SQE2 Pass Rates 2022-2026: Historical Data and Key Insights

Updated April 2026 – Just as I did for SQE1 performance, I wanted to write about SQE2 pass rates over time… and now that the SQE has been in place for over four years, there is some interesting data available regarding candidates’ SQE2 success rates.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”) publishes detailed SQE2 exam reports after every assessment, and at the end of each year. However they don’t (as far as I’m aware) present historical pass rates, etc. in any one document – rather, they publish SQE2 stats on a per-test basis.

I thought it might be useful to amalgamate some of the performance data to illustrate SQE2 pass rates (and more!) over time. So below I’ve shared what I think are the most useful and interesting SQE2 “stats from the past”…

By the Numbers: SQE2 Pass Rates and More

Historical SQE2 Candidate Numbers

The number of candidates sitting SQE2 has grown significantly since the exam was first introduced. The initial sitting in April 2022 included just 726 candidates, whereas – by April 2025 – 2,753 people were writing the exam (the largest cohort to date).

SQE2 Pass Rates by Legal Skill and by Legal Practice Area

Mean Practice Area Scores Under Old Scoring System (April 2022 – July 2024)

Practice Area	Skill Type	All Candidates	Pass	Fail
		mean (%)	mean (%)	mean (%)
Business Organisations, Rules and Procedures	Case and Matter Analysis	69.0	74.5	52.0
	Legal Drafting	62.4	67.1	48.0
	Legal Research	65.9	70.6	51.2
	Legal Writing	65.7	70.5	51.0
Criminal Litigation	Advocacy	77.1	82.1	61.7
	Case and Matter Analysis	67.8	72.3	53.1
	Legal Drafting	62.6	66.4	50.4
	Legal Research	63.9	69.0	48.6
	Legal Writing	63.2	67.7	49.7
Dispute Resolution	Advocacy	74.5	79.3	60.0
	Case and Matter Analysis	64.4	69.7	48.9
	Legal Drafting	70.8	75.3	57.9
	Legal Research	74.6	78.8	61.0
	Legal Writing	62.5	67.4	47.2
Property Practice	Case Matter and Analysis	66.5	70.3	54.3
	Interview and Attendance Note	67.5	70.9	57.0
	Legal Drafting	69.9	75.3	53.8
	Legal Research	71.1	75.7	56.5
	Legal Writing	64.8	70.0	50.5
Wills and Intestacy, Probate Admin and Practice	Case and Matter Analysis	69.5	74.4	53.9
	Interview and Attendance Note	67.1	70.8	55.8
	Legal Drafting	66.3	69.5	57.5
	Legal Research	66.2	71.4	51.4
	Legal Writing	69.3	73.7	55.3

Mean Practice Area Scores Under New Scoring System (October 2024 – July 2025)

Practice Area	Skill Type	All Candidates	Pass	Fail
		mean (/500)	mean (/500)	mean (/500)
Business Organisations, Rules and Procedures	Case and Matter Analysis	312	329	244
	Legal Drafting	319	336	253
	Legal Research	307	325	236
	Legal Writing	312	329	247
Criminal Litigation	Advocacy	360	379	287
	Case and Matter Analysis	362	378	288
	Legal Drafting	322	337	258
	Legal Research	328	346	271
	Legal Writing	307	323	255
Dispute Resolution	Advocacy	368	388	293
	Case and Matter Analysis	326	344	267
	Legal Drafting	345	362	293
	Legal Research	359	375	287
	Legal Writing	324	341	252
Property Practice	Interview and Attendance Note	345	356	299
	Case Matter and Analysis	352	367	292
	Legal Drafting	335	352	266
	Legal Research	335	351	274
	Legal Writing	313	328	258
Wills and Intestacy, Probate Admin and Practice	Interview and Attendance Note	336	349	282
	Case and Matter Analysis	348	363	292
	Legal Drafting	346	366	274
	Legal Research	338	354	276
	Legal Writing	312	328	249

SQE2 Success Rates by Skill and Subject: Key Observations

1. Consistent Performance Hierarchy Across Subjects & Exam Stations. The data reveal a consistent performance hierarchy that persists across both the old percentage-based system and the new scaled scoring system.

Criminal Advocacy is the assessment in which candidates tend to perform best – with students averaging the highest scores in the old system (77.1%) and performing extremely well in the new system too (360/500).

Civil Advocacy follows closely as the assessment in which students score “second-best” on average. The average candidate score was 74.5% under the old scoring system. Since the introduction of the new scoring system, candidates have actually been scoring slightly better in Dispute Resolution Advocacy than they are in Criminal Litigation Advocacy (368/500).

The Property Practice Interview & Attendance Note is another exam station where students historically demonstrate strong performance (67.5% under the old system, and 345/500 under the new system).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Business Organisations, Rules and Procedures consistently shows the weakest performance across multiple skills with: average Legal Drafting scores of only 62.4% (under the old scoring system) and 319/500 (under the new system) and average Legal Research scores of just 307/500 (the lowest score in the new system).

2. Best Performing Subject Areas. Historically, Criminal Litigation is the strongest subject area for students overall (though with significant internal variation across skills). Under the old scoring system, Criminal Litigation had a mean of 68.7% across all the SQE2 skills and, in the new system, it averages 335/500. The subject’s strength is boosted by exceptional Advocacy scores (77.1% old / 360 new) and solid Case and Matter Analysis performance (67.8% old / 362 new). However, candidates generally demonstrate weaker Writing and Drafting scores (creating the most varied performance profile of any SQE2 legal subject).

Property Practice ranks as the second-best performing subject area. Students have been scoring particularly well under the new scoring system with an average grade of 336/500. Students tend to demonstrate more “consistency” in Property Practice than they do in Criminal Litigation (i.e. they don’t attain the peak scores – as in Criminal Litigation Advocacy – but they also avoid the dramatically lower scores). Students perform particularly well in Property Practice Case and Matter Analysis (66.5% old / 352/500 new) and Interviewing & Attendance Note Writing (67.5% old / 345/500 new).

3. Worst Performing Subject Areas. Business Organisations, Rules and Procedures consistently ranks as students’ weakest subject area in SQE2. With an average score of just 65.2% (in the old system) and 310/500 (in the new system), Business Organizations shows under-performance across all the legal skills. The toughest areas for Candidates are Legal Research (average score 307/500) and Legal Writing (average score 312/500). These are some of the lowest scores across the entire SQE2 assessment.

Dispute Resolution is historically the second hardest legal subject. It has a mixed performance profile. While it is among the weaker subjects overall, it contains one of the strongest individual components. (Recall that, on average, students receive their highest SQE2 scores in Dispute Resolution Advocacy (74.5% old / 368/500 new)). However, performance is much weaker in the other skills, particularly Legal Writing (62.5% old / 324/500 new) and Case and Matter Analysis (64.4% old / 326/500 new).

4. Skill-Based Analysis Reveals Clear Patterns. When analysing performance by skill type, rather than subject area, Advocacy skills consistently show the highest scores across all practice areas (where they are tested). Interviewing & Attendance Note writing skills, while tested in fewer areas, also show strong performance. (I find this SO interesting – as it always seems as though these 2 skills are the ones candidates are most worried about before the test. However, the data suggest that candidates are coming in very well-prepared for the oral assessments!)

The Legal Research assessments generally shows mixed performance that appears highly dependent on the specific subject area (suggesting that research skills may not transfer uniformly across different legal topics).

Legal Drafting and Legal Writing, consistently present challenges across all subjects, with Legal Writing emerging as the weakest skill area across the entire SQE2 assessment.

5. Score Gaps Between Those Who Pass and Those that Don’t. Between 2022 and 2024 (before the introduction of scaled scoring), Advocacy skills showed the largest gaps between passers and non-passers – typically ranging from 20-22 percentage points, indicating strong discriminatory power. Conversely, Legal Drafting showed the smallest gaps at only 9-12 percentage points – suggesting that either: (a) this skill is challenging for all candidates or (b) the Legal Drafting assessment method may not effectively differentiate competence levels. The new scaled scoring system amplifies these differences even more, with Criminal Litigation Advocacy showing massive gaps (more than 90 points) between passing and failing candidates.

SQE2 Performances of Qualified Lawyers vs. Non-Qualified Candidates

In this table you can see SQE2 pass rates by qualification status (note that the data is for candidates taking SQE2 as a first attempt only).

Sitting	Qualification Status	Proportion of Candidates	Mean Score	Pass Rate
April 2022	Qualified Lawyers	33%	70%	70%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	67%	73%	81%
October 2022	Qualified Lawyers	54%	66%	68%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	46%	68%	74%
April 2023	Qualified Lawyers	27%	65%	69%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	73%	71%	85%
July 2023	Qualified Lawyers	15%	65%	66%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	85%	71%	85%
October 2023	Qualified Lawyers	34%	62%	49%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	66%	68%	80%
January 2024	Qualified Lawyers	12%	66%	71%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	88%	68%	77%
April 2024	Qualified Lawyers	5%	63%	60%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	95%	68%	82%
July 2024	Qualified Lawyers	10%	64%	66%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	90%	69%	79%
October 2024	Qualified Lawyers	8%	64%	70%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	92%	68%	84%
January 2025	Qualified Lawyers	7%	319*	77%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	93%	335*	77%
April 2025	Qualified Lawyers	3%	328*	73*
	Non-Qualified Candidates	97%	342*	84*
July 2025	Qualified Lawyers	7%	323*	72%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	93%	329*	79%
October 2025	Qualified Lawyers	4%	317*	61%
	Non-Qualified Candidates	96%	335*	80%

*The score required to pass SQE2 is now expressed as a scaled score out of 500, and the passing score is set at 300. For more information see the SQE Marking and Standard Setting Policy.

SQE2 Success Rates by Qualification Status: Key Observations and Insights

1. The “Non-Qualified” Advantage: Higher Pass Rates and Mean Scores. In almost every single SQE2 sitting, non-qualified candidates have achieved higher pass rates, and higher mean scores, than qualified lawyers. This isn’t just a slight difference! In some sittings, non-qualified candidates passed at rates over 20 percentage points higher.

2. Declining Proportion of Qualified Lawyers Taking SQE2. The proportion of SQE2 candidates who are qualified lawyers has dramatically decreased over time (from 54% in October 2022 to less than 5% by mid 2024 – early 2025). Non-qualified candidates now represent the vast majority of test-takers (upwards of 90%). Presumably this is because many qualified lawyers are obtaining SQE2 exemptions from the SRA, and no longer having to sit the exam.

SQE2 Exam Statistics: FAQs

Where Can I Find More Detailed Data Regarding Historic SQE2 Pass Rates?

As mentioned, the SRA publishes a detailed report after every SQE2 sitting – and at the end of every year. These reports contain a lot more information than I’ve included in this post. For example, there’s diversity and socio-economic data, to help understand how candidates with different backgrounds perform in SQE2. The SRA’s reports also break down pass rates by demographic characteristics (ie. education, ethnicity, age, sex disability, religion, etc.).

If you are interested in these additional details check out the SRA’s Full SQE Reports.

How is SQE2 Graded?

If you’d like to get granular, you should visit these pages on the SRA’s website:

• Understanding What’s Included in your SQE2 Results
• SQE Results and Resists
• SQE Marking and Standard Setting Policy

Where Can I Find Resources to Help Me Pass SQE2?

There is a lot of helpful SQE2 info in our archives! Check out the Materials & Mock Exams section of our site (to find key resources), and the Approaching the Test section (to see specifics regarding each SQE2 assessment).

The Final Word on SQE2 Pass Rates and the Evolving Landscape

Recent data reveal several interesting insights that candidates may want to consider as they prepare for the second part of the SQE:

1.Variable SQE2 Pass Rates. SQE2 pass rates have varied quite considerably since the test was introduced in 2022 (between 64 and 82% across sittings). However, the transition to scaled scoring in 2025 seems to have “stabilised” pass rates in the 75-82% range (at least for the moment).

2. Advocacy Advantages. Despite being one of the more feared SQE2 assessments, the data show that students consistently achieve their highest marks in the Advocacy tests.

3. Skills Gap? There appears to be a historic “skills gap” (of sorts), with Legal Writing and Legal Drafting consistently under-performing across all legal practice areas (even passing candidates struggle with these written assessments).

4. Subject Strengths and Weaknesses. Business Organisations is the subject area in which candidates score the lowest (generally under-performing across all the assessed skills), while the highest average scores are attained in Criminal Litigation and Property Practice. (Which is SO interesting, because Property Practice is historically the toughest area of SQE1, as mentioned in this article – SQE1 Pass Rates 2021-2026: Trends, Analysis, and FAQs)

5.The Ascendancy of Non-Qualified Test-takers . Perhaps the most intriguing (and consistent) trend is the superior performance of non-qualified candidates over qualified lawyers in almost every sitting of SQE2. While the precise reasons are multifaceted – and the sample size of qualified candidates is now quite small – this indicates that prior qualification status alone does not guarantee success. Instead, thorough, SQE-specific, preparation – tailored to the exam’s unique practical demands is paramount for all aspiring solicitors, regardless of their background.

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Finally, (if stats aren’t your thing) and you’d like to hear some personal stories from people who’ve recently passed – check out this post: How I Did It: Advice from People Who’ve Passed SQE2.