UK Legal Qualification and Licensing Exams

The Immigration Advice Authority (IAA), formerly known as the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), regulates immigration advisers.

IAA registration does not make someone a solicitor or barrister. It authorises the person to provide regulated immigration advice and/or services within the level and category for which they are authorised.

Solicitors in England & Wales are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The principal qualification route is the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

SQE1 assesses Functioning Legal Knowledge through two assessments: FLK1 and FLK2. Each contains 180 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions.

Taxation is assessed within the relevant practice areas. SQE2 assesses practical legal skills through written and oral assessments.

Passing SQE1 and SQE2 does not by itself make someone a solicitor. The SRA must also be satisfied as to character and suitability before admission.

The LPC was the vocational stage of the traditional route to becoming a solicitor in England and Wales. It was replaced by the SQE on 1 September 2021, but transitional arrangements allow certain students who had already started or committed to the old route before the relevant 2021 deadlines to continue with the LPC. Generally, this includes candidates who had accepted an offer for a Qualifying Law Degree, or had accepted or started a GDL/CPE, LPC or relevant training, within the SRA’s transitional deadlines.

Eligible candidates must complete the old qualification route and apply for admission as a solicitor by 31 December 2032. Students who started an LLB from September 2022 onwards are generally not eligible for the LPC transitional route and must qualify through the SQE.

A lawyer already professionally qualified in another jurisdiction may be able to obtain exemption from part or all of the SQE assessments. Qualified lawyers do not ordinarily have to complete the standard two-year QWE requirement.

Exemptions operate at assessment-component level. The SRA does not grant exemptions from individual subjects within FLK1, FLK2 or SQE2.

SQE2 exemption: a qualified lawyer may obtain an SQE2 exemption where their professional qualification, practice rights and/or professional legal experience demonstrate skills equivalent to those assessed by SQE2.

SQE1 exemptions are possible but the SRA applies a particularly high threshold, because applicants must demonstrate knowledge and application equivalent to the English and Welsh law assessed in SQE1.

Barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).

Candidates must satisfy the academic requirements for Bar training. Depending on their previous education, additional legal study may be required before progressing to vocational Bar training.

The Inns provide educational, professional and collegiate support and are responsible for Call to the Bar. After satisfying the applicable requirements, a candidate may be Called to the Bar by their Inn.

Call to the Bar does not by itself give unrestricted entitlement to practise as a barrister. Further regulatory and pupillage requirements normally apply.

A qualified foreign lawyer may apply to the BSB as a Transferring Qualified Lawyer (TQL). The BSB assesses the applicant's existing qualifications, professional rights and experience and determines what, if any, additional requirements must be completed. The BSB may grant exemptions from elements of Bar training, sometimes subject to successful completion of specified parts of the Bar Transfer Test (BTT).

The precise route is individualised. A transferring lawyer may still be required to undertake some or all pupillage/work-based learning and may also have additional professional-ethics requirements.

Processing time: the BSB/BTT guidance advises applicants to allow at least 8 weeks for the BSB application process. Actual processing time can be longer, particularly where an application is incomplete or the BSB is dealing with a high volume of applications.

CILEX provides a separate professional lawyer qualification route. A traditional university law degree followed by the solicitor route is not necessarily required.

Qualification combines legal education with practical competence and professional experience. To become a Fellow, candidates generally require at least 2,300 hours of qualifying legal experience, subject to the requirements applicable to their particular route. Additional experience and competence requirements apply for practitioner status.

CILEX should be understood as a distinct professional legal pathway rather than simply an alternative legal examination.

Licensed Conveyancers are specialist property lawyers regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).

Applicants with previous legal qualifications may qualify for exemptions or direct entry at a later stage, depending on the CLC's rules. This route is particularly relevant to people who want to specialise in conveyancing and property work rather than qualify for broad solicitor practice.

Costs Lawyers specialise in the law and practice of legal costs and are regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board (CLSB).

The qualifying experience must involve work in costs law and practice under appropriate supervision. Relevant previous legal education may result in exemptions from parts of the Costs Lawyer Qualification. Once properly authorised, Costs Lawyers have regulated rights relevant to their specialist area of practice.

Patent Attorneys are specialist intellectual-property professionals regulated by the Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg). The profession is particularly suited to candidates with scientific, engineering or technical backgrounds, because patent work frequently requires detailed understanding of inventions and technology.

Trade Mark Attorneys are also regulated by IPReg, but the qualification pathway is different from the Patent Attorney route.

Candidates generally complete an IPReg-recognised foundation qualification followed by the relevant advanced vocational qualification and required professional experience.

Patent Attorney and Trade Mark Attorney are separate professional qualifications despite sharing the same regulator.

Notaries are regulated through the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury, under the Master of the Faculties. A Notary Public is a separate legal profession — many notaries are also solicitors, but qualification as a solicitor does not automatically make someone a notary.

Candidates must satisfy the relevant academic requirements and complete the professional stage. The Notarial Practice Course is currently a two-year distance-learning programme. After completing the required training and satisfying the other regulatory requirements, the candidate may apply for admission to the Roll of Notaries. Newly admitted notaries are also subject to post-admission supervision requirements.

Candidates normally satisfy the required foundation subjects through an appropriate Scots-law programme. Scots law is a distinct legal system, with its own rules and procedures in areas including criminal law, property and civil procedure.

The Diploma in Professional Legal Practice is the vocational stage of Scottish solicitor training, commonly referred to as PEAT 1.

The normal traineeship lasts two years and constitutes PEAT 2. Trainees work under professional supervision and develop the practical competencies required of Scottish solicitors.

Advocates perform the specialist counsel role in Scotland. The profession is organised through the Faculty of Advocates.

Devilling is the practical training stage for prospective Advocates and currently lasts approximately nine months. A trainee Advocate is traditionally called a devil, and the supervising Advocate is known as a devilmaster. Devilling combines structured training, advocacy development, practical experience and assessment.

The professional body is the Law Society of Northern Ireland. The Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) at Queen’s University Belfast provides the principal vocational training.

Admission to professional training is competitive. Candidates must satisfy the applicable academic, character and fitness requirements and secure the required training arrangements. The Indentures of Apprenticeship operate as a two-year training contract.

The profession is represented by the Bar of Northern Ireland.

The ordinary Northern Ireland route requires a 12-month pupillage after Call, providing supervised practical training with experienced counsel.

Barristers entering independent practice in Northern Ireland must become members of the Bar Library following Call in order to practise in that capacity. Barristers providing legal services in Northern Ireland must also hold the appropriate practising certificate and satisfy the continuing regulatory requirements.