Supporting documents for your reasonable adjustments application

When you apply for reasonable adjustments (RA) for your SQE assessments, you must include supporting documents with your application. These documents provide the information needed by the Equality and Quality (E&Q) team to understand your disability or condition and to assess your request.

What are supporting documents and why are they needed?

Supporting documents are reports or letters from qualified professionals that:

• Confirm the nature of your disability or condition
• Explain how it affects your ability to take the SQE assessments
• Recommend reasonable adjustments to help address your needs

These documents are essential to ensure your request is properly assessed and appropriate adjustments are put in place.

Who can provide supporting documents?

For assessment sittings where a reader or scribe is required, we arrange for you to meet them before your assessment. This helps both you and the reader/scribe become familiar with one another and establish working arrangements, such as pace, seating, and use of instructions. This preparation supports a smoother assessment experience.

Review process

The documents should come from a qualified professional with expert knowledge of your condition. Examples include:

• Specialist consultants or medical doctors (GPs)
• Occupational health advisers
• Educational specialists or psychologists
• Approved assessors for learning difficulties (e.g., licensed specialist teachers or chartered educational psychologists)

If your documents are not in English (or Welsh if you're sitting the SQE in Welsh), you must provide a certified translation.

Examples of supporting documents

• Medical reports or letters
• Specialist assessment reports (e.g. for learning differences )
• Reports from educational psychologists or occupational therapists
• Letters from Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) assessment centres, supported by medical evidence

Guidelines for submitting your supporting documents

• Upload your documents through your SQE account when making your RA request
• Ensure files are in a standard format (PDF, JPG, PNG)
• Check file size limits and upload instructions on your account portal
• Provide clear, detailed reports that directly address your need for adjustments

Important notes

• If you don't have supporting documents at the time of your request, submit your request anyway and provide the documents as soon as possible
• Supporting documents must generally be recent, but older evidence may be accepted if your condition is stable; check with the E&Q team if unsure
• You must submit new or updated supporting documents if your condition changes or for each new assessment sitting if required
• We are not responsible for any costs incurred in obtaining supporting documents

Evidence from university

You may include supporting documents used for reasonable adjustments during university, such as Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) recommendations. However, this evidence will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, as SQE assessments differ significantly from university exams.

If necessary, the E&Q team will ask for additional or updated information to ensure your RA request fits the specific requirements of the SQE.

Older supporting documents

Whether older documents are acceptable depends on your disability or condition and the adjustments you request. Some conditions are stable over time, so older evidence may still be valid.

However, any requested adjustments must be supported by up-to-date recommendations. You should work with your assessor to obtain current advice if needed.

Please note that Kaplan does not cover the cost of obtaining supporting documents.

Submitting an RA request without supporting documentation

You should submit your RA request as soon as possible, even if you don't yet have all the supporting documents. However, your request cannot be fully considered until the necessary documents are received.

Please provide any requested documents promptly to avoid delays or losing your preferred test centre booking.

Need help or have questions?

If you have concerns about confidentiality or need guidance on what supporting documents to provide, please contact the SQE Candidate Services team for advice.