If you are just starting your SQE1 research, the first thing you need is a clear map. What is actually on the exam? How many subjects are there? What is "Functioning Legal Knowledge", and how do the two papers fit together? This guide is that map.
The SQE1 syllabus covers 13 subjects across 142 topics, split between two papers — FLK1 (59 topics) and FLK2 (83 topics). Below you will find a full breakdown of every subject, a topic-by-topic table, and a clear route from "here is the syllabus" to "here is my plan". Every subject links straight to its study notes and its dedicated revision guide, so you can use this page as your hub for the whole assessment.
What "Functioning Legal Knowledge" actually means
The SQE1 does not test whether you can recite black-letter law. It tests Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK) — your ability to apply the law a newly qualified solicitor in England & Wales would be expected to know, to realistic client situations.
That distinction matters more than almost anything else about the exam:
- Questions describe a factual scenario — a client, a transaction, a dispute, a set of accounts — and ask you to choose the single best answer from five options.
- You are rarely asked "what is the rule?" in the abstract. You are asked "given these facts, what should the solicitor advise, do, or conclude?"
- The benchmark is competence at the point of qualification, not the depth of an academic LLB or a specialist practitioner.
In other words, the syllabus is broad but the depth is calibrated to day-one practice. You need working fluency across all 142 topics rather than encyclopaedic mastery of a few — which is the whole logic behind our free personalised study plan, spreading your revision evenly across the specification.
How the SQE1 is structured: FLK1 and FLK2
The SQE1 is set by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and delivered by Kaplan. It is a computer-based assessment made up of 360 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions (MCQs), split into two equal papers:
| Paper | Questions | Topics | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLK1 | 180 | 59 | Business, dispute resolution, contract, tort, the legal system and legal services |
| FLK2 | 180 | 83 | Property, criminal, wills, trusts, land, accounts and criminal liability |
| Total | 360 | 142 | Functioning Legal Knowledge |
A few practical points every candidate should know:
- There is no negative marking — a wrong answer costs you nothing more than a missed mark, so you should answer every question.
- Each question has five options and exactly one single best answer. Often two or three options are defensible; your job is to pick the best one.
- Sittings run roughly four times a year — around January, April, July and October. Book early, because places and centres are limited.
If you want a deeper comparison of the two papers — including how candidates typically find one harder than the other — see our dedicated post on FLK1 vs FLK2.
How the assessment specification maps to questions
The SRA publishes an assessment specification that lists every subject and topic the SQE1 can test. Kaplan then writes questions sampled from across that specification. A few consequences follow:
- Everything on the specification is fair game. There is no "this won't come up" — the sample rotates between sittings.
- Higher-topic subjects carry more questions. A subject with 17 topics will, on average, generate more questions than one with four. That is the single most useful fact for weighting your revision — explored fully in our high-yield topics guide.
- The specification can change. The SRA updates it periodically, so always confirm the current version on sqe.sra.org.uk before you finalise your plan. The structure below reflects the 2026 specification, but treat the SRA site as the authoritative source.
The SQE1 syllabus: all 13 subjects at a glance
Here is the complete hub. Each subject links to its study notes and its revision guide. Bookmark this table — it is the fastest way to navigate the whole syllabus.
That is 59 topics in FLK1 and 83 topics in FLK2 — 142 in total. The sections below describe the scope of each subject so you know what you are signing up for.
FLK1 subjects (59 topics)
FLK1 leans towards the commercial and procedural side of practice, alongside the foundational private-law subjects most candidates met at university. It is built from six subjects.
Business Law and Practice — 17 topics
The largest single subject on FLK1. Business Law and Practice spans the full life cycle of a business: choosing and forming a vehicle (sole trader, partnership, LLP, company), the constitution and decision-making of companies, directors' and shareholders' rights and duties, finance and security, insolvency, and the tax treatment of businesses and their owners. Because it carries the most topics in FLK1, it usually generates the most questions — so prioritise it. Work through the Business Law revision guide once your notes are solid.
Dispute Resolution — 14 topics
Dispute Resolution covers civil litigation from start to finish: analysing a claim, pre-action conduct, the Civil Procedure Rules, starting proceedings, statements of case, interim applications, evidence and disclosure, trial, costs, and enforcement of judgments — plus the role of arbitration and ADR. It is heavily procedural, so it rewards candidates who can sequence the steps of a claim under pressure. See the Dispute Resolution revision guide.
Contract Law — 10 topics
Contract Law tests formation (offer, acceptance, consideration, intention), the contents and interpretation of terms, vitiating factors such as misrepresentation, mistake and duress, discharge, and remedies for breach. A core academic subject that many candidates find more comfortable — but the SQE1 will press you on application to commercial facts. The Contract Law revision guide shows you the question patterns.
Tort Law — 10 topics
Tort Law focuses on negligence (duty, breach, causation, remoteness and defences), occupiers' liability, employers' and vicarious liability, product liability, nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher, and remedies. Expect scenario questions that turn on a single causation or duty point. The Tort Law revision guide walks through the high-frequency traps.
Legal System — 4 topics
A compact but foundational subject. Legal System deals with the constitutional and administrative framework: the sources and structure of law, the courts and judiciary, statutory interpretation, the legislative process, and the principles of public and administrative law. Its detailed treatment lives in the Constitutional & Administrative Law revision guide. Few topics, but they underpin how every other subject is reasoned.
Legal Services — 4 topics
Legal Services covers the regulation of solicitors and the legal services market, the SRA Principles and Codes of Conduct, the regulatory framework, and how the profession is overseen. Its full detail sits in the Ethics & Professional Conduct revision guide — and as the next section explains, this material reaches far beyond its four headline topics.
Ethics and professional conduct: examined everywhere
Here is a point that catches many candidates out: professional conduct and ethics are not confined to one subject. The SRA examines them pervasively across both FLK1 and FLK2.
That means an ethics issue can surface inside a business-law scenario (a conflict of interest on a deal), a litigation scenario (a duty to the court), a property transaction (acting for both parties), or a wills matter (a solicitor benefiting under a will they drafted). You should:
- Treat the SRA Principles and Codes of Conduct as a lens you carry into every other subject, not a box ticked once.
- Watch for the recurring triggers: conflicts of interest, confidentiality, duties to the court, client money, and undertakings.
- Practise spotting the ethical answer even when the question looks like a substantive-law question.
Build this habit early, and you pick up marks scattered right across both papers.
FLK2 subjects (83 topics)
FLK2 is the larger paper by topic count and leans towards private client, property, criminal and the rules around handling client money. It is built from seven subjects.
Property Law and Practice — 16 topics
Property Law and Practice follows a conveyancing transaction end to end: investigating title, pre-contract searches and enquiries, the contract, leasehold and freehold, mortgages, completion, post-completion (including registration and SDLT/LTT), and acting on both residential and commercial transactions. A large, highly practical subject — pair your notes with the Property Practice revision guide.
Criminal Law and Practice — 17 topics
Tied with Business Law as the joint-largest subject on the exam. Criminal Law and Practice covers the criminal process from the police station to sentencing: advising suspects, bail, the magistrates' and Crown Courts, procedure and evidence, and the conduct of a criminal case. Its size makes it a high priority — start with the Criminal Law revision guide.
Criminal Liability — 11 topics
The substantive counterpart to Criminal Law and Practice. Criminal Liability deals with the elements of offences — actus reus and mens rea, the main property and non-fatal offences, homicide, general defences, and modes of participation. Many candidates revise the two criminal subjects together, which is why both point you to the same Criminal Law revision guide.
Land Law — 12 topics
Land Law covers the substantive law of land: registered and unregistered title, freehold and leasehold estates, co-ownership and trusts of land, easements and profits, freehold covenants, mortgages, and third-party interests. It dovetails closely with Property Law and Practice, and the Land Law revision guide shows where the two overlap.
Trusts Law — 11 topics
Trusts Law tests express, resulting and constructive trusts, the three certainties and formalities, charitable trusts, trustees' duties and powers, breach of trust and remedies, and tracing. Conceptually demanding for many candidates — the Trusts Law revision guide breaks the structures down into reliable frameworks.
Wills and Administration of Estates — 8 topics
Wills and Administration of Estates covers the validity and interpretation of wills, intestacy, the grant of representation, administering and distributing an estate, and the inheritance tax that runs through it. Smaller than the headline subjects, but dense — see the Wills & Estates revision guide.
Solicitors Accounts — 8 topics
Solicitors Accounts tests the SRA Accounts Rules: client money versus business money, the client account, recording receipts and payments, transfers, interest, and breaches. It is rules-driven and precise, which makes it one of the most learnable subjects if you drill it — many candidates treat it as a banker for marks. Use the Solicitors Accounts revision guide and practise the entries until automatic.
Turning the syllabus into a study plan
A syllabus is a list. A plan is a schedule. Here is how to convert one into the other.
1. Commit to covering all 142 topics
Because the question sample rotates and there is no negative marking, breadth beats depth. The candidates who pass reliably are usually those who have touched every topic, not those who mastered eight subjects and ignored five. Use the study area — it holds study notes for all 142 topics — so nothing on the specification is a blank.
2. Weight your time by topic count and difficulty
Not every subject deserves equal hours. Two levers should drive your weighting:
- Topic count — more topics means more likely questions. The five biggest subjects (Business 17, Criminal Practice 17, Property 16, Dispute Resolution 14, Land 12) deserve the most time.
- Difficulty for you — be honest about where you are weak. Trusts and Business Law trip up many candidates; for a ranked view, see our guide to the hardest SQE1 subjects.
A simple starting allocation looks like this:
| Tier | Subjects | Why |
|---|---|---|
| High | Business Law, Criminal Practice, Property, Dispute Resolution, Land | Highest topic counts → most questions |
| Medium | Contract, Tort, Trusts, Criminal Liability | Solid topic counts; Trusts is conceptually hard |
| Targeted | Wills, Solicitors Accounts, Legal System, Legal Services | Fewer topics, but Accounts and ethics are high-yield per hour |
3. Learn, then test, then review
For every topic, run the same loop:
- Read the study notes to build understanding (/study).
- Test yourself with scenario MCQs — we have 3,500+ practice questions at /practice, and you can drill subject by subject (see practice questions by subject).
- Consolidate with spaced repetition — our 4,200+ flashcards at /flashcards keep earlier topics fresh while you move on.
- Rehearse under timed conditions with full mocks before the real thing.
For the strategy that ties all of this together, read how to pass SQE1 in 2026.
4. Anchor everything to your exam date
A 142-topic syllabus is daunting until you divide it by the weeks you have left. Work backwards from your sitting, leave the final fortnight for mocks and review, and distribute the topics across the weeks in between.
How hard is it, really?
Pass rates put the syllabus in perspective. In January 2026 the overall pass rate was 53% (58% for first-time sitters); in July 2025 it was 41%. The numbers move between sittings, but two truths hold:
- First-time, well-prepared candidates do markedly better than the headline figure.
- The dividing line is usually coverage and practice, not raw ability. Candidates who systematically work every topic and bank thousands of practice questions are the ones who clear the bar.
Bring the whole syllabus into one plan
You now have the full map: 13 subjects, 142 topics, two papers, one assessment. The next step is turning that map into a schedule you will actually follow.
Our free personalised study plan does exactly that. Tell it your exam date and starting point, and it converts the entire 142-topic syllabus into a week-by-week schedule — weighting the big subjects, scheduling your practice and flashcard reviews, and making sure nothing on the specification slips through. It is genuinely free, and it covers all 142 topics.
When you are ready to start learning, head to the study area for notes on every topic, drill practice questions, and lock it in with flashcards — all with one payment for lifetime access, no subscriptions. And before you finalise anything, confirm the current specification on sqe.sra.org.uk.
The syllabus is big, but it is finite — and it is beatable. Map it, plan it, and work it topic by topic.