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United Kingdom · Professional exam

LPC or SQE: who can still take the LPC route

If you began a qualifying law degree in September 2022 or later, there’s no choice: the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is your only route. The Legal Practice Course (LPC) is open only to people covered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA’s) transitional arrangements, and they must qualify by 31 December 2032. For anyone weighing up LPC or SQE, the SRA’s own advice is that it may be better to skip the LPC and take the SQE route.

  • NoneSQE exemptions the LPC gives
  • 47%July 2025 SQE2 pass rate, LPC without SQE1
  • 31 December 2032Last date to qualify via the LPC
Where to study

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

Who can still qualify through the LPC

The transitional arrangements cover you if you:

  • completed the Common Professional Examination (CPE) or Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), accepted before 1 September 2021
  • accepted an offer for a qualifying law degree (QLD) or exempting law degree by 21 September 2021, started it before 31 December 2021 and have graduated
  • deferred a QLD or exempting law degree offer for 2020/21 and started by 31 August 2022
  • started the LPC or a period of recognised training (a training contract) before 1 September 2021

A degree only counts if it’s on the SRA’s QLD or exempting law degree lists.

The SRA’s transitional page says you have until 31 December 2032 to apply for admission, and an earlier SRA bulletin calls it the last date you can be admitted, so plan to apply well before then.

What to think about before choosing the LPC

The SRA says most LPC providers are phasing out their courses in 2025/26, and only a few are authorised to run it in 2026/27. The LPC route also needs a period of recognised training, and the SRA says there are fewer of those, since most training contracts are now qualifying work experience (QWE) for the SQE route.

If you can’t get one, you can use QWE plus a pass in SQE2 instead, or apply under Equivalent Means. QWE plus SQE2 means paying for SQE2 on top of the LPC, and having the LPC gives you no exemptions from the SQE.

SQE qualifying work experience →SQE2 →

Is the SQE harder than the LPC?

The SRA says it is set at a higher level. The SQE assesses whether you’re competent to practise as a solicitor, while the LPC assessed whether you were ready for a training contract. SQE2 also tests knowledge drawn from SQE1, so LPC graduates who skip SQE1 may need top-up training. Their SQE2 results show the gap:

SQE2 sittingHad taken SQE1Hadn’t
July 202581%47%
April 202584%48%
January 202579%50%
October 202485%62%
July 202480%44%
April 202483%36%

Pass rates for LPC graduates in each SQE2 sitting, as published by the SRA.

If you’ve started or finished the LPC

  • LPC done, no training contract: get a period of recognised training, use Equivalent Means, or use QWE plus SQE2.
  • Training contract done, LPC not finished: count the training contract as QWE and pass SQE1 and SQE2, or use Equivalent Means.
  • LPC started more than five years ago: you must finish both stages within five years, though your provider may grant an extension in exceptional circumstances. If not, the SQE route and Equivalent Means are still open.
Sources: SRA and 4 more. Checked October 2026.

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

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