Guide
How to qualify as a solicitor through the SQE
What every route to qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales involves, whether you are studying law, changing career or already a lawyer somewhere else.
The short version
Every candidate must pass SQE1 and SQE2, although if you are already a qualified lawyer, in the UK or another country, you may be exempted from SQE2. Most candidates also need two years' qualifying work experience (QWE), but qualified lawyers do not. You do not need a degree to sit the exams, only before you are admitted. No prep course is required.
The SRA source for each point is given in the sections below.
1The route for everyone
To qualify as a solicitor of England and Wales, you need:
- a degree in any subject, or an equivalent qualification
- a pass in SQE1 and a pass in SQE2
- two years' full-time (or equivalent) qualifying work experience
- to meet the SRA's character and suitability requirements
Source: SRA, Pathways to qualification, checked 24 September 2026
You do not need a degree to sit SQE1 or SQE2. You need a degree in any subject, or an equivalent, before you can be admitted as a solicitor.
Source: SRA, SQE questions and answers, checked 24 September 2026
Apart from passing SQE1 before SQE2, candidates are free to prepare for the assessments in whatever way suits them. No prep course is required.
Source: SRA, SQE training options, checked 24 September 2026
2Law students and graduates
You can sit SQE1 whenever you feel ready, whether that is in your final year or after you graduate. Your QWE does not have to wait for the exams.
Qualifying work experience (QWE) is two years full time or equivalent, in up to four organisations, paid or voluntary. It can be gained in England and Wales or overseas, before, during or after the SQE, and is confirmed by a solicitor of England and Wales or a compliance officer for legal practice (COLP).
Source: SRA, Qualifying work experience for candidates, checked 24 September 2026
Our guide to QWE explains what counts and who can confirm it. If you are deciding when to start revising, read when to start studying for the January 2027 sitting.
3International students and overseas degrees
If your degree is from outside the UK, the SRA's checker, Atlantic Data, confirms whether it is equivalent to a UK degree (level 6).
Source: SRA, Check and validate your qualification, checked 24 September 2026
Your QWE can also be gained overseas, as long as it meets the SRA's rules and is confirmed by a solicitor of England and Wales or a COLP.
Source: SRA, Qualifying work experience for candidates, checked 24 September 2026
You can sit SQE1 at test centres in many countries outside the UK. Check the SRA's dates and locations page before you book, and read our guide to test centres outside the UK. If English is not your first language, our guide for non-native speakers covers reading long questions under time pressure.
4Changing career
Your degree can be in any subject, and you only need it before you are admitted, not before you sit the exams.
Source: SRA, SQE questions and answers, checked 24 September 2026
You do not have to take a prep course either. How you prepare is up to you.
Source: SRA, SQE training options, checked 24 September 2026
You do not need any legal knowledge to start with SQE Cracker. Each topic starts from the basics. If you are studying around a job, our guide to study hours with a full-time job helps you plan your weeks.
5Already a qualified lawyer (UK or another country)
Qualified lawyers need a degree in any subject (or an equivalent level 6 qualification), must pass SQE1, must pass SQE2 or be exempted from it, and must meet the SRA's character and suitability requirements.
Source: SRA, Qualified lawyers, checked 24 September 2026
Unlike other SQE candidates, qualified lawyers do not need two years' qualifying work experience (QWE).
Source: SRA, Qualified lawyers, checked 24 September 2026
SQE1
SQE1 exemptions are very rare: the SRA says only one has been granted since 2021.
Source: SRA, Applying for an SQE1 exemption, checked 24 September 2026
Plan to sit SQE1, and treat an exemption as something you are unlikely to get.
SQE2
An SQE2 exemption needs at least one of five listed practising rights (criminal litigation, civil litigation, property, wills and probate, business organisations), at least two years' professional legal work experience covering all the SQE2 skills, no previous SQE2 fail, and evidence at Level 3 of the SRA Threshold Standard. The fee is £265 for one or both exemptions.
Source: SRA, Applying for an SQE2 exemption, checked 24 September 2026
The SRA decides an SQE2 exemption application within 180 days of receiving the completed application.
Source: SRA, Applying for an SQE2 exemption, checked 24 September 2026
Our guide to the SQE2 exemption application covers the evidence to collect before you start the form.
English
If you are exempted from SQE2, you must show your qualification was assessed in English or Welsh, or pass a Secure English Language Test at IELTS 7.5 or equivalent.
Source: SRA, English or Welsh language proficiency, checked 24 September 2026
If you trained in a civil law system, read our guide for candidates with a civil law background and why you already know more law than you think.
6With a prep provider or on your own
Some candidates take a full course with a provider such as BARBRI, QLTS School or the University of Law, and use SQE Cracker for practice and revision alongside it. Others use SQE Cracker on its own.
Our comparison of SQE1 prep providers sets the options side by side, and our guide on choosing an SQE1 prep option helps you decide which one fits.
7How SQE Cracker helps
SQE Cracker is SQE1 prep built by lawyers who sat the SQE themselves. You learn each topic with a live AI law tutor, practise on more than 11,000 SQE-style multiple-choice questions and sit full mocks in the January 2027 format. Your notes, flashcards and revision tools stay linked to the topics you are studying.
The free preview gives you one topic pack per subject, one full mock and a monthly allowance of AI tutor time. If you want a human coach as well, the Guided Plan adds 20 hours of live one-to-one coaching across two SQE1 sittings.