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United Kingdom · Professional exam

Booking the SQE: how each booking window works

Register first, then reserve a seat, then pay. Every sitting of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has its own booking window, and you can only join it once you have an SQE account with your ID checked and the pre-booking steps done. Kaplan, the assessment provider for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), sends a seat reservation form when the SQE booking window opens and gives out seats in the order the forms come in.

  • Order receivedHow Kaplan allocates seats
  • Up to 2 yearsHow long an adjustment plan lasts
  • Advance noticeNeeded to sit in Welsh
Register on the SQE website

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What happens in an SQE booking window?

  1. Create an SQE account and activate it.
  2. Get your ID validated.
  3. Answer the pre-booking questions, including the diversity survey, and ask for any reasonable adjustment at this stage.
  4. Fill in the seat reservation form that’s emailed to you when it’s available, with your preferred place and date.
  5. Wait for Kaplan to allocate a seat. If it can’t give you your first choice, it offers one as close as possible.
  6. Pay the fee by the deadline to complete the booking.

For SQE2 you need to have passed SQE1, but you don’t always have to wait for the result to join the window. In 2024, people waiting for July SQE1 results were contacted about October SQE2 seats and given a later payment deadline.

SQE cost →SQE exam dates →

Where you sit the SQE

SQE1 is taken at test centres across England and Wales and in other countries, under controlled exam conditions. You choose your preferred location on the seat reservation form. Assessment locations for each sitting are listed with the dates on the SQE website.

Reasonable adjustments for the SQE

If you need an adjustment, apply as early as you can, as part of the pre-booking steps. Since June 2025 there’s one application for both SQE1 and SQE2, and an agreed plan covers up to two years instead of a single booking window. Your candidate account shows the status, what’s been agreed and when it expires.

Kaplan’s policy, FAQs, examples of possible adjustments and a video on applying are on the SQE website.

Taking the SQE in Welsh

You can take both SQE1 and SQE2 in Welsh. You have to give advance notice by the deadline for your sitting, using the form on the SQE website. Part of each year’s fee rise goes towards the cost of translating the assessments.

How to apply for the SQE

There’s no separate application to the SRA before you sit. Registering on the SQE website is how you apply, and you don’t need a degree to sit either part. The degree, work experience and suitability checks come later, when you apply for admission.

SQE qualification: what you need to be admitted →
Sources: SRA and 5 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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