Short answer: You book SQE1 through your SQE candidate account on the SRA's SQE website, not through Kaplan or Pearson VUE. The route the SRA recommends is its seat reservation form: create the account and verify your ID, complete the pre-booking steps, return the form on the published dates (for January 2027 it is sent from 6pm on 22 September 2026 and due by 5pm on 24 September), then pay within 48 hours of the payment email that follows between 19 October and 18 November. Anyone who missed the form can try to book directly between 19 and 23 November; booking closes on 23 November 2026. The fee is £2,006. Every date here was read from sqe.sra.org.uk on 20 September 2026.
Who does what
Three organisations are involved and candidates mix them up constantly. The SRA sets and owns the SQE, and your SQE candidate account on its SQE website is the only place you book. Kaplan is the SRA's assessment provider: it writes and delivers the papers, and its name appears on the emails. Pearson VUE runs the test centres where you sit. A mySRA account is a different thing again, the SRA's regulatory account you use later for admission; it is not the booking account.
The process at a glance
| Step | What you do | January 2027 dates (UK time) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Register for an SQE candidate account and verify your ID | Any time; do it now |
| 2 | Complete the pre-booking steps: the diversity survey and the reasonable-adjustments question | Before 22 September 2026, or you are not sent a form |
| 3 | Return the seat reservation form with your preferred dates and centre | Sent from 6pm on 22 September; due by 5pm on 24 September |
| 4 | Pay when the payment request arrives | Emails between 19 October (10am) and 18 November (5pm); pay within 48 hours |
| 5 | Reschedule if you need to, or book directly if you missed the form | 19 November (10am) to 23 November (5pm) |
| 6 | Booking closes | 23 November 2026 |
| 7 | Sit | FLK1 11 to 15 January, FLK2 18 to 22 January 2027 |
For every sitting's dates, including SQE2, see the SQE1 exam dates and deadlines timeline. This guide is about how to book; that one is about when. July 2027 (FLK1 12 to 16 July, FLK2 19 to 23 July) has no booking dates yet; the SRA publishes them about a year ahead.
Step 1 — Register for an SQE account and verify your ID
Register on the SRA's SQE website. Use your legal name exactly as it appears on the photo ID you will bring to the test centre: a mismatch between your account and your ID is one of the commonest reasons candidates are turned away on the day, and it is fixed at this step or not at all. ID verification is part of the pre-booking process, so allow time for it rather than starting the week the form goes out.
Step 2 — Complete the pre-booking steps
Two things must be done in the account before the SRA will send you a seat reservation form: the Monitoring and Maximising Diversity Survey, and the reasonable-adjustments question. The second matters more than it looks. Answering it is how you request adjustments such as extra time or a separate room; there is no other application route, and the SRA's adjustments guidance explains what evidence it wants. Skip these steps and there is no form, and therefore no seat.
Step 3 — Return the seat reservation form
The form is emailed to your registered SQE address on the published date and asks for your preferred assessment dates and test centre. Return it as soon as it arrives: seats are allocated in the order forms are received, so a form sent on the deadline day is at the back of the queue for the popular centres. Candidates who have requested adjustments must return the form and accept the SRA's adjustment proposal by the same deadline.
For January 2027 the form goes out from 6pm on 22 September 2026 and must be back by 5pm on 24 September 2026. The SRA describes the form as its recommended route and says direct booking is only for those without a reserved seat.
Step 4 — Pay within 48 hours
Once the forms have been processed, payment requests are emailed in the same order, for January 2027 between 10am on 19 October and 5pm on 18 November 2026. Log in to your SQE account and pay. You have 48 hours from the email or the seat is cancelled, adjustments or not; candidates with adjustments are asked to pay by phone rather than online.
The fee is £2,006 for both papers, £1,003 each, VAT exempt, for every assessment from September 2026 onwards. You book and pay for FLK1 and FLK2 together for the same sitting, unless you have passed one paper and are resitting the other, in which case you book only the failed paper for £1,003. The cost breakdown covers everything else you will pay.
Step 5 — Rescheduling, direct booking and the closing date
Between 10am on 19 November and 5pm on 23 November 2026, two things are open:
- Rescheduling. If you have a booked seat you can move it to another location, subject to availability, through the Bookings page in your account. Candidates with adjustments email the accessibility team instead.
- Direct booking. A limited number of seats are released in the account for candidates who did not return a form. They go quickly, and availability at your preferred centre is not guaranteed.
Booking closes at 5pm on 23 November 2026. After that there is no late booking; the next sitting is July 2027.
Choosing your dates and test centre
SQE1 is a computer-based assessment sat at a Pearson VUE test centre, in the UK or at international centres. FLK1 and FLK2 are sat on separate days in consecutive weeks, and from January 2027 each paper is 170 questions in two sessions. After booking you receive an email with the centre address, the time you must report, the start time and the length of the day; report and start times vary by candidate, and international centres run at varied times, so read it carefully. Arrive late and you are not admitted. The exam day guide covers the day itself.
Reasonable adjustments
Adjustments are requested through the pre-booking steps, not on the day, and the proposal must be accepted by the seat reservation deadline. Candidates with adjustments do not book through the candidate account and are contacted for payment separately. Medical items or religious articles that may set off the security wanding must be declared, or an exemption requested, before booking closes.
Cancelling
Cancellation is in writing by email, ideally on the model cancellation form in Schedule 1 of the SQE assessment terms and conditions. The charge depends on how close to the assessment you cancel; the scale is in Part D of the terms. Rescheduling within the window above is free where a seat is available.
Resitting
You can only book a resit once the result for your previous attempt has been released, which is why the July 2026 results on 8 September 2026 came before the January 2027 form on 22 September. You resit only the paper you failed, at £1,003, and the January 2027 resit plan runs on these dates.
After you have booked
Booking is the easy part. With a date fixed, build the preparation backwards from it: a free 10-question readiness quiz to find your weak subjects, then full question access and timed mocks. The study-plan form at the bottom of this page maps all 144 SRA topics onto the weeks you have left.
