Aspiring solicitors face £5k SQE bill after latest fee hike

The cost of taking the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) will exceed £5,000 for the next academic year.

The exams - part of the route to becoming a solicitor since 2021 - will cost £5,092 for candidates booking the assessments from October, up from £4,908 last year.

Taking the SQE1 will soon cost £2,006, up from £1,934, and the SQE2 will cost £3,086, up from £2,974.

Resits will also be more expensive for the significant number of hopefuls who will fail - January’s SQE1 exams had a pass rate of 53%, and last October’s SQE2 exams had a pass rate of 78%.

Resitting one part of the SQE1, which is split into two sections, will cost £1,003, up from £967, and resit fees for both parts will cost £2,006, up from £1,934. Candidates who fail the SQE2 will have to pay £3,086 for a redo, up from £2,974.

The SRA said the new fees reflect inflation and a small annual additional uplift towards the costs of translating the assessments into Welsh.

The regulator confirmed the hike on 21 April alongside releasing its annual reports four years on from the introduction of the SQE. 

In his report, independent reviewer Ricardo Lé described the two-part assessment as “challenging to deliver” but “robust and defensible”.

The cost of qualifying

The SQE was introduced in September 2021 to replace the far more expensive LPC, which cost between £9,000 and £17,000. Although still valid until 2032, the SQE is often now the preferred route. 

At launch, SQE fees totalled £3,980. In 2018, the SRA estimated the route would cost between £3,000 and £4,500.

The costs do not start and end with the exam fees alone - although not required, the SQE is rarely taken without paying for a prep course. 

The exams are also just one part of the process needed to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. Candidates typically need an undergraduate degree and two years’ qualifying work experience alongside passing the SQE. 

It is worth noting that many take the exams as part of a training contract with a firm, meaning their assessment fees and prep course fees are often covered, along with at least part of their living costs.