Ready for SQE2?
The 2027 Checklist
Last updated 1 October 2026, checked against the SRA’s live pages.
How to use this checklist
Tick each line when it is true, not when you plan to. Start by choosing your window: everything else counts back from it.
Choose your 2027 window
| My window | Window | Oral (attend one) | Written | Law cut-off | Booking | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2027 | 26-27 Jan or 28-29 Jan | 2-4 Feb | 26 Sep 2026 | Seat forms 13 Oct, deadline 16 Oct 2026; booking closes 4 Dec 2026 | 20 May 2027 | |
| April 2027 | 26-27 Apr, 28-29 Apr, 11-12 May or 13-14 May | 20-22 Apr or 4-6 May | 20 Dec 2026 | Seat forms 5 Jan, deadline 8 Jan 2027; booking close not yet published | Not yet published | |
| July 2027 | 27-28 Jul or 29-30 Jul | 3-5 Aug | 27 Mar 2027 | Not yet published | Not yet published | |
| October 2027 | 28-29 Oct, 9-10 Nov or 11-12 Nov | 2-4 Nov | 28 Jun 2027 | Not yet published | Not yet published |
You sit the oral and written parts in the same window, and choose your oral sitting when you book. The written days can fall before, after or between the oral sittings. The law cut-off is four calendar months before the window opens: you are examined on the law as it stood then. SQE2 results come 14 to 18 weeks after the assessment.
My SQE2 details
SQE2 in one paragraph
16 assessments: four oral over two consecutive half days and twelve written over three consecutive half days, across five practice areas. One pass mark for SQE2 as a whole, with no separate pass mark for the oral and written parts. The format is unchanged. Since October 2026 ethics has its own criterion and some content changed; from April 2027 the April window is longer.
SQE2 in numbers
Your progress
- 01 Book it0 / 20
- 02 The SQE2 map0 / 32
- 03 Marking0 / 8
- 04 Practice0 / 41
- 05 Exam days0 / 10
- 06 After SQE20 / 11
Eligible, booked, protected
Aiming for January 2027? Act this month
Seat reservation forms for the January 2027 window are sent on 13 October 2026, with a deadline of 16 October, which is also the deadline for accepting a reasonable adjustments plan. Booking closes on 4 December 2026.
First finish the pre-booking steps in your SQE account (registration, ID check, diversity survey, adjustments question): for October 2026, no form was sent without them.
Eligibility
- before booking
- now
Booking and fees
- see the window table
- on booking
- before booking
- on booking
Identity, adjustments and venues
- now
- check
- on booking
- on booking
My countdowncount back from the first day of your window
Pick your window in the table above and these steps get real dates.
- 12 weeks out
- 8 weeks out
- 4 weeks out
- 2 weeks out
- Final week
All 16 assessments, ticked
Tick a box only after a timed attempt that you have marked against the criteria in Marking below.
Oralfour assessments, two consecutive half days
| Assessment | Practice area | Practised timed | Marked | Ready |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral day 1: Advocacy | Dispute Resolution | |||
| Oral day 1: Interview and attendance note/legal analysis | Property Practice | |||
| Oral day 2: Advocacy | Criminal Law and Practice | |||
| Oral day 2: Interview and attendance note/legal analysis | Wills and the Administration of Estates |
Each interview and its attendance note counts as one station. On each oral day you may do the interview or the advocacy first.
Writtentwelve assessments, three consecutive half days
Every written day has one case and matter analysis, one legal research, one legal writing and one legal drafting exercise, so each written skill is assessed three times. Day 1: two in Dispute Resolution and two in Criminal Law and Practice. Day 2: two in Property Practice and two in Wills and the Administration of Estates. Day 3: all four in Business Law and Practice. Which skill falls in which practice area on days 1 and 2 varies, so practise every skill in every area.
| Skill | Dispute Resolution | Criminal Law and Practice | Property Practice | Wills and the Administration of Estates | Business Law and Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case and matter analysis | |||||
| Legal research | |||||
| Legal writing | |||||
| Legal drafting |
Negotiation is hiding in plain sight
There is no negotiation station, but every sitting includes at least one assessment involving negotiation, inside the interview and attendance note, the case and matter analysis or the legal writing.
New since October 2026
Money laundering is now examinable in Property Practice as well as Business Law and Practice. Some practice areas are renamed to align with SQE1. Not examined in SQE2: Legal Systems (including constitutional, administrative and EU law), Legal Services (apart from money laundering and financial services) and Solicitors Accounts.
Mark yourself the way the SRA does
Every station except the interview is marked on skills and on application of law, with equal weight. Summarised from the SRA’s SQE2 specification: read the full criteria there.
| Skill | What the skills criteria look for |
|---|---|
| Client interview | Listening and questioning; communicating so the client understands; professional, courteous and respectful of diversity; client-focused; building trust and confidence. Marked on skills only. |
| Attendance note/legal analysis | Records all the relevant information; identifies next steps; client-focused advice. Plus the application-of-law criteria. |
| Advocacy | Appropriate language and behaviour; clear, logical structure; persuasive argument; engages with the court; includes all key facts. |
| Case and matter analysis | Identifies the relevant facts; client-focused advice; clear, precise, concise and acceptable language. |
| Legal research | Identifies and uses the relevant sources; client-focused advice; clear language. The topic may fall outside the FLK. |
| Legal writing | Includes the relevant facts; logical structure; content focused on the client and the recipient; language suited to the recipient. |
| Legal drafting | Clear language; appropriate and logical structure. Law criteria read as legally correct and legally comprehensive. |
How SQE2 is marked
The ethics categoryfrom 1 Sep 2026
My grades logone row per timed attempt, graded A to F
| Assessment and date | Skills | Law | Ethics | What to fix next |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ready under exam conditions
SQE2 rewards practised routines. Five timed attempts per skill is a sensible floor before the exam.
| Skill | Time allowed | Timed attempts (tick each) |
|---|---|---|
| Client interview | 10 min to read, then a 25 min interview | |
| Attendance note/legal analysis | 25 min, handwritten | |
| Advocacy | 45 min preparation, then 15 min before the judge | |
| Case and matter analysis | 60 min, on screen | |
| Legal research | 60 min, on screen | |
| Legal writing | 30 min, on screen | |
| Legal drafting | 45 min, on screen |
A written half day is two sessions: 1 hour 30 minutes, a 15-minute break in which you cannot leave the centre, then 1 hour 45 minutes.
Practice gates
- 4 weeks out
- 4 weeks out
- 4 weeks out
- 2 weeks out
- 2 weeks out
- 1 week out
My structure for each skillwrite it, then run it from memory
Written days and oral days
Written daysPearson VUE centres
Oral daysKaplan venues
If something goes wrong
Tell an invigilator straight away, or before you leave. Then claim mitigating circumstances in your SQE account by 16:00 UK time on the fifth working day after your last station; the outcome comes with your results. If a claim is accepted, the attempt can be discounted with a refund, or the Board can remove the affected station and recalculate your result on 15 stations, which can turn a fail into a pass. Single stations cannot be resat.
From results to admission
Your results page shows your scaled score, your mark as a percentage, your quintile and a mark (5 to 0) for every criterion at every station.
Your route to admission
If you did not pass
Every box ticked?
Ethics now has its own marking category in SQE2. Our free Ethics and Professional Conduct guide covers the Principles, the Code, conflicts and money laundering, with a method for spotting the issue nobody flags.
Prefer paper? Download the printable PDF
- All four 2027 windows, with booking dates and law cut-offs
- Eligibility, fees, ID and reasonable adjustments
- All 16 assessments as a tick grid
- The marking criteria and the ethics category
- Official timings and timed practice gates
- Written and oral days, then the route to admission
Sources: the SQE website (sqe.sra.org.uk): the SQE2 assessment specification applicable from 1 September 2026, the 2027 assessment dates, the SQE2 assessment-day, ID and fees pages, the SRA’s updates of June to September 2026, and the SQE mitigating circumstances and appeals policies; and the SRA’s admission, QWE and screening pages (sra.org.uk). Checked on 1 October 2026 and summarised in our own words. Dates and rules can change: always confirm with the SRA and your booking confirmation.
FQPS Academy is an independent SQE preparation provider, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or Kaplan. The SQE and SOLICITORS QUALIFYING EXAMINATION trade marks are the property of and are used under licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This checklist is general information for SQE candidates, not legal advice.