LPC or SQE route? Transitional rules checker

How is the result calculated?

The SQE route started on 1 September 2021 (check the official website). Regulation 11 of the SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations keeps the old route open for anyone who by then had started, or committed to, a qualifying law degree, the CPE, an exempting law degree, the LPC or a training contract (SRA, Authorisation of Individuals Regulations). The SRA’s Q&A counts accepting an offer of a place and paying a non-refundable deposit as committing, and says courses must in most cases have started by the end of 2021 (SRA, SQE Q&A). Its LPC page sets out the dates for law degree students (SRA, LPC transitional requirements):

For each stage you tick, with $a$ the day you accepted your place and $s$ the start date, the checker tests:

$C$ is the start of the SQE, $A$ the law degree offer date, $S$ the course start date and $E$ the deferred start date from the table. One stage that passes is enough for the LPC route. A date exactly on $C$ or $S$ is shown as unclear, because the SRA’s pages say “before” in one place and “by” or “on or before” in another; a missing date is unclear too. If no stage passes, the SQE route applies.

On the LPC route, the checker then lists what is still needed – the academic stage, the LPC (within five years of starting it), a training contract or two years’ QWE plus SQE2, the Professional Skills Course and character and suitability (SRA, pathways to qualification) (SRA, QWE and SQE2 instead of a training contract) – and counts the time to 31 December 2032 (check the official website) in whole months.

Worked example

Three people check their route on 30 October 2026:

• A law graduate. Offer accepted on 20 August 2021, degree started on 27 September 2021: both in time, so the LPC route is open. Still needed: the LPC, a training contract (or two years’ QWE plus SQE2), the Professional Skills Course and character and suitability, with 6 years 2 months left to apply for admission.
• A GDL student who started late. Place accepted on 15 July 2021, but the course began on 10 January 2022, after the course start date: the SQE route applies. Accepting in time is not enough on its own.
• A later law student. Offer accepted on 10 March 2022, degree started on 26 September 2022: the SQE route applies. The SRA says anyone who began a qualifying law degree in September 2022 or later can only qualify through the SQE (SRA, LPC transitional requirements).

What does your result mean for you?

If only the SQE route applies, nothing is lost: you need a degree in any subject or an equivalent qualification, SQE1 and SQE2, two years’ qualifying work experience and character and suitability (SRA, pathways to qualification). Our six-stage guide to becoming a solicitor walks through them in order.

If both routes are open, you can stay on the LPC route or choose the SQE (SRA, SQE Q&A). Weigh it honestly. Most LPC providers have stopped offering the course, training contracts have become rarer, and the SRA itself writes that “it may be better not to do an LPC but to take the SQE route” (SRA, LPC transitional requirements). If you have passed the LPC but have no training contract, two years’ QWE plus a pass in SQE2 can replace it, without SQE1 or the Professional Skills Course (SRA, QWE and SQE2 instead of a training contract) – the QWE calculator shows how far your experience goes.

Which mistakes are common?

• Treating the LPC as an exemption. The LPC gives no exemption from the SQE assessments (SRA, LPC transitional requirements). If you switch to the SQE route, you sit SQE1 and SQE2 like everyone else.
• Counting only the date you accepted. For courses, the start date matters too. A place accepted in time but taken up later does not bring you within the rules, unless it was a deferred 2020/21 law degree offer.
• Forgetting the second clock. Besides the admission deadline, the LPC itself must be completed within five years; a provider may extend this in exceptional circumstances (SRA, LPC transitional requirements).
• Losing the evidence. The SRA asks students with a deferred offer to keep evidence of the deferral (SRA, LPC transitional requirements). Keep offer letters and enrolment confirmations for every stage.

What if your case is borderline?

The legal rule is regulation 11 of the SRA Authorisation of Individuals Regulations (SRA, Authorisation of Individuals Regulations), and the SRA decides individual cases. If the checker shows “unclear”, or your situation does not fit the four stages – for example you are a lawyer qualified abroad – ask the SRA before you pay for a course. Our guides to SQE vs LPC and to qualified lawyers explain the wider rules. This checker is a study aid, not legal advice.

Study aid only – not legal, financial or careers advice. The tool runs in your browser and stores nothing.

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.