SQE resit rules and how to plan one

An SQE resit is allowed, but the SRA limits you to three attempts at each part within a six-year window that starts at your first attempt. Check the SRA's resits page before you book, because details can change.

How many times can you take the SQE

According to the SRA's resits page, you can make up to three attempts at each part of the SQE. The six-year window starts on the first day of your first attempt at any SQE assessment. If you fail the same part three times, you must wait until the six years have ended before you can start the SQE again. Passes you earned earlier do not carry forward after that point.

You can only book a resit once you have received the result of your previous attempt. That has a practical effect. With SQE1 sittings in January and July, and results about six weeks after each, a fail in January usually means the next realistic sitting is July.

The page states the limits in general terms. If you have a mixed record, for example a pass in FLK1 and a fail in FLK2, ask the SRA how the rules apply to you. We do not state the rules for a passed FLK paper here, because we could not confirm them from a source we can open.

What a resit costs

The SQE1 assessment fee is £2,006 from 1 September 2026, covering both FLK papers. Press and course providers have quoted different prices for resitting a single FLK paper over the years, and we could not confirm the current figure. Look at the SRA's SQE fees page before you plan your budget. Our own SQE fees page and cost calculator show the other costs.

Why people fail and what to change

Do not just redo the same revision. Use the result to find the cause. Your SQE1 result shows your scaled score and quintile for each paper, which tells you how far you were from 300. Use your own practice scores by subject to find the weak areas. The legal press reports that in July 2026 more than a fifth of candidates in each FLK paper were resitting, so you are not alone.

• Weak knowledge in a few subjects: go back to the rules and test yourself from memory.
• Right knowledge, wrong option: you are falling for plausible distractors. Read the question first and rule out two options for a stated reason.
• Running out of time: there is under two minutes a question, so practise at that pace.
• SQE2 skills: in an SQE2 resit, find the weakest skill from your result and rehearse that one, not all of them.

A four-week SQE1 resit study plan

This plan is for a candidate who has just failed one FLK paper and has a few months before the next sitting. Adjust it to your own results.

1. Week 1: diagnose. List your weakest three subjects from the result breakdown. Redo 40 questions in each, untimed, and write one line on why you got each wrong.
2. Week 2: rebuild. Re-learn the rules for the weakest subject using short notes. Teach it aloud, then do 30 questions.
3. Week 3: second and third subjects. Same method. Add one timed set of 30 questions per day to rebuild stamina.
4. Week 4: mixed timed practice. Do mixed sets at exam pace, then review every wrong answer and every lucky guess. Use SQE1 practice questions and a full-length mock.

If you have more weeks, repeat weeks 2 to 4 for areas that still slip, and keep the last week light.

What a resit means for work experience and money

QWE is separate from the exams, so a fail does not reduce the QWE you have. You can keep working towards your two years while you prepare. See SQE qualifying work experience. If you are choosing between routes, SQE vs LPC explains who still has the choice. Dates for the next sitting are on the SRA's assessment dates page, and our SQE dates page explains how to read them.

Questions

Related

• SQE results: timing, content and next steps
• SQE1 practice questions: how to answer single best answer items
• SQE pass rates: SQE1 and SQE2
• SQE fees 2026
• SQE revision timetable

Sources: SRA: SQE results and resits; SRA: SQE fees; Legal Cheek: SQE1 pass rate drops to 42%. Checked 10 November 2026.