SQE1: format, subjects and how to prepare

SQE1 is the first stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination: two closed book assessments, FLK1 and FLK2, made up of single best answer questions. This page shows what each contains, how the format changes from January 2027, and how to build a study plan around it.

StageFunctioning legal knowledge (FLK)

AssessmentsFLK1 and FLK2, closed book

Question typeSingle best answer, five options

From January 2027170 questions per FLK, two sessions of 2 hours 33 minutes

AttemptsThree within six years

What SQE1 tests

SQE1 tests functioning legal knowledge. That means you apply the law to a client scenario. You are not asked to recite rules. Every question gives a short set of facts, asks one question and offers five options. One option is the single best answer. A candidate must pass SQE1 before taking SQE2, which tests practical skills (see SQE2).

Both assessments are closed book and sat at a Pearson VUE test centre, in the UK or abroad. Results come about six weeks after the assessment. You have three attempts at an assessment within six years.

FLK1 and FLK2: which subjects sit where

The two assessments divide the subjects. Ethics and professional conduct is examined across both, so it is not a separate block you can leave until last.

Assessment	Subjects
FLK1	Business Law and Practice; Dispute Resolution; Contract Law; Tort; Legal System of England and Wales, Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law; Legal Services
FLK2	Property Law and Practice; Wills and the Administration of Estates; Solicitors Accounts; Land Law; Trusts Law; Criminal Liability; Criminal Law and Practice

Open the subject guides for rules, common errors and a worked question: Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Contract Law, Tort, Legal System, Legal Services, Property Practice, Wills and Administration of Estates, Solicitors Accounts, Land Law, Trusts, Criminal Liability and Criminal Practice.

The format change from January 2027

Updated specifications apply to assessments after 1 September 2026, and the first affected SQE1 is January 2027. From then each FLK has 170 questions (340 in total, down from 360). Each FLK is sat in two sessions of 2 hours 33 minutes, and each session covers set subject groups. For the groups, see FLK1 and FLK2. Sittings up to July 2026 had 180 questions per FLK.

One practical result: each session has about 85 questions, so you have roughly 108 seconds per question. Plan for that pace from your first week of practice. The SQE1 mock guide shows a pacing plan.

A study plan that matches the exam

Map the law. Make a one-page outline for each of the 13 subjects. If you cannot outline a subject from memory, you cannot yet answer questions on it.
Learn rules with their exceptions. Wrong options are often built from the exceptions. Write each rule as 'rule, exception, who bears the burden'.
Practise questions early, not last. Do 10 to 20 questions a day from week one. See SQE1 practice questions for the technique.
Keep an error log. For every wrong answer note the subject, the rule you missed and why the right option was better.
Sit timed sessions. In the last four to six weeks, practise 85 questions in 153 minutes.

The assessments are broad, so cover every subject before you deepen any. Taxation arises only in Business Law and Practice, Property Law and Practice, and Wills and the Administration of Estates. Where a question needs a particular rate, threshold or relief, it is provided from September 2026, so learn how tax works rather than the figures.

What questions reward

The law cut-off is four calendar months before the first assessment in a window, so revise the law as it stood then. You need case names and section numbers only where they are the normal name for a principle, such as Rylands v Fletcher, CPR Part 36 or a section 25 notice. Questions reward four habits:

Spotting the issue in the final line of the stem, then reading the facts for what matters.
Applying the rule to the facts given, not to facts you imagine.
Noticing ethics. The SRA Principles, the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors and the Code for Firms can arise in any subject.
Choosing between two true options by asking which one answers this question for this client.

Facts to check before you book

Fees changed on 1 September 2026, and pass rates vary by sitting. See SQE fees, SQE pass rates and SQE dates. SQE1 is sat twice a year, in January and July. Qualified lawyers from abroad should also read SQE for foreign lawyers because exemptions may apply.

Topic guides

Templates and worked examples

Try a free SQE1 question

Questions

What is SQE1?

SQE1 is the first stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination. It has two closed book assessments, FLK1 and FLK2, of single best answer questions that test functioning legal knowledge.

How many questions are in SQE1?

From January 2027, 170 questions per FLK, so 340 in total, in four sessions of 2 hours 33 minutes. Sittings up to July 2026 had 180 per FLK, so 360 in total.

What is the difference between FLK1 and FLK2?

FLK1 covers business law, dispute resolution, contract, tort, the legal system and legal services. FLK2 covers property, wills, solicitors accounts, land law, trusts and criminal law. Ethics runs through both.

Can I resit SQE1?

Yes. You have three attempts at an assessment within six years.

Do I need to pass SQE1 before SQE2?

Yes. A candidate must pass SQE1 before sitting SQE2.

Sources: SRA: SQE1 Assessment Specification (from 1 September 2026); Law Society: SQE1 and SQE2 assessments. Checked 10 November 2026.