Quick Answer

SQE1 is marked one mark per correct answer, with no negative marking. Each FLK has its own pass mark, set separately for every sitting by the Assessment Board using expert judgement and statistical equating, then converted to a scaled score out of 500 on which the pass mark is always 300. Your results statement shows a scaled score, a raw score, a practice-area breakdown and a quintile, and you must pass FLK1 and FLK2 separately. July 2026 results were released on 8 September 2026. From January 2027, each FLK will contain 170 questions rather than 180.

July 2026 SQE1 results were released on Tuesday 8 September 2026. If you are looking at a scaled score and trying to work out what it actually means, this post explains how SQE1 is marked, how the pass mark is set, what a score of 300 represents, and how to read every line of your results statement. It also covers a change to the exam that affects anyone sitting from January 2027 onwards.

This post owns the marking and interpretation. If you did not pass and want the resit rules, costs and timeline, those are in What Happens If You Fail SQE1?. If you need the January 2027 booking dates, they are in When Is the Next SQE1 Exam?.

How is SQE1 marked? One mark per question, no negative marking

For the July 2026 sitting, each FLK assessment contained 180 single best answer multiple choice questions, split into two sessions of 90 questions with 2 hours and 33 minutes per session, which works out at roughly 1.7 minutes per question (SRA, SQE1 sample questions page, accessed 10 September 2026).

The marking rules are simpler than most candidates expect. Every question has five options, and the SRA is explicit that the correct answer is the best of the stated alternatives and scores one mark. Any other response, including selecting more than one option, scores zero. Crucially, there is no negative marking: marks are never deducted for a wrong answer. That means you should never leave a question blank. An educated guess has real expected value; a blank has none.

Your raw score is simply the total number of correct answers across both sessions. One detail that confuses people on results day: your raw score may be shown out of fewer than 180. That is because the SRA removes any questions that its post-assessment checks show have become invalid, before the pass mark is set, so the standard is set against the slightly shorter paper (SRA, Understanding your SQE1 results page, accessed 10 September 2026).

A change from January 2027. The SRA’s results guidance now states that for SQE1 assessments taken on or after January 2027, each FLK will contain 170 questions rather than 180. At the time of writing the SRA has not published the session structure or timing for the shorter format, so if you are preparing for January 2027, check the SRA’s SQE1 pages before you build timed practice around a 90-question session.

The raw score is not what decides whether you pass. That depends on where the pass mark is set for your sitting.

Who decides the pass mark, and how

SQE1 has no fixed pass percentage. There is no rule that 60 per cent of marks passes, and no quota that a set share of candidates must pass or fail. Instead, the pass mark is set for each assessment using a recognised standard-setting process (SRA, Marking and Standard Setting Policy, version applicable from September 2025):

• The Modified Angoff method. A panel of qualified solicitors reviews each question and judges how many out of ten “just competent” Day One solicitors would answer it correctly. Those judgements, anchored to the SRA’s Threshold Standard, produce a provisional cut score.

• Statistical equating. Between full standard-setting exercises, common questions that appear across sittings are used to compare the difficulty of different papers, so a harder paper gets a proportionately lower cut score and an easier one a higher cut score.

• Measurement error review. The Assessment Board considers the Standard Error of Measurement and decides what correction to apply before fixing the final pass mark.

After each sitting, results go through data validation and psychometric review before the Assessment Board confirms the outcomes and sets the pass marks for FLK1 and FLK2. Only then are quintiles calculated and results checked and released (SRA, SQE1 results and marking page, accessed 10 September 2026).

The practical upshot: the standard you have to meet is anchored to Day One competence, not to how your cohort performs. If your sitting’s paper was harder, the pass mark reflects that.

What is a scaled score, and why the pass mark is always 300

Because the raw pass mark moves from sitting to sitting with question difficulty, raw scores from different sittings are not comparable. The SRA solves this by converting every candidate’s score onto a common 0 to 500 scale, with the pass mark always placed at 300. Scores above and below are scaled relative to that pass mark, and the SRA is clear that scaling never changes a pass into a fail or vice versa (SRA, Marking and Standard Setting Policy).

Three things follow from this:

1. 300 is not 60 per cent. A scaled score of 300 means “exactly at the pass mark for this sitting”. The raw percentage behind it varies with the paper.

2. Scaled scores are comparable across sittings; raw scores are not. A 320 in January and a 320 in July represent the same distance above the standard, even if the raw marks differ.

3. Most candidates sit close to the line. In January 2026, the mean scaled score was 311.2 on FLK1 (median 319) and 304.3 on FLK2 (median 312) (SRA, SQE1 January 2026 Statistical Report, published 31 March 2026). With so many candidates clustered near 300, a handful of questions separates passing from failing, which is why disciplined revision coverage matters more than heroic mastery of any single topic.

One caution: your scaled score on results day is a different animal from the percentage scores you have been logging on practice questions all year. If you want to make practice scores meaningful, track them by topic and direction of travel. We have written about what your practice MCQ scores actually tell you separately.

Reading your SQE1 results statement, line by line

Your results page shows more than a pass or fail (SRA, Understanding your SQE1 results page, accessed 10 September 2026). Here is what each element means:

• Result. The overall outcome for each FLK. You need to pass FLK1 and FLK2 separately, and a pass in one stands even if you fail the other.

• Scaled score out of 500. Your headline number for each FLK, measured against the pass mark of 300.

• Raw score. The number of questions you answered correctly, possibly out of fewer than 180 if any questions were removed as invalid.

• Practice area breakdown. A scaled score for each subject area. The SRA itself cautions that each area contains a relatively low number of questions, so these figures should be read as indicative, not precise. Treat them as a revision map, not a verdict. The assessment is also compensatory: a strong performance in some areas can offset a weaker one, so a single low practice-area score does not by itself mean you failed.

• Quintiles. Your performance ranked against everyone in your sitting, in five bands of 20 per cent. The first quintile is the top 20 per cent, the second is 21 to 40 per cent, and so on. Quintiles are relative to that sitting only.

• Attempt details. Your attempt number, assessment date, and the deadline that matters most if things did not go to plan: you must pass everything within six years of your first attempt, with a maximum of three attempts at each part.

The scaled score tells you where you stand; the practice-area breakdown tells you where to start if you ever need to open the books again. Read both properly once, then close the tab and decide your next step.

What pass rates tell you, and what they don’t

Pass rates get the headlines, and they swing more than most people expect. In January 2026, 53 per cent of graded candidates passed SQE1, rising to 58 per cent for first-attempt candidates; 62 per cent passed FLK1 and 57 per cent passed FLK2 (SRA, SQE1 January 2026 Statistical Report). That was a marked recovery from July 2025, which recorded a record-low 41 per cent overall pass rate (LawCareers.Net, 1 April 2026). The statistical report for the July 2026 sitting, including its pass rate, has not been published yet: the SRA has said it will appear on the SQE reports page by the middle of October 2026 (SRA news, 4 September 2026).

It is tempting to read those swings as the exam getting harder or easier. The better reading is that the standard stays anchored, through the Angoff process and equating, while the cohorts change. July sittings, for example, tend to include a higher proportion of resitting candidates than January sittings. The pass rate tells you about the cohort; it tells you very little about what you need to do, which is the same in every sitting: demonstrate Day One competence across the full syllabus. If you did not pass, the resits post covers what the numbers mean for a second attempt; if you are planning your first attempt, start with a complete SQE1 study strategy rather than the discourse about percentages.

What to do now that results are out

The core answer of this post in three sentences: SQE1 is marked one point per correct answer with no negative marking; the pass mark is set per sitting by expert judgement and psychometrics, then expressed as 300 on a 0 to 500 scale; and your results statement gives you a scaled score, raw score, practice-area breakdown and quintile that are designed to be read together.

If you passed, take the win, then look at SQE2 timings while momentum is on your side. The October 2026 SQE2 booking closes on 18 September, and the January 2027 SQE2 seat reservation deadline is 16 October; both are set out in the January 2027 dates post.

If you did not pass, the six-year clock and the three-attempt rule give you more room than the initial disappointment suggests. The January 2027 sitting (FLK1: 11 to 15 January, FLK2: 18 to 22 January) is the natural target, and the seat reservation form goes out on 21 September with a deadline of 24 September 2026. That is a two-week decision window. What Happens If You Fail SQE1? walks through the resit rules, the £1,003 per-part fee from September 2026, and how to make the second attempt different from the first.

Either way, do not navigate results week on guesswork. Our free SQE resources, including the SQE Success Checklist and the free Subject Tracker, are built for exactly these decision points: get the free resources here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the pass mark for SQE1?

On the scaled measure, always 300 out of 500 for each FLK. The underlying raw pass mark (the number of correct answers needed) is set separately for every sitting by the Assessment Board, so it varies with the difficulty of the paper and is not a fixed percentage.

Is there negative marking in SQE1?

No. Each correct answer scores one mark, incorrect answers score zero, and no marks are deducted. Selecting more than one option for a question also scores zero. Never leave a question blank.

What is a good SQE1 scaled score?

Anything at or above 300 is a pass. For context, in the January 2026 sitting the mean scaled score was 311.2 on FLK1 and 304.3 on FLK2, so most candidates cluster within a few points of the pass mark on either side.

What does my SQE1 quintile mean?

Where your score sat relative to everyone who took the same assessment in your sitting, in five bands of 20 per cent. Quintile 1 is the top 20 per cent; quintile 5 is the bottom 20 per cent. It is a relative measure for that sitting only and does not affect whether you passed.

Why is my raw score out of fewer than 180?

Because the SRA removes questions that its post-assessment checks show have become invalid before the pass mark is set. Your raw score and the pass mark are then both based on the shorter paper, so nobody is disadvantaged. From January 2027 the standard paper will be 170 questions per FLK in any case.

The Bottom Line

SQE1 marking is mechanical: one mark per correct answer, no penalties, computer marked. What is not mechanical is the pass mark, which is set for each sitting against a Day One competence standard and then expressed as 300 on a 0 to 500 scale, so that your score is comparable with every other sitting. Read your scaled score, raw score, practice-area breakdown and quintile together; none of them means much alone. And if you are sitting from January 2027, note that each FLK moves to 170 questions.