Before requesting a reasonable adjustment you must first register for an SQE account. Once you have completed the registration process you will then be able to apply for reasonable adjustments. You must let us know if you require reasonable adjustments so that we can book the assessment for you. You will be asked to complete and submit a reasonable adjustment application form via your account. We will ask you to provide supporting information as part of your application.

Please let us know if you are not able to use our online registration and booking process. Contact us and we will work with you to find the best way to help. This may include agreeing with you other means of communication so that you can register, book assessments and provide us with information.

Please let us know if you are not able to use our online registration and booking process via email: enquiries@sqe.sra.org.uk or by calling 020 3486 3080 and we will work with you to find the best way to help. This may include agreeing with you other means of communication so that you can register, book assessments, and provide us with information.

Please let us know if you need reasonable adjustments as early as possible. Reasonable adjustments should be requested and the plans accepted before the deadline to submit the seat reservation form. This means we can agree to your reasonable adjustments in time to reserve you a seat. If you are unable to accept your reasonable adjustments before the deadline to submit the seat reservation form, you may need to wait until the next assessment window.

We encourage you to make an application for reasonable adjustments as soon as possible. This will enable sufficient time to put a suitable reasonable adjustment plan in place for you, so we can reserve you a seat that meets your needs. Even if you are not ready to book your assessments, we will review your application for reasonable adjustments and give you an answer, so you are better able to plan and prepare for the SQE. You should apply for reasonable adjustments as soon as you set up your account and accept the reasonable adjustment plan prior to the deadline to submit the seat reservation form.

We know that preparation for these assessments can be stressful for candidates and early confirmation of your reasonable adjustment plan may help to reduce some of the anxiety that you may have. You can also use this information to discuss with training providers, whether these adjustments could be replicated in your training and preparation courses, if appropriate to you.

Your application will be considered by an experienced and suitably qualified team. Our team includes members who have experience of disability and of agreeing reasonable adjustments. Our team will engage sensitively, promptly, consistently and fairly with you and in accordance with the SQE Reasonable Adjustments Policy.

When we receive your application for reasonable adjustments, we will consider your request and, where necessary, we will get in touch, using the email address you provided on registration (or if you are unable to use email, by using your preferred method of communication). We may need to discuss your application with you or may ask you to provide further information or documents. In many cases your initial application will provide all the information we need. There is no direct telephone number however a call can be arranged if requested.

Candidates with a reasonable adjustment plan in place do not need to book their assessments online. We manage the booking on your behalf to ensure the test centre can accommodate your specific requirements.

We will send you a seat reservation form approximately three months before the assessment. You must ensure to fill out the seat reservation form, and accept your reasonable adjustment proposal in order for us to reserve you a seat. If you do not fill out the seat reservation form, or accept your adjustments by the deadline to do so, you may have to wait to sit the assessment in the next window.

It is important to complete the seat reservation form when it is sent to you from our central services. Although you will have indicated your preferred location on your reasonable adjustment application, it is essential to also fill out the seat reservation form when received, as it enables us to reserve you a seat.

If you have filled out the seat reservation form, and accepted your proposal, we will identify a test centre which can accommodate your agreed reasonable adjustment and is as near to you as possible, and will reserve a place there.

While we prioritise locations near you, specific adjustment requirements and test centre availability may require travel to a different region or country. Your booking is finalised once the assessment fee is paid. Available locations for SQE1 and SQE2 are confirmed when the booking window opens; please note that international availability may vary due to local holidays and time zones.

We will allocate to you a Reasonable Adjustment Liaison (RAL) who will be your main point of contact to help you through the process. They will work with you to ensure that adjustments are the right ones for you. This will provide continuity and detailed on-going support for you.

Our team can provide general advice on the information and supporting documents you may need to submit in support of your application for a reasonable adjustment. They can be contacted via email (or other agreed means of communication). Our team may also be able to suggest a range of reasonable adjustments which you may wish to discuss with your disability assessor.

It is your responsibility to provide the information which will enable full consideration to be given to your application for a reasonable adjustment. You, working with your disability specialist, should propose adjustment(s) appropriate to remove or reduce the disadvantage which you might otherwise experience because of your disability or condition.

You can apply for reasonable adjustments for SQE1, SQE2 written and/or SQE2 oral at the same time. This means we can put a reasonable adjustment plan in place for future assessments, so you may not need to make another application for your next assessment.

We will agree to each adjustment for a specific time period. If you have a lifelong condition/disability that is unlikely to change over time (such as a specific learning difficulty), we may be able to put a reasonable adjustment plan in place for up to two years; meaning you only need to make one application.

If your condition/disability may change over time, we will add a ‘valid until’ date to each adjustment.Your reasonable adjustment profile will confirm the date in which the adjustment is valid until.

Contact details: equality.quality@sqe.sra.org.uk or 020 3486 3080

If all of your agreed adjustments are no longer ‘valid’ you will need to make a new application for reasonable adjustments. Your SQE portal will automatically update and will allow you to make a new application. We encourage you to do this as soon as possible so we can review your application and let you know whether further information is required.

If only some of your adjustments are no longer valid, and you still require that adjustment, please contact us and a member of the Equality Team will contact you to discuss the next steps.

Your request for reasonable adjustment(s) will be reviewed by our reasonable adjustments team. In complex cases we may ask your permission for us to contact your specialist consultant or GP or the person who has assessed your requirements for reasonable adjustments. We will keep the information provided to us confidential and as required by the General Data Protection Regulations 2016 and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Where a request relates to SQE1 and the written assessments of SQE2 we will share details of the adjustment agreed as necessary and appropriate with Pearson VUE so that arrangements can be made at the test centre. Where the request relates to SQE2 oral assessments we may share the information with the assessors, markers and such members of the operations team as is necessary and appropriate to make sure your reasonable adjustment is put in place.

We do not share any details of disabilities, conditions or reasonable adjustments with employers or training providers of candidates.

The SQE Privacy Notice sets out how we use candidate information more generally.

Once we have sent you a reasonable adjustment proposal you will be able to ‘accept’, ‘not accept’ or ‘withdraw’ your reasonable adjustment application. If you do ‘not accept’ your proposal you will be asked to provide a reason as to why. Your reasonable adjustment liaison will review this and contact you to discuss the next steps.

We understand that circumstances change over time and that you may need to change your adjustments. If you have already ‘accepted’ your proposal and want to make a change, please contact us and we will review your additional request inline with our Reasonable Adjustments Policy. Please note that we may ask for further information/documentation to support your change request. It may not be possible to make a change to your reasonable adjustment plan if the booking window has closed.

You will be able to track the status of your application through your SQE account (or otherwise as agreed), on the ‘Reasonable Adjustment’ section on the right hand-side.

If further information is required, we will contact you via email to let you know what information we need from you to progress your application.

Once we have sent you a reasonable adjustment plan, you can view the adjustments on your reasonable adjustment profile on your SQE portal.

Contact details: equality.quality@sqe.sra.org.uk or 020 3486 3080

Requests for further supporting documents or information will be sent to you by email (or alternative means of communication as agreed). After your request has been reviewed and all supporting information has been considered you will receive an update from us via your account (or otherwise as agreed). You may confirm and accept the proposed reasonable adjustment in which case the reasonable adjustment will be recorded on your account. If you do not accept the adjustment we propose, you may reject our response and in the first instance discuss this with your reasonable adjustment liaison.

If after discussion you disagree with our decision you can appeal against it by making a Request for Review.

We recognise the importance for you to have a clear and timely agreement on what reasonable adjustments will be put in place. We aim to agree the position as quickly as possible on receipt of an application and all the information in support of the application. The time it takes us to process a request for reasonable adjustment will depend on the nature and complexity of your request and the supporting information and evidence you provide.

In most cases the reasonable adjustment requested will be straightforward to put in place. In some cases we may need to ask for clarification or further evidence. Once we have all the information necessary to reach a decision, we will let you know via your SQE account (or otherwise as agreed). There will be some more complex cases that may take longer for us to work through and, in these cases, we may take up to 20 working days to provide a decision. We will let candidates know as early as possible if this is the case.

If you are not satisfied that appropriate adjustments have been proposed you can ‘not accept’ your reasonable adjustment plan on your SQE portal, and give a reason as to why you are ‘not accepting’ your adjustments. A member of the Equality Team will then contact you via email to discuss this further.

If you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you can request a review of your proposal. Please see the SQE Reasonable Adjustments Policy.

Contact details: equality.quality@sqe.sra.org.uk or 020 3486 3080

Your request must include all relevant information, and explain why you do not accept the decision regarding your request for reasonable adjustments.

The reviewer may take advice as appropriate and will review your case and the offer made to you. The reviewer, taking all relevant factors into account, will determine whether the proposed adjustments, or a decision to not make provision of reasonable adjustments, was reasonable.

Where the reviewer decides that different adjustments must be made, an altered reasonable adjustments proposal will be made. Where the Reviewer agrees with the original proposal of reasonable adjustments, that original proposal will stand.

The reviewer will communicate their decision on your review to you by email (or other agreed means of communication) within 10 working days of submission of the review. Where the reviewer upholds your review, a new decision on your request for reasonable adjustments will be communicated to you via your SQE account (or other agreed means of communication) within five working days after the decision of the reviewer.

Mitigating circumstances is an issue or event that materially and adversely affected your marks or performance in the assessment. The Mitigating Circumstances Policy provides a process to raise concerns about a mistake or irregularity in the administration or conduct of the assessment, bias, illness, or other personal circumstances beyond your control. So it is something you might make use of if an event occurs. There is no fee or charge to submit a mitigating circumstances claim You can also review the mitigating circumstances webpages which helps explain the policy and process further.

Learn more: Mitigating circumstances

We understand that some candidates who request reasonable adjustment will need to make additional arrangements and incur additional expenses which are significantly more complex and costly than those which all SQE candidates meet.

This might arise for example because you have a much longer journey to reach a test centre which can accommodate your agreed reasonable adjustment. Because of your disability, you may have to make additional travel arrangements, or arrange an overnight stay or pay for the presence of a carer. In considering what reasonable adjustment should be made, we will discuss with you all the individual circumstances of your case and all adjustments which it may be reasonable to make. In some cases the reasonable adjustment we agree may include payment by us towards additional expenses you may incur.

Each case will be determined on its individual merits and consistently and fairly in line with the SQE Reasonable Adjustments Policy. In reaching a decision about what adjustments should be made, we will consider all relevant factors in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and supporting legislation.

If you experience a flare up of your condition that affects your ability to engage with the exam, we would signpost you to either the:

SQE Fit to Sit policy

SQE Mitigating Circumstances policy

It could be helpful to review these policies so that you understand how candidates are supported in the event of being unwell on the day of the assessment taking place, or falling ill during the assessment.

If you experience a deterioration in your health which materially affects your performance during the assessment you should inform the invigilating team at once, and contact us immediately after the assessment so that we can advise on making a claim for mitigating circumstances.

Yes. The readers we use are selected on the basis that they have appropriate oral and written communication skills for the role as reader (and scribe). They receive training on how to support candidates that may have a disability or condition. We arrange meetings before the assessments between the candidate and the reader (or scribe). This is to support both the candidate and the reader (scribe) in the assessments, so they become familiar with each other and put in place arrangements such as how they will work together, pace of speech, where they will sit, proximity, how they will use key instructions, etc. In those meetings, the reader (scribe) and candidate use the sample questions on the SQE website to practise working together. A period of time between the meetings allows for reflection from both parties so that arrangements can be updated if needed at the second meeting.

Yes. The Pearson VUE website provides information on items that are comfort aids and do not require pre-approval. They will be allowed in the Pearson VUE testing rooms for SQE1 and SQE2 written assessments upon inspection at the test centre.

Not every element of the information on comfort aids will be relevant to you. If you have any questions about comfort aids please contact the SQE candidate services team, rather than Pearson VUE.

This timeline is for the following reasons:

• Provision of time to advise the candidate about any further supporting information required for their application, and for that supporting information to be provided.
• For a seat to be reserved with the agreed Reasonable Adjustment(s)/Accommodation(s).
• Assessment bookings must be made with the agreed Reasonable Adjustment(s)/Accommodation(s).
• To provide Kaplan and the test centre provider with sufficient time to organise staffing, arrange the provision of specialist equipment, and make all other necessary arrangements for delivery of the Reasonable Adjustment(s)/Accommodation(s).
• The finalised plan enables a candidate to prepare for their assessment and complete practice assessments with reference to the agreed Reasonable Adjustment(s)/Accommodation(s).