SQE exemption eligibility check
What this is: a short check to see whether you might be able to skip part of the SQE because you are already a qualified lawyer somewhere else.
How long: about four minutes, seven short steps. You get an answer on screen at the end, and a written assessment from us within three business days.
It costs nothing and commits you to nothing. If we think you should sit the assessment rather than apply, we will say so.
Seven short steps, about four minutes. You get an answer on screen at the end, and a written assessment from us within three business days.
There is no cost and no obligation.
Where you are qualified
What we are asking: which country or state licensed you as a lawyer, what your licence calls you, and when you got it.
Why it matters: the SRA treats each jurisdiction differently. Some are on a pre-approved list, which makes an application much shorter. Others are looked at one by one.
Qualified in more than one place? Use the one you qualified in first, and mention the others in the box at the end.
The SRA publishes a separate position for each jurisdiction. Yours decides what evidence it will accept.
What you are asking to be exempted from
The SQE has two parts. SQE1 is a written test of legal knowledge. SQE2 tests practical skills like interviewing a client, advocacy and drafting.
You can ask to skip either, or both. In practice most qualified lawyers have a much stronger case for skipping SQE2, because being exempt from SQE1 needs proof that you have actually practised to the standard of a newly qualified solicitor here.
Not sure? Say so. Working out which one you can ask for is part of what we do, and guessing here does not help either of us.
SQE1 and SQE2 are assessed against different things, and the answer is often different for each. Most qualified lawyers have a far stronger case on SQE2.
Your two years
What we are asking: roughly how long you have worked as a lawyer, and what kind of work it was.
Why it matters: the SRA wants at least two years of professional legal work experience.
More counts than people expect. Training you had to complete before you were licensed usually counts. Part-time work counts. Work in more than one firm counts, added together. People rule themselves out of this far more often than they should.
An exemption needs two years of professional legal experience. It can come from more than one place.
What you can evidence
Being eligible and being able to prove it are two different things, and the second is where most applications come unstuck.
A reference has to come from someone who supervised you directly and can confirm your dates and how many hours a week you worked.
Documents not in English need an official translation, which takes time and is worth starting early.
None of these answers rules you out. They tell us how much work your application needs, which is what decides the fee.
The application turns on evidence as much as on eligibility. These three answers tell us how much work yours needs, which is what decides the fee.
What you are entitled to do
This is the question that decides everything else, so it is worth reading twice.
We are asking what your licence permits you to do, not what you have happened to do in your career. If you are allowed to appear in criminal courts but have never taken a criminal case, the answer is still yes.
If you can say yes to all five, the application is shorter. If not, each area you cannot claim has to be evidenced separately, which is more work.
Not sure about one? Answer as best you can. We check it properly against your jurisdiction before anything is submitted.
Not what you have done, but what your qualification permits. This is the question that decides everything else.
Previous SQE assessments
The bar applies to each assessment on its own. You cannot be exempted from an assessment you have already failed, or are waiting on a result for. But failing one does not touch the other.
So if you failed SQE1, you can still be exempted from SQE2. The SRA says results from an SQE1 sitting do not affect an exemption decision.
The last two questions are about anything in your background the SRA would want to know, and how soon you want this done. A yes on the first is not a problem to hide, it is a reason to talk before an application goes in, and we will not ask for detail on this form.
The bar applies to each assessment separately.
Thank you
- If we think you should sit the assessment rather than apply, we will say so.
- If you would rather speak first, reply to our email and we will find a time.
lexverity.co.uk · info@lexverity.co.uk · How we handle your information
Before we start work we confirm in writing what we will do and what it will cost. LexVerity Legal Ltd is registered in England and Wales, company number 16836431.