SQE study planner
How many hours do you need for SQE1 or SQE2, and what should each week look like? Enter your sitting, your background and the time you can give it. You'll get an honest verdict and a week-by-week plan you can print or email to yourself.
Free to use. Your answers stay in this browser and aren't sent to us unless you ask us to email you something.
How the planner works
The planner compares the time you have with the time we'd plan for someone with your background, then lays out your weeks in four phases.
- Learn (about 55% of your weeks): the subjects in turn, with more time for the bigger ones and for any you've told us worry you.
- Practise (about 25%): timed single best answer sets, two subjects a week, starting with the ones that need it most. For SQE2, skills practice across the practice areas.
- Mocks (about 12%): full timed papers under exam conditions, followed by a careful review of every mistake.
- Final review (about 8%): your weakest subjects, ethics, your error log and, in the last week, rest and logistics.
If you have fewer than eight weeks, learning and practice are combined, because at that point you learn fastest by answering questions.
How many hours does the SQE take?
The SRA doesn't publish a recommended number of study hours, so the planner uses our own planning estimates, based on how much material each background usually needs to learn or relearn. Treat them as a starting point, not a rule.
| Your background | SQE1 (both FLKs) | SQE2 |
|---|---|---|
| Law degree, finished in the last 3 years | 350 to 450 hours | 160 to 220 hours |
| Law degree, more than 3 years ago | 420 to 520 hours | 180 to 240 hours |
| Law conversion course (GDL, PGDL) | 380 to 480 hours | 180 to 240 hours |
| Non-law degree, no formal legal study | 550 to 700 hours | 220 to 300 hours |
| Qualified lawyer from another jurisdiction | 320 to 440 hours | 140 to 200 hours |
Resitting a single FLK paper halves the SQE1 estimate. Legal work experience takes 10% off, because you'll already know how much of the practice material works in real life.
What changes from January 2027
From the January 2027 sitting, each FLK assessment has 170 questions instead of 180, split into two sessions of 85, and subjects are grouped by session. Each session still lasts 2 hours 33 minutes, so you have about 1 minute 48 seconds a question. Practise at that pace from your first timed set. Our guide to the January 2027 changes explains the new structure in detail.
2027 SQE dates
- SQE1, January 2027: FLK1 11 to 15 January, FLK2 18 to 22 January.
- SQE1, July 2027: FLK1 12 to 16 July, FLK2 19 to 23 July.
- SQE2, January 2027: oral 26 to 29 January, written 2 to 4 February.
- SQE2, April, July and October 2027: the written window opens 20 April, the oral window 27 July and 28 October respectively.
Booking closes about five weeks before each sitting. Check the SRA's assessment dates page before you book, because dates and booking windows can change.
Making the plan stick
- Fix your hours in the diary. Plans fail when study time is whatever's left over. Choose the same slots each week.
- Start timed questions early. Don't wait until you've "finished" a subject. Answering questions is how the law goes in.
- Keep an error log. Write one line for every wrong answer: what the right answer was and why. Re-read it every week.
- Weave ethics through everything. Professional conduct is examined across both FLK papers, not as a separate block.
- Sit mocks like the real thing: in one go, at exam pace, somewhere quiet. Our online SQE1 mocks are timed at the January 2027 pace.
Questions
How many hours a week should I study for SQE1?
It depends on how long you have. Divide our estimate for your background by the number of weeks until your sitting. Many working candidates manage 12 to 20 hours a week over six to nine months. The planner does this sum for you.
Is six months enough for SQE1?
For many law graduates studying around 15 to 20 hours a week, yes. Six months at 15 hours a week is about 390 hours, which is inside our range for a recent law graduate. Non-law graduates usually need longer or more hours each week.
Can I work full time and pass SQE1?
Plenty of candidates do, but it takes a fixed weekly routine and a realistic sitting date. If the planner says you'd need more than about 20 hours a week, consider the next sitting.
Do I have to sit FLK1 and FLK2 together?
On a first attempt you book both in the same assessment window. If you pass one and fail the other, you only resit the one you failed. Passes carry forward within your six-year period.
Is this an official SRA tool?
No. LawSquads isn't affiliated with the SRA or Kaplan. The hour estimates are our own planning figures. Always check dates and rules on the SRA website.
Sources
Want someone to keep you on track?
Our SQE1 squads meet weekly, with a timed practice set every week and a tutor to explain what you get wrong.