviews your application and, if satisfied, admits you to the roll of solicitors. From that point, you are entitled to practise as a solicitor in England and Wales, subject to holding a current practising certificate, which is renewed annually through the SRA.

Building a realistic, sustainable study schedule is the single most important thing you can do to improve your chances of passing the SQE on the first attempt. Most candidates significantly underestimate the volume of material that SQE1 covers and the depth of practice that SQE2 requires.

A useful benchmark: if you are preparing for SQE1 on a full-time basis, plan for at least six months of structured study. If you are studying part-time alongside work, nine to twelve months is more realistic. Treat your preparation period like a professional commitment — set regular study hours, stick to them, and protect that time from interruption.

Subject prioritisation within SQE1 preparation should be based on two factors: the relative frequency with which each subject appears in the exam, and your own starting knowledge level. Start with the subjects that carry the most questions and in which you have the least background knowledge — for most candidates, that means Business Law and Practice, Property Practice, and Dispute Resolution. Once you have a working understanding of these core subjects, shift your focus to building accuracy and speed through high-volume MCQ practice across all areas rather than spending further time reading notes.

Spaced repetition is one of the most evidence-backed techniques for retaining legal knowledge across the broad SQE1 syllabus. Rather than revising each subject once and moving on, return to previously covered material at increasing intervals — for example, reviewing Business Law one week after initial study, then again three weeks later, then again six weeks later. This pattern of spaced review dramatically reduces forgetting and means that the law you studied at the start of your preparation is just as fresh in your mind on exam day as the material you covered in the final weeks.

For SQE2, the most effective preparation strategy is structured practice under realistic conditions. Obtain the official SQE2 assessment criteria and the sample tasks published by Kaplan, and use these as the basis for every piece of practice work you do. For written tasks, draft your response in the allocated time, then mark it yourself against the published criteria before seeking feedback from a tutor or peer. For oral tasks, record yourself and watch the recording critically: are you listening actively to the client? Are you covering all the required competencies? Are you maintaining appropriate professional conduct throughout?

Time management during the actual exam is a skill that must be practised, not improvised. For SQE1, fifty seconds per question is a tight but workable average — provided you have practised under timed conditions and learned to identify questions where you should commit quickly and questions where you need to read more carefully. Develop a strategy for handling questions you find difficult: mark them, move on, and return to them at the end if time permits. Never spend more than ninety seconds on a single question during your first pass through the paper.

Mental and physical health during a long preparation period often gets overlooked but is genuinely consequential. Candidates who study for eight or ten hours a day, seven days a week, without adequate rest, exercise, or social connection, consistently report declining retention, increasing anxiety, and poorer performance in the weeks immediately before their sitting.

Build rest days into your schedule from the start. The night before the exam, do no new revision — review a few familiar practice questions if you need to feel productive, but prioritise sleep. Arriving at the test centre rested, hydrated, and calm is worth more than a final frantic night of reading.

After your exam, whether you pass or fail, take time to review your performance honestly. If you passed, identify the subjects and skills where you felt least confident — these are areas to strengthen before SQE2 or before you begin legal practice. If you failed, use the subject-level performance breakdown provided in your results to build a targeted resit plan rather than simply repeating the same preparation that did not work the first time. The candidates who pass on resit are typically those who change their approach, not just their effort level.