What changed in 2021
On 1 September 2021 the Solicitors Qualifying Examination became the route to qualifying as a solicitor of England and Wales. The old path — a qualifying law degree or conversion course, the Legal Practice Course, and a two-year training contract — closed to new entrants, and is being wound down under transitional arrangements.
The SQE route has four requirements:
- A degree in any subject, or an equivalent qualification or experience.
- Passing SQE1, the two functioning legal knowledge assessments — see SQE1 explained.
- Passing SQE2, which assesses practical legal skills.
- Two years of qualifying work experience, and satisfying the SRA’s character and suitability requirements.
Who can still qualify through the LPC
The transitional arrangements cover people who were already on the old path before 1 September 2021 — broadly, those who had started, accepted a place on, or paid for a qualifying law degree, a law conversion course, the LPC, or a period of recognised training. That group can qualify by the old route until 31 December 2032.
In practice the window is narrowing faster than the date suggests, because the courses themselves are ending: the SRA approves LPC courses only to the end of the 2025/26 academic year. If you hold an LPC and are eligible, check your position against the SRA’s own transitional guidance rather than a provider’s summary, because eligibility turns on dates that are specific to you.
How the two routes differ
| LPC route | SQE route | |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment | Module by module, much of it open book and coursework | Two centralised assessments: SQE1 multiple choice, SQE2 skills |
| Standard | Set by the course provider within SRA requirements | One national standard, the same for every candidate |
| Preparation | A prescribed course | No prescribed course — preparation is your choice |
| Experience | A two-year training contract with one firm | Two years of qualifying work experience, up to four organisations |
The last two lines are the substance of the change. Nobody has to admit you to a course before you can sit the SQE, and no single firm has to give you two years before you can qualify — which opens the route to paralegals and career changers who were previously stuck behind a training contract.
Cost and time
The SQE’s assessment fees are published by the SRA and rise most years: from September 2026 they are £2,006 for SQE1 and £3,086 for SQE2 — the detail is in dates, fees and booking. Preparation is a separate decision: a full provider course can run into five figures, while self-directed preparation with a question bank costs a small fraction of that.
That is the genuinely new thing about the SQE. Because the exam is centralised and the preparation is not prescribed, the cost of preparing is something you choose rather than something you are quoted. Check the current fees on the SRA’s SQE website before budgeting.
What it means for how you prepare
The LPC taught you to produce work. SQE1 asks you to choose, closed book, in about 108 seconds, between five plausible answers. Preparation that consists of attending and reading transfers badly to that; preparation built on answering questions and reviewing every option transfers well.
If you are coming to the SQE having done an LPC — or having finished a law degree some years ago — the honest starting point is a diagnostic rather than a syllabus. You will find the substantive law more familiar than you expect, and the procedural detail less so. A revision plan sets out how to arrange the months around that, and the non-law route covers where to start if you have no law degree at all.