SQE2: what it tests and how to prepare
SQE2 is the practical skills stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination. It has 16 stations (4 oral and 12 written) and takes about 14 hours in total, testing six skills across five practice contexts. You must pass SQE1 before you can sit it.
Try a free SQE2 client interview
Talk to an AI client by voice or text, write the attendance note, and get estimated grades against the published criteria. No sign-up.
SQE2 format at a glance
SQE2 is not a knowledge test. You act like a day one solicitor: you interview a client, write a note, argue before a judge, research a point, write a letter, draft a document and analyse a file. Skills and application of law count equally. Ethics questions appear in the tasks without any warning.
The table shows typical timings from the SRA specification, as repeated by preparation providers. Check your own booking information for the exact timings in your sitting.
| Task | Typical timing | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Client interview | About 10 minutes reading, then 25 minutes | Oral, with an assessor playing the client |
| Attendance note or legal analysis | 25 minutes | Oral day, written output |
| Advocacy | 45 minutes preparation, then 15 minutes | Oral, before a judge role-player |
| Case and matter analysis | 60 minutes | Written |
| Legal research | 60 minutes | Written |
| Legal writing | 30 minutes | Written |
| Legal drafting | 45 minutes | Written |
The oral part is four tasks over two half days. Day 1 has advocacy in Dispute Resolution and an interview plus attendance note in Property Practice. Day 2 has advocacy in Criminal Litigation and an interview plus attendance note in Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice.
The written part is 12 tasks over three half days. Each day has one case and matter analysis, one legal drafting, one legal research and one legal writing task. Day 1 uses Dispute Resolution and Criminal Litigation, Day 2 uses Property Practice and Wills and Probate, and Day 3 uses Business organisations, rules and procedures.
The five practice contexts
Every task is set in one of five areas. The same skills appear in each. Read the page for each area to see what the tasks look like and the law to have ready.
- Property Practice
- Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice
- Dispute Resolution
- Criminal Litigation
- Business organisations, rules and procedures
The knowledge behind these areas is the same functioning legal knowledge tested in SQE1. If a subject is weak, go back to the FLK1 and FLK2 pages first.
The six skills
- Client interview: listening, questioning and explaining. Marked on skills only.
- Attendance note: recording the meeting and the legal analysis that follows from it.
- Advocacy: a short hearing before a judge role-player.
- Case and matter analysis: reading a file and advising on issues, evidence and next steps.
- Legal research: finding and using the right sources to answer a question.
- Legal writing: a letter, email or memo for a particular reader.
- Legal drafting: a document or clause that works.
How SQE2 is marked
Each criterion is graded from A (superior) to F (extremely poor). Marks from every station are added up and compared with one overall pass mark. There is no pass mark for each station, and none for the oral or written part. The interview is marked by the assessor who plays the client, on skills only. Every other task is marked by a solicitor on skills and on application of law.
From 1 September 2026 there is a separate Law criterion for ethics and professional conduct. Read how the SQE2 pass mark works and how SQE2 tests ethics.
A preparation plan that works
- Check your law first. Spend the early weeks on weak subjects from SQE1, with extra time on the five SQE2 areas.
- Learn one structure for each skill, using the skill pages. Structures save time under pressure.
- Practise tasks one at a time, to time, and write or speak the full answer. Reading model answers is not practice.
- Mark yourself against the published criteria. Keep an error log: what you missed, and the rule or habit that fixes it.
- In the last weeks, run full half days: two oral tasks or four written tasks back to back. Stamina matters.
- Add an ethics check to every task. Ask: is there a conflict, a confidentiality issue, a duty to the court or a money laundering sign?
A SQE2 mock is useful once you have a structure for each skill. Our task list has original tasks in all six skills and five areas. Marking feedback is estimated.
Common mistakes
- Treating SQE2 as more revision of SQE1. You must apply the law to a client, not recite it.
- Running out of time on the long written tasks because you read the file twice.
- Giving law without advice. The client wants to know what to do.
- Missing the ethics point because the task did not flag it.
- Never practising aloud. Interviews and advocacy need speaking practice.
- Spreading effort evenly across areas instead of working on your weakest.
SQE2 checklist
- I know the timing of each task and have practised to it.
- I have one written structure for each of the four written skills.
- I have opening, middle and closing routines for the interview and advocacy.
- I can list the key law for all five practice areas without notes.
- I check ethics in every task.
- I have checked dates and fees on the SQE dates and SQE fees pages.
Topic guides
- SQE2 advocacy: how to prepare and perform
- SQE2 advocacy example: a bail application
- SQE2 advocacy legal tests
- SQE2 advocacy script
- SQE2 attendance note: how to write a strong one
- SQE2 attendance note example
- SQE2 attendance note template
- SQE2 business law: what the tasks look like
- SQE2 case and matter analysis: a 60-minute method
- SQE2 case and matter analysis example
- SQE2 case and matter analysis template
- SQE2 client interview: how to structure it
- SQE2 client interview example
- SQE2 criminal litigation: what the tasks look like
- SQE2 dispute resolution: what the tasks look like
- SQE2 ethics and professional conduct: how it is tested
- SQE2 format
- SQE2 legal drafting: how to draft a document that works
- SQE2 legal drafting example: amended clauses
- SQE2 legal drafting template
- SQE2 legal research: a method that fits in 60 minutes
- SQE2 legal research example
- SQE2 legal research template
- SQE2 legal writing: how to write a strong answer in 30 minutes
- SQE2 legal writing example: a client email
- SQE2 legal writing template
- SQE2 pass mark: how it works
- SQE2 property practice: what the tasks look like
- SQE2 wills and probate: what the tasks look like
Templates and worked examples
Questions
How many stations are in SQE2?
SQE2 has 16 stations. Four are oral (two interviews with attendance notes, two advocacy tasks) and twelve are written. In total it takes about 14 hours.
Is SQE2 harder than SQE1?
They test different things. SQE1 tests knowledge with single best answer questions. SQE2 tests skills in realistic tasks. Pass rates are not a fair comparison, because only people who passed SQE1 sit SQE2. The latest SQE2 rate we saw was 83% (April 2026).
How many times can I take SQE2?
You have three attempts at an assessment within six years.
When do I get SQE2 results?
About 14 weeks after the assessment, according to the Law Society. SQE1 results come about six weeks after.
What is the SQE2 pass mark?
There is one overall pass mark, set at the level of a just competent day one solicitor. There is no pass mark for each station. See our pass mark page for how grades and marks work.
What are the SQE2 exam dates?
Check the SRA's assessment dates page at sqe.sra.org.uk/exam-arrangements/assessment-dates. Dates change, so do not rely on a third party.
Related
- SQE2 mock: how to run one that helps
- SQE2 pass mark: how it works
- SQE2 ethics and professional conduct: how it is tested
- SQE dates
- SQE fees 2026
Sources: SRA presentation: The SQE2 assessment; Law Society: SQE1 and SQE2 assessments; SRA: SQE2 marking and overall pass marks explained; SRA: Ethics and professional conduct changes for SQE2 after 1 September 2026; Legal Cheek: SQE2 pass rate climbs again to 83%. Checked 10 November 2026.