From January 2027, each SQE1 paper is 170 questions in two sessions of 85. Each session now tests its own subjects, and the time stays at 2 hours 33 minutes a session, so you get about 108 seconds a question. The SRA announced the change on 10 September 2026, and it applies to everyone sitting in January, re-sitters included.
What changed in January 2027
Two things changed, and both are about the shape of the paper rather than what it tests. The number of questions in each Functioning Legal Knowledge assessment drops from 180 to 170, so each session falls from 90 questions to 85 and SQE1 as a whole from 360 to 340. And the subjects are now split between the two sessions of each paper, where before every subject could appear in either.
Because the session length is the same, the time for each question goes up. 153 minutes for 85 questions is about 108 seconds each; for 90 questions it was about 102.
| Until July 2026 | From January 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions per paper (FLK1, FLK2) | 180 | 170 |
| Questions per session | 90 | 85 |
| Questions in SQE1 overall | 360 | 340 |
| Time per session | 2 h 33 min | 2 h 33 min |
| Time per question (average) | about 102 seconds | about 108 seconds |
| Subjects in each session | All of the paper's subjects | Half of them (see below) |
Which subjects sit in each session
Each paper's subjects are now divided between its two sessions. This is the SRA's split:
- FLK1, Session 1: Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution and Legal Services.
- FLK1, Session 2: Contract Law, Tort, and Legal Systems (the Legal System of England and Wales, Constitutional and Administrative Law, and EU Law).
- FLK2, Session 1: Wills and the Administration of Estates, Trusts Law, Land Law, and Solicitors Accounts in the context of wills.
- FLK2, Session 2: Property Law and Practice, Criminal Liability, Criminal Law and Practice, and Solicitors Accounts in the context of property.
Two details matter for revision. Solicitors Accounts now appears in both FLK2 sessions, split by context, so it cannot be left to the end of one block. And Ethics and Professional Conduct stays pervasive: it can be tested in any subject, and so in any session.
What did not change
The SRA was explicit that the rest of the assessment stays as it was. Each session is still 2 hours 33 minutes. The blueprint, meaning the share of questions each subject can take, is unaffected. Questions are still fully randomised within a session, so you will not get all your Contract questions together and then all your Tort; they are mixed throughout. And Ethics remains pervasive.
The pass standard has not changed either. Results are a scaled score out of 500, and the pass mark is always 300; the SRA's results page already describes the papers as 170 questions from January 2027. The resit rules are the same: three attempts at FLK1 and three at FLK2 within six years, and you cannot resit a paper you have passed.
Why did the SRA change it?
The SRA gives two reasons. Candidates told it that SQE1 could feel rushed and pressurised for the time allowed on each question, and that having every subject in both sessions made this worse. It says the reduction to 170 questions follows a review of data from every SQE1 sitting so far, which gave it confidence that fewer questions would improve the experience without making the assessment less accurate.
Splitting the subjects lets candidates focus on fewer areas in each session. Keeping the questions randomised within a session is, in the SRA's words, about preserving assessment security. In practice, that means the new shape is easier to plan for, but not easier to sit: within a session you still switch subject from one question to the next.
How many questions each subject gets
The blueprint sets each subject's share of a paper, not of a session, so the arithmetic is worth doing once. In FLK1, Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Contract, Tort and the Legal System each take 14 to 20% of the paper, which is about 24 to 34 of the 170 questions. Legal Services takes 12 to 16%, about 20 to 27 questions. In FLK2, each of the six subjects takes 14 to 20%, with Solicitors Accounts counted inside Property Practice and inside Wills.
Put together with the session map, each session's subjects share its 85 questions. In FLK1 Session 1, for example, Legal Services is likely to be around a quarter to a third of the session, with Business Law and Dispute Resolution sharing the rest. These are estimates from the SRA's published ranges, not figures the SRA gives, and the exact split varies by paper.
What 108 seconds a question means in practice
Six extra seconds a question sounds small. Across a session it is about eight and a half minutes, which is roughly five more questions' worth of thinking time than before. The useful habit is to check your pace a few times rather than on every question:
- 20 questions by about 36 minutes.
- 40 questions by about 1 hour 12 minutes.
- 60 questions by about 1 hour 48 minutes.
- 80 questions by about 2 hours 24 minutes, leaving about 9 minutes for the last five and any you flagged.
If you are behind at a checkpoint, the fix is usually to stop re-reading answers you were already sure of, not to rush the next ten.
How to revise for the two-session shape
This is our advice, not the SRA's. The new shape rewards revising and testing the way you will sit the paper:
- Revise in session pairs. Group the subjects as the SRA does, so each block of revision ends in a session you can test.
- Practise mixed, not blocked. Within a session the order is random, so practise with the session's subjects shuffled together.
- Mock one session at a time, at 85 questions and 2 hours 33 minutes. A mixed 180-question mock now trains the wrong pace and the wrong subject mix.
- Then sit a full paper back to back before the exam. You still sit both sessions of a paper on the same day.
- Compare the two session scores. A gap between sessions is new information; under the old shape it was hidden inside one mixed score.
- Keep Solicitors Accounts and Ethics in every block. Both now run across sessions.
How we rebuilt the SQEase simulation
Until October, our full mock was the old shape: 180 questions, every subject mixed, on one clock of 5 hours 6 minutes. When the SRA published the change, we rebuilt it. A full paper in the SQEase simulation is now two sessions of 85, each drawing only its own subjects within the SRA's ranges, each on its own clock at about 108 seconds a question.
When Session 1 ends, its answers close, as they will on the day, and Session 2's clock starts only when you press Start. There is an optional 60-minute break between the two, and in the exact simulation the break is the only point where you can save and leave.
Results now show a score for each session as well as the total, so a weaker session is visible on its own. Half papers (80 questions), short papers (40) and single sessions sit under Customise. The new simulation is live on the web on the Core, Pro and Ultra plans; the iPhone app gets it in its next update.
Questions candidates ask
Is SQE1 still 180 questions a paper?
No. From the January 2027 sitting, each paper is 170 questions. Some study guides online still describe 180-question papers and 90-question sessions; they were written before the SRA's announcement.
Does the change apply to re-sitters?
Yes. The SRA says it applies to all candidates, first sitters and re-sitters alike, from January 2027.
Will the questions be grouped by subject within a session?
No. Each session holds only its own subjects, but within the session the questions come in a random order.
Did the pass mark change?
No. The pass standard is still a scaled score of 300 out of 500 for each paper.
If I fail FLK2, do I have to resit FLK1?
No. You have three attempts at each paper separately, and you cannot resit a paper you have already passed.
When is the January 2027 sitting?
FLK1 runs from 11 to 15 January 2027 and FLK2 from 18 to 22 January. Booking closes on 23 November 2026, the examinable law is as at 11 September 2026, and results are due on 9 March 2027.
If you want to practise in the new shape, the SQEase simulation sets up a full paper in two sessions by default, and how SQEase works explains what sits behind each question. Our blog will cover pacing, Solicitors Accounts and the 2027 syllabus changes over the coming weeks.
How this was written: Finlay Salisbury wrote and edited this post. AI tools helped with research and drafting. Every legal and factual point was checked by him against the linked primary sources. He is not a solicitor, and this is study information, not legal advice.