Does your work count as QWE?
Answer the SRA’s six questions. The last one, who can confirm it, follows regulation 2.2. Two minutes, free, and nothing you answer is stored.
Built on the SRA’s rules, read on 8 November 2026. Who can confirm QWE
Does the role involve providing legal services?
Legal activity as section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007 defines it: for example advising clients, drafting documents or running cases.
Six questions, about two minutes. Nothing you answer is stored.
The questions the checker asks
These are the SRA’s six questions. If you can answer yes to all of them, the SRA says the work is likely to be QWE. For the last one, the checker asks regulation 2.2’s question: was there a COLP or a solicitor where you worked?
Does the role involve providing legal services?
Legal activity as section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007 defines it: for example advising clients, drafting documents or running cases.
Is it real legal work, not simulated?
Moots, mock trials and simulated casework do not count. A law clinic or a law centre with real clients does.
Does it give you the chance to develop at least two of the SRA’s competences?
The Statement of Solicitor Competence covers ethics, professionalism and judgement; technical legal practice; working with other people; and managing yourself and your work.
Across all your QWE, how many organisations?
Count every organisation you want to use, this one included. Paid or voluntary, in England and Wales or overseas.
How much QWE do you have so far, full time or equivalent?
You need two years in total. You only have to register it by the time you apply for admission as a solicitor.
When you did this work, was there a COLP or a solicitor of England and Wales there?
Every SRA-regulated firm has a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP). The solicitor does not need a practising certificate. Answer yes if there was one, even if the firm has since closed or the solicitor who supervised you has left.
Sources: the SRA’s QWE guidance for candidates and regulation 2 of the Authorisation of Individuals Regulations.
QWE: common questions
Does my job count as QWE?
The SRA’s own test: if the role involves providing legal services, is real rather than simulated, gives you the chance to develop at least two of the competences for solicitors, comes from no more than four organisations in total, adds up to two years full time or equivalent, and will be confirmed by a solicitor or COLP, it is likely to be QWE. The SRA does not rule on individual cases; the solicitor confirming your QWE decides.
Does law clinic or volunteer work count as QWE?
It can. QWE can be paid or voluntary, and can include a law clinic, a law centre, a charity, a placement during a degree or a training contract, as long as it involves real legal services. Paralegal roles are covered in our paralegal QWE sign-off guide.
Can work overseas or from years ago count?
Yes. QWE can be gained in England and Wales or overseas, and it does not need to cover the law of England and Wales. You can claim a past role, with no limit on how far back, as long as it counts as QWE and someone can still confirm it.
What if the checker says nobody where I worked can confirm?
If the organisation has no COLP and no solicitor, a solicitor of England and Wales outside it who has direct experience of your work can confirm your QWE, after reviewing your work and getting feedback from your supervisor (SRA regulation 2.2). FQPS QWE confirmation does that, from £275.
Is the checker a decision on my QWE?
No. It asks the SRA’s own questions to show you where you stand. The SRA does not advise on individual cases, and the solicitor or COLP confirming your QWE decides. Nothing you answer is stored.
No COLP or solicitor where you did your QWE? Our solicitors can confirm it, from £275.
More on getting your QWE confirmed
No COLP or solicitor where you did your QWE? An FQPS solicitor reviews your work, speaks to your supervisor and, if satisfied, confirms it in mySRA.
The SRA rule on who confirms: the COLP, a solicitor where you worked, or an outside solicitor only if there is neither.
Getting QWE signed off in mySRA, step by step: what to prepare, what the solicitor checks and how long it takes.
What to do when your firm refuses to confirm, your supervisor has left, or there is no solicitor to sign off.
A free QWE record template with a filled-in example for each competence, in Word and PDF.
Overseas legal work can count as QWE. Who can confirm it, and when an outside solicitor can because there is no COLP and no solicitor.
Paralegal and legal assistant work can count as QWE. Who signs it off, and what to do if your firm has no COLP and no solicitor.
