Confirmed at last: fees for the SQE ‘super-exam’

The fees for the new Solicitors Qualification Exam (SQE) have been revealed.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has confirmed that the candidate fee for the exam, to be introduced in September 2021 subject to approval from the Legal Services Board, will be £3,980.

This will include £1,558 for SQE part 1 – two exams consisting of 180 questions each that assess candidates’ functioning legal knowledge – and £2,422 for Part 2, the written and oral tasks which asses practical legal knowledge and skills, covering advocacy, client interviewing, legal research, legal writing, legal drafting and case and matter analysis.

The thinking behind the two-part model is that those students who fail SQE1 will not go on to study the more expensive second part.

The fees only cover the cost of the exam, not the cost of training, which will vary depending on a candidate’s choices.

The figure is in line with the estimate made by the SRA in 2018, when it said the exam could cost between £3,000 and £4,500.

SRA chief executive Paul Philip said: “Our priority is creating a single rigorous assessment that gives everyone confidence that aspiring solicitors meet high, consistent standards at the point of entry into the profession. We also need to make sure the SQE is value for money and we are today confirming competitive assessment fees well within the original estimates.

“In the current system, many people are put off by the high up-front costs of the Legal Practice Course – up to almost £17,000 – with no guarantee of a training contract. The SQE should give people more training options and more affordable ways to qualify, including earn-as-you-learn routes such as apprenticeships.”

Given the Covid-19 pandemic, the SRA has also updated its arrangements for the transition to the SQE.

Philip said: “It will be some time before the longer-term implications of the Covid-19 pandemic are properly understood but we want to give some extra time to prepare for SQE for those who need it. Our changes to the transition arrangements provide more flexibility for both students and universities, as we introduce SQE in 2021.”

Students who have accepted an offer for a QLD or CPE on or before 31 August 2021, and who go on to start their course on or before 31 December 2021, will now have a choice to qualify under the old system until 2032, or through the new SQE.

Design and implementation of the SQE has been years in the making, having kicked off with the publication of the, itself much-delayed, Legal Education and Training Review in 2013.