SQE Changes 2027
SQE1 & SQE2 Explained
Last updated 10 September 2026, the day the SRA published the SQE1 changes.
SQE 2027 changes at a glance
Six figures that describe the SQE a 2027 candidate will actually sit.
SQE1 gets shorter and more focused per session, SQE2 keeps its shape, and both papers run on assessment specifications the SRA refreshed in April 2026. Nothing about the pass standard has changed.
Changing for SQE1
- 170 questions per FLK, 85 per session, 340 across SQE1
- Each session covers a fixed set of subject areas
- Applies to first sitters and re-sitters from January 2027
Changing for SQE2
- Money laundering examinable in Property Practice
- A third Law marking category for Ethics and Professional Conduct
- April 2027 window starts a week earlier, runs four weeks
Plus practice-area renaming, clearer application-of-law guidance and tax figures now provided. The format itself is unchanged.
The SQE1 changes in detail
Announced by the SRA on 10 September 2026 and applying from the January 2027 sitting onwards, to every candidate.
1. Fewer questions: 180 becomes 170
Each Functioning Legal Knowledge assessment loses 10 questions. Because an FLK is sat as two sessions in one day, that is five fewer questions per session and 20 fewer across the whole of SQE1. Nothing about the length of a session changes, so the time you have for each question goes up.
| SQE1 format | Up to July 2026 | From January 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Questions per FLK | 180 | 170 |
| Questions per session | 90 | 85 |
| Questions across SQE1 | 360 | 340 |
| Time per session | 2 hours 33 minutes | 2 hours 33 minutes |
| Time per question | 102 seconds | 108 seconds |
| Subject areas in a session | Any subject area of that FLK | Only that session's subject areas |
| Order of questions | Mixed and randomised | Mixed and randomised |
2. Subjects are grouped by session
This is the change that matters most for revision. Until now, any session could draw on any subject area of that paper. From January 2027 each session stays inside a fixed list, so an FLK1 candidate meets the business and procedural subjects in one session and the doctrinal subjects in the other.
| Paper | Session | Subject areas |
|---|---|---|
| FLK1 | Session 1 | Business Law and Practice; Dispute Resolution; Legal Services |
| FLK1 | Session 2 | Tort; Contract Law; Legal Systems (Legal System of England and Wales; Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law) |
| FLK2 | Session 1 | Wills and the Administration of Estates; Solicitors Accounts (in the context of Wills); Trusts Law; Land Law |
| FLK2 | Session 2 | Property Law and Practice; Solicitors Accounts (in the context of Property); Criminal Liability; Criminal Law and Practice |
Two details candidates miss. Solicitors Accounts appears in both FLK2 sessions, in a different context each time: wills in session 1, property in session 2. And Ethics and Professional Conduct is not in the table at all, because it is tested across all subject areas and can therefore appear in every session.
3. Your assessment day, drawn out
Each FLK is still one day, still two sessions of 2 hours 33 minutes, still with a 60-minute break in the middle. Only the question count and the subject pool per session move.
4. Six more seconds a question
The session length did not move, so every question you lose buys time on the ones that remain. The working is simple: 2 hours 33 minutes is 153 minutes.
5. Why the SRA made the change
The SRA gives three connected reasons. Candidates and stakeholders reported that SQE1 can feel rushed and pressurised for the time allowed per question, and that the lack of grouping made this worse. The original question count was set to sample every subject area in each FLK and keep the assessment reliable, meaning consistently fair, accurate and highly reproducible scores; the reduction follows a data review across all previous SQE1 windows, made now rather than after a handful of deliveries so there was enough data to be confident the change improves the candidate experience while keeping that accuracy. Splitting the subjects between sessions lets candidates focus on fewer subjects at a time, and keeping the randomisation inside each session preserves assessment security.
The SRA has amended the SQE website and the SQE1 assessment specification to reflect all of this. Read the SQE1 assessment specification, our plain-English summary of the SQE1 assessment specification, or our full breakdown of the January 2027 SQE1 changes.
What is not changing in SQE1
Worth knowing precisely, because most of the exam is exactly where you left it.
Timing and format
2 hours 33 minutes per session, a 60-minute break, FLK1 and FLK2 on separate days. Single best answer, five options, one correct. Closed book, computer-based at Pearson VUE test centres.
The blueprint
The proportion of questions in each subject area is unaffected. The ranges are published per paper, not per session, and the SRA has not published per-session counts.
Scoring and attempts
Scaled 0 to 500 with a pass mark of 300 on each FLK, both to be passed. The standard is set by a panel of solicitors using the Modified Angoff method. Three attempts at each part within six years of your first sitting. See how SQE results are reported.
| Paper | Subject area | Share of the paper |
|---|---|---|
| FLK1 | Business organisations, rules and procedures, including taxation | 14-20% |
| FLK1 | Dispute resolution | 14-20% |
| FLK1 | Contract law | 14-20% |
| FLK1 | Tort | 14-20% |
| FLK1 | Legal System of England and Wales, sources of law, constitutional and administrative law | 14-20% |
| FLK1 | Legal services | 12-16% |
| FLK2 | Freehold and leasehold real estate, planning, property taxation, Solicitors Accounts in conveyancing | 14-20% |
| FLK2 | Land law | 14-20% |
| FLK2 | Wills and intestacy, probate administration, with taxation and Solicitors Accounts in that context | 14-20% |
| FLK2 | Trust law | 14-20% |
| FLK2 | Police station advice and criminal litigation | 14-20% |
| FLK2 | Criminal liability | 14-20% |
| Both | Ethics and Professional Conduct | Pervasive |
Read the ranges carefully. They describe a whole paper, so at 14-20% of 170 questions a subject area is roughly 24 to 34 questions. Because each session now carries only its own subjects, it is tempting to divide those ranges by two. Do not: the SRA has not published per-session percentages, and the blueprint uses single best classification, meaning a question is filed under its primary focus even when answering it needs another area too.
SQE2 changes for 2027: is the format changing?
The format is not changing. Three other things are.
SQE2 is still 16 assessments: four oral over two half days and 12 written over three half days, across five practice areas, with one pass mark for SQE2 as a whole. No question count, skill or day structure changes in 2027. What did change is the syllabus detail, the marking of ethics, and the April assessment window.
The SRA published six changes to the Assessment Specifications in its 2026 annual review, five of them specific to SQE2. They apply to assessments after 1 September 2026, so the first sitting affected was SQE2 in October 2026 and every 2027 sitting runs on them. A seventh change, to the April window, is a scheduling one.
Change 1: money laundering reaches Property Practice
Money laundering can now be examined in the context of Property Practice as well as Business Law and Practice. The specification lists Property Practice as including money laundering, and its avoidance-of-doubt paragraph confirms that money laundering and financial services are examinable in Business Law and Practice, and money laundering alone in Property Practice. If you prepared money laundering as a business-only topic, that assumption is now out of date on a conveyancing file.
Change 2: a third Law category for Ethics and Professional Conduct
The SQE2 assessment criteria change to reflect that a third SQE2 Law category for Ethics and Professional Conduct will be created, in the SRA's words to help increase the visibility and feedback for candidates and allow for more effective tracking of candidate performance in this area. The SRA has said more details will follow and has confirmed that this involves no change to the format of the assessments. Ethics remains pervasive and is never flagged inside a question: you have to identify the issue yourself. The specification also confirms that questions can be based on situations in relevant SRA warning notices, such as those on Non-Disclosure Agreements and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
Change 3: practice-area names now match SQE1
The naming conventions for some practice areas have been amended to align more clearly with SQE1. In practice that means you will see Criminal Law and Practice rather than Criminal Litigation alone, Wills and the Administration of Estates rather than Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice, and Business Law and Practice rather than business organisations, rules and procedures. The content assessed is the same; the labels now line up with the FLK you revised for SQE1.
Change 4: clearer guidance on applying the law correctly and comprehensively
The guidance on the Correct and Comprehensive Application of Law, which is the standard your written and oral answers are measured against, has been updated to provide further clarity. Worth re-reading before you sit, because it is the part of the specification that explains what a marker is looking for beyond the raw legal content.
Change 5: the Legal Research station mapped to the competence statement
More information has been added on how the Legal Research station aligns with the SRA's Statement of Solicitor Competence. If legal research is the station you find hardest to prepare for, this is the clearest published account of what it is testing.
Change 6: tax figures will be provided (SQE1 and SQE2)
This one applies to both papers. The guidance on how tax questions are assessed now confirms that where candidates are required to apply the monetary value of any exemptions and reliefs, or particular rates or thresholds, those figures will be provided. You still need to know that a relief or exemption exists and when it applies; you do not need to memorise the numbers.
Change 7: the April 2027 window moves and grows
April is the largest SQE2 delivery of the year. From April 2027 that window starts a week earlier, in the third week of the month, and runs for four weeks. The January, July and October windows are unchanged. If you were pacing your preparation to a late-April start, you may have a week less than you think.
The published April 2027 window runs 20 April to 14 May.
SQE2 as it stands in 2027
Because so much of the noise about 2027 is about SQE1, here is the SQE2 you will actually sit, taken from the current specification.
| Day | Assessments |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Advocacy (Dispute Resolution); interview and attendance note with legal analysis (Property Practice) |
| Day 2 | Advocacy (Criminal Law and Practice); interview and attendance note with legal analysis (Wills and the Administration of Estates) |
| Day | Assessments | Practice-area context |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Case and matter analysis, legal drafting, legal research, legal writing | Two in Dispute Resolution, two in Criminal Law and Practice |
| Day 2 | Case and matter analysis, legal drafting, legal research, legal writing | Two in Property Practice, two in Wills and the Administration of Estates |
| Day 3 | Case and matter analysis, legal drafting, legal research, legal writing | All four in Business Law and Practice |
The five practice areas
- Criminal Law and Practice, including advice at the police station
- Dispute Resolution
- Property Practice, including money laundering
- Wills and the Administration of Estates
- Business Law and Practice, including money laundering and financial services
Not examined in SQE2: the Legal System of England and Wales including constitutional, administrative and EU law; Legal Services apart from money laundering and financial services; and Solicitors Accounts.
How SQE2 is marked
The interviewing station is marked by the assessor playing the client, on skills only. The attendance note and every other station is marked by a solicitor on both skills and application of law. Each criterion is graded from A, superior performance, down to F, poor performance, converted to marks where A is 5 and F is 0. Skills and application of law carry equal weight.
There is one pass mark for SQE2 as a whole. There is no separate pass mark for the oral and written parts.
There is no separate negotiation assessment, but every delivery of SQE2 contains at least one assessment involving negotiation, which can sit inside the interview, case and matter analysis or legal writing. Legal materials are provided for every station except legal research. See the SQE2 assessment specification in full or how we run SQE2 preparation.
What changed in the SQE syllabus for 2027
The 2026 annual review of the Functioning Legal Knowledge. Every change below applies to assessments after 1 September 2026, which means all of 2027.
Most of these are clarifications rather than new law: the SRA spelling out what was already assessable, retiring wording that duplicated another part of the FLK, or updating terminology. They still matter, because the FLK is the list your revision should be checked against. The same changes were applied to the SQE2 FLK where relevant. Our SQE syllabus breakdown sets out the full FLK for both papers.
Nothing changed in Tort, Solicitors Accounts, Land Law or the core principles of criminal liability. If those are your weak areas, your notes are still current.
FLK1 syllabus changes
| Subject area | What changed | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Business Law and Practice | Legal personality and limited liability now names the vehicles: sole trader, partnership, LLP, private and unlisted public companies. Funding options now include the redemption and buyback of shares, and exclude other reductions of share capital and financial assistance under the Companies Act 2006. Corporation tax basis of charge now names the calculation of income profits and chargeable gains, allowable deductions and main reliefs and exemptions, and the charge to tax is added to calculation, payment and collection. | Clarity and consistency of scope |
| Dispute Resolution | Enforcement of money judgments: oral examination becomes obtaining information from the judgment debtor. | Current terminology |
| Contract Law | Contract terms split into two lines: the interpretation of contract terms, and the classification of terms as conditions, warranties and innominate terms. | Both can be assessed |
| Tort | No changes. | |
| Legal System of England and Wales | The judiciary becomes judicial function. The appeal system is deleted from court hierarchy and jurisdiction. Legitimacy is deleted from legitimacy, separation of powers and the rule of law. | Appeals are tested in Dispute Resolution and Criminal Law and Practice, and what legitimacy covered already appears elsewhere in this FLK |
| Legal Services | Eligibility for legal aid drops the words criminal and, leaving civil legal aid. | Criminal legal aid is tested in FLK2 |
FLK2 syllabus changes
| Subject area | What changed |
|---|---|
| Property Law and Practice | Searches and enquiries: range and purpose now includes who would make them, and the separate line on who would make them is deleted; issues that could arise from the results are now named. Preparation for and exchange of contracts gains drafting the sale contract, and the practice, method and authority to exchange now names the Law Society formulae for exchange. Pre-completion steps now include financial considerations and apportionments. Assignment of a lease gains drafting the contract for the assignment. Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 Part II now includes contracting out. |
| Wills and Intestacy | Validity gains knowledge and approval, and who bears the burden of proof when validity is challenged. The appointment of executors gains eligibility and suitability. Codicils are now use and effect. Methods of revocation are listed: later will, codicil, destruction, marriage and civil partnership. The effect of marriage and divorce on a testator is replaced by the effect of divorce or dissolution on an existing will. |
| Probate and Administration Practice | Grants of representation gain the order of priority where the deceased left a will and on intestacy, and a spelled-out application procedure for a grant of probate, letters of administration with will annexed and letters of administration. Inheritance Tax gains liability alongside burden and incidence, across personal representatives, beneficiaries, trustees and co-owners. The duties of personal representatives before distribution are listed, as are their liabilities and protection for unknown, missing and insolvent beneficiaries and for creditors. Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 now include the factors the court will take into account. |
| Taxation in wills and estates | Inheritance Tax lifetime transfers now include gifts with a reservation of benefit. |
| Solicitors Accounts | No changes. |
| Land Law | No changes. |
| Trusts Law | The exceptions to the rule that equity will not assist a volunteer now name the rule in Re Rose, the rule in Strong v Bird and Choithram v Pagarani. Resulting trusts are split into automatic and presumed. Recipient and accessory liability become knowing receipt and dishonest assistance. The fiduciary conflict wording is now gender neutral. |
| Criminal liability | No changes. |
| Police station advice | The reference to representation of a vulnerable client is deleted from the defence representative line, because the heading already covers vulnerable clients. A new line adds the requirements of a lawful interview under PACE 1984 Code C. |
| Criminal Law and Practice | Bail now covers applying for and opposing. Burden and standard of proof is deleted from evidence, being covered under trial procedure. Challenging admissibility is added under hearsay, and confession evidence now refers to s.76 PACE alone because s.78 appears later. Character evidence becomes bad character evidence, and the separate procedure for admitting it is deleted as the overarching heading covers it. Trial procedure gains the relevance of the defendant's good character. Newton hearings gain applicability and procedure. Youth court procedure becomes procedure and hearings, and youth sentencing adds the role of the Robbery: Sentencing Children and Young People guideline. |
How to use this table. Our view: treat every added line as a question the SRA has told you it may ask. Where a line was deleted, the topic has usually moved rather than disappeared, so check where it now sits before you cut it from your notes. The full change list, and versions of both specifications and the FLK showing the changes, are on the SRA's annual review page.
The specifications that govern a 2027 sitting
Updated April 2026, applicable from 1 September 2026
Both the SQE1 and the SQE2 assessment specifications were revised in the SRA's annual review and carry the note that they apply to assessments from 1 September 2026. Every 2027 sitting is assessed against those versions. The annual review exists to reflect changes in law and practice, clarify wording where stakeholders have asked for it, and make other essential changes.
Practical consequence: if you saved a PDF of either specification earlier in 2026, replace it. The SRA publishes both specifications, both FLKs and the Assessments in SQE2 document with the changes marked, alongside the full annual review change list.
The law cut-off date
For both papers, you are examined on the law as it stands four calendar months before the first assessment in your window. You are not tested on the development of the law, and a change implemented exactly on that date may be examined.
So, for example, the January 2027 SQE1 window opens on 11 January, which puts its cut-off at 11 September 2026.
2027 assessment dates and fees
Every 2027 sitting runs on the fees that rose in September 2026.
| Assessment | Window | Format |
|---|---|---|
| SQE1, January 2027 | FLK1 11-15 January, FLK2 18-22 January | First sitting of the 170-question format |
| SQE2, January 2027 | 26 January to 4 February | Unchanged |
| SQE2, April 2027 | 20 April to 14 May | Starts a week earlier, runs four weeks |
| SQE1, July 2027 | FLK1 12-16 July, FLK2 19-23 July | 170-question format |
| SQE2, July 2027 | 27 July to 5 August | Unchanged |
| SQE2, October 2027 | 28 October to 12 November | Unchanged |
| Assessment | Fee for 2027 sittings | Previous fee |
|---|---|---|
| SQE1 | £2,006 | £1,934 |
| SQE2 | £3,086 | £2,974 |
| Both assessments | £5,092 | £4,908 |
Fees are VAT exempt and cover the assessments only, not preparation. Booking windows, seat reservation forms and reasonable adjustment deadlines are published by the SRA for each sitting. Full detail on our SQE exam dates, locations and fees page.
How to prepare for the 2027 SQE
FQPS analysis, built on the SRA's session table and the unchanged blueprint.
If January 2027 is your first attempt
You only ever learn one format, so there is nothing to unlearn. Build every timed practice around the new shape from the start: 85 questions in 153 minutes drawn from one session's subjects, in mixed order. Avoid 90-question papers out of habit.
If you are re-sitting
You carry muscle memory for 90-question sessions at 102 seconds a question, drawing on every subject of the paper. Re-tune your pacing to 108 seconds, re-cut your notes and question logs by session rather than by paper, and treat old mock scores as a guide to knowledge, not to pacing.
Revise by session, not only by paper
The revision unit used to be the paper. From January 2027 there are four: FLK1 session 1, FLK1 session 2, FLK2 session 1 and FLK2 session 2. Map every topic to one of them, remembering that Solicitors Accounts maps to two and Ethics belongs in all four, then sit each block at least once as a full timed session. The test of a plan built for 2027 is simple: for any week in it, you can say which of the four sessions that week serves.
For the timed sittings themselves, our SQE1 practice mocks already run in the new shape, and if you want free material to drill a single session's subjects, start with our roundup of free SQE1 sample questions.
Sit a mock in the January 2027 format
FQPS full-length SQE1 mocks follow the new structure: two 85-question sessions per paper, each drawing only on that session's SRA subject areas, mixed in random order, 2 hours 33 minutes per session with a 60-minute break. One full FLK1 mock and one full FLK2 mock are free on registration, no card required, timed like the real assessment day with detailed feedback on every question, and the credits never expire. Every question in the bank is written and peer-reviewed by qualified solicitors of England and Wales. Paid plans and what they include are on our SQE course pricing page.
SQE 2027 changes: frequently asked questions
What is changing in the SQE in 2027?
One structural change and three smaller ones. From the January 2027 sitting each SQE1 FLK assessment has 170 questions instead of 180, sat as two sessions of 85 rather than 90, and each session covers a fixed set of subject areas. For SQE2 the format is unchanged, but the April 2027 window starts a week earlier and runs for four weeks, money laundering is now examinable in Property Practice, and Ethics and Professional Conduct is named in the marking. Both assessment specifications were updated in April 2026 and apply to every 2027 sitting.
How many questions are in SQE1 from January 2027?
340 in total. FLK1 and FLK2 each have 170 single best answer questions, sat in one day as two sessions of 85 with a 60-minute break between them. Up to and including the July 2026 sitting the figures were 360, 180 and 90.
Which subjects are in each SQE1 session from January 2027?
FLK1 session 1 covers Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution and Legal Services. FLK1 session 2 covers Tort, Contract Law and Legal Systems, which the SRA uses for the Legal System of England and Wales together with Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law. FLK2 session 1 covers Wills and the Administration of Estates, Solicitors Accounts in the wills context, Trusts Law and Land Law. FLK2 session 2 covers Property Law and Practice, Solicitors Accounts in the property context, Criminal Liability and Criminal Law and Practice. Ethics and Professional Conduct can appear in any session.
Do the 2027 SQE1 changes apply to re-sitters?
Yes. The SRA has confirmed the new structure applies to all candidates from the January 2027 sitting, first sitters and re-sitters alike. There is no legacy option: a candidate who sat a 180-question paper in 2026 sits the 170-question, subject-grouped format on their next attempt.
How much time do you get per SQE1 question in 2027?
About 108 seconds. Each session is still 2 hours 33 minutes, which is 153 minutes, and 153 divided by 85 is 1.8 minutes per question. The previous 90-question session gave 102 seconds, so the change is worth 6 extra seconds per question, around 5.9 per cent.
Is the SQE getting easier in 2027?
Not in standard. The pass mark is not among the changes the SRA announced: SQE1 is still scaled from 0 to 500 with a pass mark of 300 on each FLK, the standard is set by a panel of solicitors using the Modified Angoff method, and the assessment blueprint is unchanged. The SRA describes the aim as a better candidate experience with the accuracy of the assessment preserved.
Is SQE2 changing in 2027?
The format is not changing. SQE2 remains 16 assessments: four oral over two half days and 12 written over three half days, across five practice areas, with one pass mark for SQE2 as a whole. Three things did change for 2027 sittings: money laundering is now examinable in Property Practice as well as Business Law and Practice, Ethics and Professional Conduct has its own section of the specification and is named in the marking of application of law, and the April 2027 assessment window starts a week earlier and lasts four weeks.
When is the April 2027 SQE2 assessment window?
The April window now starts in the third week of the month and runs for four weeks, a week earlier and longer than before, because it is the largest SQE2 delivery of the year. The published 2027 window runs from 20 April to 14 May. The January, July and October 2027 windows are unchanged.
What are the SQE exam dates for 2027?
SQE1 runs 11 to 15 January 2027 for FLK1 and 18 to 22 January 2027 for FLK2, then 12 to 16 July for FLK1 and 19 to 23 July for FLK2. SQE2 windows are 26 January to 4 February, 20 April to 14 May, 27 July to 5 August, and 28 October to 12 November 2027.
How much does the SQE cost in 2027?
Assessment fees rose from September 2026, so every 2027 sitting is at the new price: £2,006 for SQE1 and £3,086 for SQE2, £5,092 in total. The fees are VAT exempt and cover the assessments only, not preparation.
What changed in the SQE syllabus for 2027?
The SRA published its 2026 annual review of the Functioning Legal Knowledge, applying to assessments after 1 September 2026 and therefore to every 2027 sitting. Most changes are clarifications: Business Law and Practice spells out the business vehicles and the corporation tax basis of charge; Dispute Resolution renames oral examination as obtaining information from the judgment debtor; Contract Law separates the interpretation of terms from their classification; the Legal System FLK drops the appeal system and legitimacy; Legal Services drops criminal legal aid. In FLK2, Property Practice, Wills and Intestacy, Probate and Administration Practice, Trusts Law, police station advice and criminal litigation all gain detail. Tort, Solicitors Accounts, Land Law and the core principles of criminal liability are unchanged.
Do I need to buy new revision notes for the 2027 SQE?
Not usually. The January 2027 change is structural, not a change to what is examinable, and the blueprint is unchanged, so your subject knowledge still counts. What does need updating is your timed practice, which should be built around 85-question sessions drawn from one session's subjects, and any notes touching the FLK lines the SRA clarified in its 2026 annual review. Check the changed lines rather than starting again.
Which SQE assessment specification applies in 2027?
The versions updated in April 2026, which the SRA marks as applicable for assessments from 1 September 2026. Both the SQE1 and the SQE2 specifications were revised in that annual review, so every 2027 sitting is assessed against them. Always read the current version on the SRA website rather than a copy saved earlier in the year.
What law will I be examined on in 2027?
The law as it stands four calendar months before the first assessment in your window. Candidates are not tested on the development of the law, and a change implemented exactly on that cut-off date may be examined.
Sources: the SRA news item "Important changes to SQE1 for January 2027 onwards" (10 September 2026); the SQE1 and SQE2 assessment specifications applicable from 1 September 2026; and the SRA SQE Update, December 2025. Figures are accurate at 10 September 2026 and this page is reviewed whenever the SRA publishes a change.