SQEEZE

The knowledge exam

SQE1: two exams, 360 questions, one standard.

SQE1 is the Solicitors Regulation Authority's test of functioning legal knowledge. Two papers, FLK1 and FLK2, each with 180 single best answer questions, marked at the standard of a newly qualified solicitor. Everything on this page is taken from the SRA's own specification and reports.

SRA facts checked as at 5 Sept 2026Law cut-off for SQE1 January 2027 was 11 September 2026: you are examined on the law as at that date

360

questions across two exam days

53%

passed SQE1 in January 2026 (58% of first-time candidates)

300

is the pass mark on a 0 to 500 scale, set for every sitting

Format

How the day runs

FLK1 and FLK2 are sat on separate days at a Pearson VUE test centre. Each paper is 180 questions split into 2 sessions of 90 questions and 2 hours 33 minutes, with a 60-minute break between them. That is about 1.7 minutes a question, and the average question runs to about 206 words.

The exam is closed book. Question order and option order are randomised, so no two candidates see the same paper in the same sequence.

Source: SRA, SQE assessment days. Checked 5 Sept 2026.

Syllabus

Thirteen subjects, twelve weightings

The SRA blueprint gives every subject a band of the paper. Ethics and Professional Conduct has no band of its own: it is examined across every subject in both papers.

FLK1

FLK1 subjects and blueprint weightings
SubjectShare of the paperQuestions of 180
Business Law and Practice14 to 20%25 to 36
Dispute Resolution14 to 20%25 to 36
Contract Law14 to 20%25 to 36
Tort14 to 20%25 to 36
Legal System of England and Walesincluding Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU law. Not examined in SQE2.14 to 20%25 to 36
Legal ServicesNot examined in SQE2, apart from money laundering and financial services.12 to 16%22 to 29

FLK2

FLK2 subjects and blueprint weightings
SubjectShare of the paperQuestions of 180
Property Law and Practiceincluding planning, property taxation and Solicitors Accounts in the context of conveyancing14 to 20%25 to 36
Wills and the Administration of Estatesincluding Inheritance Tax and Solicitors Accounts in the context of probate14 to 20%25 to 36
Solicitors AccountsExamined within Property Law and Practice and Wills and the Administration of Estates. No separate weighting. Not examined in SQE2.No separate weightingCounted within Property and Wills
Land Law14 to 20%25 to 36
Trusts Law14 to 20%25 to 36
Criminal Liability14 to 20%25 to 36
Criminal Law and Practiceincluding advising at the police station14 to 20%25 to 36

Ethics and Professional Conduct is examined pervasively across both papers. In any sitting, ethics and money laundering questions can make up to 20% of the questions (money laundering in FLK1 only).

Source: SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification Annex 4. Checked 5 Sept 2026.

Question anatomy

What a single best answer question looks like

Every question has three parts: a stem that sets out a realistic client scenario, a lead-in that asks the question, and five options, all plausible, only one best. The questions test application, not recall: you are told the facts and asked what a solicitor would do.

Worked example, written by SQEEZE

A candidate sits SQE1 for the first time in January 2027. She passes FLK1 and narrowly fails FLK2.

Which of the following best describes her position?

  1. A. She must resit both FLK1 and FLK2 at the next sitting.
  2. B. She may resit FLK2 alone, and has up to two further attempts at it within six years of her first sitting.
  3. C. Her FLK1 pass lapses after twelve months unless FLK2 is passed.
  4. D. She cannot resit until she has completed qualifying work experience.
  5. E. She may resit FLK2 alone, but must wait one full year.

Answer B. FLK1 and FLK2 have separate pass marks. Pass one and fail the other and you resit only the paper you failed. Each assessment allows 3 attempts within 6 years of your first sit, so two attempts remain. There is no waiting period and no work experience condition.

This example is SQEEZE's own, about the exam rules rather than the law. The SRA publishes 220 sample questions of its own on the SQE website.

Scoring

How SQE1 is marked

  • One mark per correct answer. There is no negative marking, so never leave a question blank.
  • Set for each sitting by the Assessment Board using the Modified Angoff method and statistical equating, then placed at 300 on a 0 to 500 scale. Each paper has its own pass mark and you must pass both.
  • Results are reported on a 0 to 500 scale with the pass always at 300. The raw percentage needed is not published. For the very first sitting, in November 2021, the SRA said it was 57% for FLK1 and 56% for FLK2.
  • Case names and statutory citations are not required, except where they are the ordinary label in practice (for example Rylands v Fletcher, CPR Part 36, a section 25 notice).

Source: SRA, Marking and Standard Setting Policy. Checked 5 Sept 2026.

Which law

The law cut-off date

You are examined on the law as it stands four calendar months before the first assessment in your window. Changes implemented on that date may be examined.

For SQE1 January 2027 that date is 11 September 2026. SQEEZE flags it on your dashboard once you pick your sitting.

From the September 2026 specification, where a question needs the monetary value of a relief, exemption, rate or threshold, the figure is provided in the question.

Source: SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification. Checked 5 Sept 2026.

Attempts

Three attempts, six years

You have six years to complete SQE1 and SQE2, counted from the first day you sit your first SQE assessment, with up to three attempts at each.

Both FLK1 and FLK2 must be booked and sat in the same window unless an exemption applies or one has already been passed.

Source: SRA, assessment dates and booking windows. Checked 5 Sept 2026.

Pass rates

How many candidates pass

53%

SQE1 pass rate, January 2026, 7,863 candidates

62%

passed FLK1 in January 2026 (65% first time)

57%

passed FLK2 in January 2026 (61% first time)

First-time SQE1 pass rates have ranged from 46% to 60% since the exam began. The lowest overall rate so far was 41% in July 2025.

Who passes

SQE1 pass rate, first attempt, January 2026. The SRA publishes these figures so the gaps are visible; they describe outcomes, not ability, and the SRA is studying their causes.

Ethnicity

  • White67%
  • Mixed or multiple ethnic groups64%
  • Asian or Asian British47%
  • Other ethnic group41%
  • Black or Black British38%

Undergraduate degree classification

  • First79%
  • 2:157%
  • 2:220%

First language

  • English62%
  • Other46%

Already a qualified lawyer

  • No61%
  • Yes47%

Declared a disability

  • Yes61%
  • No57%

Source: SRA statistical reports. SQE1 January 2026 report published 31 March 2026. Checked 5 Sept 2026.

SQEEZE

What SQEEZE does for SQE1

  • Notes built to the SRA syllabus, subject by subject, with a law-checked date on every topic.
  • Single best answer practice at Easy, Exam and Hard, and every wrong answer explained option by option.
  • SQEEZE THIS turns a mistake into a one-line rule in your Weakness Bank, then tests you on it.
  • Active recall on a blank page against the syllabus's own points.
  • A countdown to your sitting with the law cut-off flagged.
Try the demoSee the 2026 to 2027 dates