SQE1 pass rate falls to 42% in latest sitting

Dimitar Dimitrov is acting senior content and events coordinator at LawCareers.Net

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Fewer than half of candidates passed the latest sitting of part one the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), according to new figures published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

The SRA's latest statistical report revealed that 42% of candidates who completed both parts of SQE1 in July 2026 passed the assessment overall. The figure represents a significant drop from the 53% pass rate recorded in January 2026 and it’s only 1% higher than the record low of 41% seen in July 2025.

A total of 6,315 candidates sat both parts of SQE1 in July, including 5,012 first-time candidates and 1,303 candidates re-sitting one or both assessments. First-time sitters achieved a slightly higher overall pass rate of 47%, up from 46% in July 2025.

Candidates must pass both of SQE1's assessments, functioning legal knowledge 1 (FLK1) and functioning legal knowledge 2 (FLK2), to pass the exam overall. In the latest sitting, both papers recorded pass rates of 50% across all candidates.

The latest cohort also included the highest proportion of re-sitting candidates recorded for an SQE1 sitting. According to the SRA, 23.4% of FLK1 candidates and 27.8% of FLK2 candidates were re-sitters. The regulator noted that candidates re-taking the assessments typically achieve lower pass rates than first-time sitters.

In a statement accompanying the results, the SRA said that January pass rates have consistently been around 10 to 15 percentage points higher than July pass rates over the past three years. It attributed this trend to differences in candidates' training routes and the greater proportion of re-sitters in July sittings.

The latest results come shortly after the SRA announced a number of minor changes to the assessment, including a reduction in the number of SQE1 questions, following concerns from candidates that the exam felt overly rushed.