Costs and fees

Fees

The total candidate fee for the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is currently £3,980.

• SQE1 - £1,558
• SQE2 - £2,422

All fees are VAT exempt.

New fees for assessments from October 2022

The SRA has agreed an increase in the candidate fee for the SQE assessment. Across the two exams this means SQE1 will go up from £1,558 to £1,622 and SQE2 from £2,422 to £2,493 (overall increase of 3.4%). This fee rise will come into effect for anyone booking to take the SQE2 in October 2022 and subsequent assessments.

This below-inflation increase will pay for SQE assessment developments such as remote proctoring arrangements. This was an additional requirement following the Covid-19 pandemic. This could be deployed if there were widespread test centre closures, or major restrictions on international travel impacting a large number of candidates.

The SRA has a rigorous annual monitoring process in place to review candidate fees with Kaplan. This is to make sure the SQE continues to offer good value for money and any increase in fees is justified.

New fees

SQE1: £1,622 (effective for SQE1 January 2023)

SQE2: £2,493 (effective for SQE2 October 2022)

Paying for SQE1

You must book FLK1 and FLK2 separately but pay for them both in a single payment at time of booking. FLK1 and FLK2 must be taken in the same assessment window (unless an exemption applies).

Paying for SQE2

You must book both the written and oral assessments together, and pay at the time of booking.

The fees you pay will depend on whether you have an exemption and what your exemption is for.

Learn more: Exemptions

Learn more: Payment methods

Cancellation fees

If you cancel your exam after you have paid for it, you may be charged a cancellation fee based on when you instruct us to cancel your booking. You must tell us in writing that you want to cancel your current booking.

Learn more: SQE Assessment Terms and Conditions

The cancellation charges are based on the timing of when you instruct us to cancel the booking.

SQE1

• Cancellation within 14 days of booking and paying for the exam - no charge, full refund is given.
• Cancellation after 14 days of paying for the exam, until the booking window closes:
  • If you cancel either FLK1 or FLK2 - full refund for that assessment, minus £30 cancellation charge.
  • If you cancel the whole of SQE1 (both FLK1 and FLK2) - full refund, minus £60 cancellation charge.
• Cancellation after booking window closes, but more than 48 hours before the exam:
  • If you cancel either FLK1 or FLK2 - full refund for that assessment, minus £584.25 cancellation charge.
  • If you cancel the whole of SQE1 (both FLK1 and FLK2)- - full refund minus £1,168.50 cancellation charge.
• Cancellation within 48 hours of the exam - No refund

SQE2

• Cancellation within 14 days of booking and paying for the exam - no charge, full refund is given.
• Cancellation after 14 days of paying for the exam, until the booking window closes - a full refund is given, minus £250 cancellation charge.
• Cancellation after the exam booking deadline but more than 14 days before the first day of the relevant assessment window - full refund, minus £1,816.50 cancellation charge.
• Cancellation 14 days or less before the first day of the relevant assessment window - no refund.

Please note: we require requests for cancellation to be in writing via email, and suggest the use of the Model Cancellation Form (see Schedule 1 of the SQE Assessment Terms and Conditions for a copy).

Resits

To resit your exam, you will pay the fees shown below:

SQE1

• If you fail FLK1 or FLK2 then you will pay £779 to retake the exam you failed
• If you fail both FLK1 and FLK2 then you will pay the full SQE1 fee of £1,558 to retake both exams

SQE2

• If you fail SQE2 you will need to pay the full amount of £2,422 to retake the exams

All fees are VAT exempt.

Clerical check and appeals

You can request a clerical check for errors in the calculation or collation of your exam score. There is a one-off charge of £100. This will be refunded if an error is found.

Learn more: Appeals policy

To appeal the decision of the SQE Award Board, you will pay the fees shown below:

• First stage appeal - £350 - refunded if your appeal is upheld
• Final appeal - £850 - refunded if your appeal is upheld