SQE1 resits: how many attempts, time limits and what happens to your results

How many attempts do you have at SQE1?

You have three attempts at FLK1 and three at FLK2 within the same six-year assessment period: your first attempt and, if needed, two resits for each assessment. If you pass one paper and fail the other, you normally resit only the failed paper. The period runs from the date you first sat an SQE assessment and also covers SQE2. These are the rules in regulations 4 and 7 of the SRA SQE Assessment Regulations, subject to the exceptional-circumstances extension provision. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

Keep a separate attempt record for each paper. “Three attempts” includes the original sitting; it does not mean three extra chances after a failure. Passing FLK1 does not give you additional attempts at FLK2, or vice versa. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

Which paper do you resit?

The table follows regulations 4, 5 and 7. You must reach the pass mark for each assessment: a stronger result in FLK1 cannot compensate for a fail in FLK2. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

The ordinary rule is to take FLK1 and FLK2 in the same window. Regulation 4 also provides exceptions for specified mitigating-circumstances cases and reasonable adjustments that allow separate windows. Simply choosing to split the papers is not one of those exceptions. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

When does the six-year limit start?

The six-year period starts from the date you first sat an SQE assessment. Regulation 7.1 gives you that period to sit the remaining assessments. Passing SQE1 does not restart the clock: SQE2 must fit within the same period. A later resit does not create a new deadline either. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

Plan the whole assessment route from that starting point. Allow space for preparation, results and a possible further sitting before choosing when to move on. A plan that leaves SQE2 until the end of the period offers little room to respond to a disappointing result.

Check the SRA website for your applicable assessment and booking dates before paying. Our guide to exam dates and booking helps you organise that planning; your remaining attempts and your personal time limit still need checking separately.

What happens if you fail a paper three times?

If you fail FLK1 or FLK2 three times during the six-year period, regulation 7.2 requires you to wait until that period expires before reapplying. Previous passes will not be carried forward when you reapply. It is not a permanent ban, but there is no ordinary fourth attempt within the current period. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

For example, if you pass FLK1 but fail FLK2 at every permitted attempt, the FLK1 pass does not allow you to keep retrying FLK2. You must wait for the existing period to expire before reapplying, and that FLK1 pass will not carry forward. The waiting period runs to the end of the original six-year period; it is not a fresh six-year wait starting with the last failure. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

Can a result expire even if you have attempts left?

Yes. The attempt limit and the time limit operate separately. Under regulation 7.1, if you still have assessments to sit when the six-year period ends, you must reapply and previous passes are not carried forward, unless an extension applies. Having unused attempts does not preserve a pass beyond that deadline. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

This also matters after passing SQE1. If you still need to sit SQE2 when the period ends, the earlier SQE1 passes will not carry forward on reapplication. Regulation 7.3 also imposes the wait-until-expiry and loss-of-previous-passes rules if you fail SQE2 three times. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

Can you retake a passed paper to improve your mark?

No. Regulation 7.5 prohibits resitting an assessment you have passed to improve your marks. For an ordinary SQE1 resit, the passed paper stays passed while you work towards passing the other, subject to the limits above. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

The SRA also explains that pass marks can vary between sittings to maintain the passing standard, and there are no grade quotas. (SRA, SQE Q&A) Our pass mark and results guide explains how to interpret your result. Do not use a previous sitting’s raw pass mark as a guaranteed target.

What if illness or exceptional circumstances affect you?

Regulation 7.4 allows an application to the SRA to extend the six-year period in exceptional circumstances. The SRA decides whether to grant an extension and its length. The provision concerns time; it does not promise an extra attempt. Do not plan on an extension before it has been granted. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations)

Mitigating circumstances affecting an assessment are dealt with separately under regulation 12 and the relevant policy. The Fit to Sit Policy also applies under regulation 10. (SRA, SQE Assessment Regulations) If illness, absence or an assessment incident affects you, check the SRA website promptly for the applicable procedure, evidence requirements and deadlines. Confirm how your particular outcome affects your attempt record before planning another sitting.

How should you prepare for a resit?

Start with an accurate record: the result for each paper, the attempts already used and the date you first sat an assessment. Then review what your preparation needs to change. Separate gaps in legal knowledge from mistakes in applying a rule, reading the facts or managing time. Use those observations to choose your next revision tasks. For each missed question, write down the decisive fact and the rule you needed. Return to that note when you next practise the topic, and check whether you can explain the distinction without looking.

Practise explaining why an answer fits the facts and why the alternatives do not. Revisit mistakes after a gap and mix topics once the underlying rules are secure. Our study plan offers a structure you can adapt to work and other commitments.

Try the free SQE1 quick test to identify topics to revisit, then explore the SQE1 course for practice with explanations and sources. Treat a short practice result as feedback for revision, not a prediction of your next exam result.

High Performer Certs is an independent study platform. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), and it is not authorised or accredited by the SRA or the SQE assessment provider. The SQE and SOLICITORS QUALIFYING EXAMINATION trade marks are the property of and are used under licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority.