Are you ready for the next step of your exciting journey to becoming a solicitor in England and Wales? The Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination (SQE) is a big part of the process. The SQE assessments comprise of two components, SQE1 and SQE2. If you are wondering, "When are the upcoming SQE exams?" you’re in the right place! In this article we outline all the important SQE exam dates straight from the Solicitor’s Regulation Authority (SRA). As providers of SQE1 and SQE2 preparation courses, we’ve also clearly outlined the best courses to take that prepare you in time for your chosen exam date.
Remember, you must complete SQE1 before taking SQE2 unless you have specific exemption from the SRA for SQE1. If you are taking your exams outside of the UK, double-check your timings as these can vary internationally.
SQE1
SQE1 runs twice a year, in January and July. It is split into two assessments: FLK1, and FLK2.
For this exam, we recommend our SQE1 Prep course. We also offer an LLM programme that includes SQE prep for those interested in gaining a master's degree alongside their SQE preparation. Please note that this course lasts 1-2 years, depending on whether you choose the part-time or full-time option.
Our SQE1 preparation courses run year round, and are offered as a full time 13-week option, a part time 20-week option, and a part time 40-week option. Read more information about each course here.
January 2025 SQE1 Exam:
- Dates: FLK1: 13-17 Jan 2025 / FLK2 20-24 Jan 2025
- Booking opening: 10am, 1 October 2024
- Booking close: 5pm, 14 November 2024
- Results date: 11 March 2025
For the full time 13-week course, the best date to coincide with this exam is our 23rd September - 20 December 2024 course. Applications for those course option close on the 9th September 2024. Apply here. This is the best option for you if you can dedicate 35 hours per week to study and want to take on the quickest possible route to qualifying.
If you’re looking to take a part-time course, our part time 20-week course coincides with this January SQE1 sitting and runs from 5th August - 20 December 2024 course. Applications are still open for this but not for long! Apply here. This is the best option for you if you have multiple obligations alongside your study, such as part time work or caring responsibilities. You would typically need to dedicate 15-20 hours of study time per week.
Applications are now closed for the part time 40-week course which preps for the January 2025 exam. However, if you can only juggle around 8 hours of study per week, then this is the best option for you to increase your chances of success and we would recommend going with our 40-week course and preparing for the July sitting instead to increase your chances of passing the assessment.
July 2025 SQE1 exam:
- Dates: FLK1: 14-18 July / FLK2: 21-25 July
- Booking opening: TBC
- Booking close: TBC
- Results date: 10 September 2025
The details for booking times for this sitting are not yet released. However, bookings typically open around 3 months before the assessment date - so keep an eye out on the SRA website.
Our full time, 13-week SQE1 Prep course that best prepares you for this sitting is our course running from 24th March - 20th June 2025. Applications for this close on the 10th March 2025. Applications open soon. This is the best option for you if you can dedicate 35 hours per week to study, and want to take on the quickest possible route to qualifying.
Our part time, 20-week course that best prepares you for this SQE1 sitting is our 3rd February - 20th June 2025 course. Applications for this course close on the 20th January 2025. Applications are opening soon, so keep checking. This is the best option for you if you have multiple obligations alongside your study, such as part time work or caring responsibilities. You would typically need to dedicate 15-20 hours of study time per week.
Our part time, 40-week course that best coincides with this exam is our 2nd September 2024- 20th June 2025 course. Applications close 19th August 2024. Apply here. If you can only juggle around 8 hours of study per week, this is the best route for you to increase your chances of success.
SQE2
SQE2 assessments run four times a year in January, April, July and October. They comprise of two components - a written exam, and an oral exam. The oral assessments take place at exam centres in Birmingham, London, Cardiff and Manchester. Written assessments are at Pearson VUE test centres in the UK and across the world, more details on the SQE2 centres can be found here.
January-Feb 2025 SQE2 exam:
Oral dates:
- First Sitting: 30-31 January 2025
- Second Sitting: 4-5 February 2025
- Third Sitting: 6-7 February 2025
Written dates:
- Dates: 11-13 Feb 25
- Booking opening: 10am, 16 October 2024
- Booking close: 5pm, 12 December 2024
- Results date: 28 May 2025
If you’re looking to take the SQE2 in this sitting and study full time, our full time, 10-week SQE2 Prep course that best coincides with this sitting runs from the 14th October - 20th December 2024 course. Applications for this course close 30th September 2024. Apply here. This is the best option for you if you can dedicate 30- 35 hours per week to study, and want to take on the quickest possible route to qualifying.
If you’d prefer to study part time, our part time, 20-week SQE2 Prep course that best coincides with this exam is the 5th August 2024 - 20 December 2024 course. Applications close 22nd July 2024. Apply here. This is the best option for you if you have multiple obligations alongside your study, such as part time work or caring responsibilities. You would typically need to dedicate 15-20 hours of study time per week.
Our part time, 40-week SQE2 Prep course that best prepares you for this exam is now closed. However if you can only dedicate around 8 hours of learning a week to your studies then we would recommend our 40 week course that prepares you for July sitting to maximise your chances of success.
April-May 2025 SQE2 exam:
Oral dates:
- First Sitting: 28-29 April
- Second Sitting: 30 April-1 May
- Third Sitting: 13-14 May
- Fourth Sitting: 15-16 May
Written dates:
- Dates: 6-8 May
- Booking opening: 28 January 2025
- Booking close: 20 March 2025
- Results date: 27 August 2025
If you’d like to prepare for this exam and study full time, our full time, 10-week SQE2 Prep course best prepares you for this sitting and runs from the 13th January - 21st March 2025. Applications for this course close 31st December 2024. Apply here. This is the best option for you if you can dedicate 30- 35 hours per week to study, and want to take on the quickest possible route to qualifying.
If you’d like to study part time, our part time, 20-week SQE2 Prep course that best prepares you for this exam runs from the 21st October 2024 - 21st March 2025 course. Applications for this course close 7th October 2024. Apply here. This is the best option for you if you have multiple obligations alongside your study, such as part time work or caring responsibilities. You would typically need to dedicate 15-20 hours of study time per week.
Our part time, 40-week SQE2 Prep course that best coincides with this exam is now closed. However much like the previous January sitting, if you can only dedicate around 8 hours of learning a week to your studies then we would recommend our 40 week course that prepares you for July sitting to maximise your chances of success.
Please note SQE2 assessment dates in July and October have not yet been released, but will be added nearer to the time.
If you’re looking to sit the SQE in 2026, we also have course dates preparing you for those later sittings, which you can view via our course calendar.
More resources
Ready to start your SQE journey? Visit our SQE hub for comprehensive guides to the assessment or view our SQE preparation courses.
Published July 2024.
The information on this page was correct at the time of publishing.