The SQE is a centralised assessment that all intending solicitors, regardless of their background, must take to qualify as solicitors in England and Wales. This applies to those who have completed a law or non-law degree in the UK, apprentices, paralegals, legal executives, and foreign-qualified lawyers. The SQE consists of two stages of legal knowledge and practical assessments and is administered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in England and Wales.

The SQE requires all intending solicitors to demonstrate a high level of legal knowledge and practical skills, as well as intellectual and analytical ability. It facilitates the development of more flexible pathways to qualification than before, for those who are able to meet the robust standards of the assessment, without diluting the standard of legal skills and practical skills expected of members of one of the world’s most prestigious legal professions.