If you’re planning to sit SQE1 in the next twelve months, you’re probably running two calendars at once — one for your revision, and one for the SRA’s admin deadlines, and it’s the second one that quietly catches people out. So let’s answer the question directly.

The next SQE1 exam takes place in January 2027. FLK1 runs from 11 to 15 January 2027 and FLK2 from 18 to 22 January 2027. But the date that should actually be circled in your diary is earlier: 24 September 2026, the deadline to submit your seat reservation form. That’s the gate between you and a seat.

This post sets out every confirmed date for the January 2027 sitting, how the booking process actually works, what it will cost, and what to do if you’re still waiting on July 2026 results. All regulatory facts below are taken directly from the SRA’s SQE website as of 29 August 2026 — always confirm against the SRA’s own dates page before you book, because some items are still marked “TBC”.

When is the next SQE1 exam? January 2027 at a glance

Two things stand out from that table. First, the SRA has not yet announced the general booking window for January 2027 — the dates page currently lists “how and when to book” as TBC, which makes the seat reservation form the one confirmed route to a seat. Second, the whole admin sequence happens in a tight two-week strip of September 2026, months before the exam itself. The results date is also TBC, but the SRA’s stated pattern is that SQE1 results are published five to six weeks after the assessment, which points to late February or early March 2027.

And if January doesn’t work for you, the sitting after that is confirmed too: FLK1 runs 12–16 July 2027 and FLK2 runs 19–23 July 2027.

The deadline that matters more than the exam date

The SQE1 doesn’t use an open “pick your slot” system the way you might book a driving test. For recent sittings the SRA has run a seat reservation process: registered candidates are sent a form (for January 2027, on 21 September 2026), you submit your preferred dates and test centre, and seats are then allocated and confirmed by email, at which point you pay.

That design has three practical consequences:

1. You must be registered before the form goes out. Creating your SQE account, verifying your ID and completing the mandatory diversity survey all have to be done before you can book — the SRA states plainly that “completing registration is mandatory before you can book or sit any assessments”. Register well before mid-September; don’t leave it for form week.

2. The form window is short. Three days separate the form going out (21 September) and the submission deadline (24 September). If it lands while you’re away or checking the wrong inbox, you’re relying on whatever direct booking availability remains when the general window opens and course providers consistently report that popular test centres are the first to go.

3. Payment follows quickly. Once you’re offered a seat, the SRA asks for payment within 48 hours of the payment request email. Have the money ready in September, not January.

If you need reasonable adjustments, request them as early as possible — ideally well before the seat reservation form arrives, so your adjusted arrangements are agreed rather than pending while seats are being allocated. The 24 September deadline is also the date for accepting a reasonable adjustment proposal.

I hear versions of the same story from different people every cycle: months of carefully planned revision, then a last-minute scramble because the seat form landed in an inbox nobody was checking. My advice is to treat the admin as part of the preparation itself, it takes an hour to get right, and it protects every hour you’ve put into the law.

How much does the January 2027 SQE1 cost?

From September 2026 the SQE1 fee rises to £2,006 — £1,003 for FLK1 and £1,003 for FLK2 — up from £1,934, an increase of roughly 3.7%. The January 2027 sitting therefore falls under the new rate. Fees are VAT exempt, and you pay at the point of booking (or within 48 hours of your seat being confirmed under the reservation process), by debit or credit card or a prepaid voucher.

For completeness: SQE2 rises to £3,086 at the same point, and the January/February 2027 SQE2 sitting (orals 26–29 January, written 2–4 February 2027) has its own seat reservation deadline of 16 October 2026.

Budgeting matters here because resit economics are unforgiving — you pay the full fee for each attempt, and you only get three attempts at each assessment within six years.

Sitting July 2026? Your decision window is about two weeks

If you sat SQE1 in July 2026, your results arrive on 8 September 2026. The seat reservation deadline for January 2027 is 24 September. That gives you barely more than two weeks to absorb your result, decide whether to rebook, and submit the form.

That window is workable but only if you’ve thought it through in advance. One rule shapes everything here: the SRA only lets you book SQE2 once you have passed SQE1, so nothing can be reserved ahead of results day — the only thing you can prepare in advance is the decision. The candidates who handle this well decide their “if” plan before results day. If I pass, which SQE2? The fastest route is the October 2026 SQE2 (written 27–29 October, orals from 3 November): its booking stays open until 18 September, and the SRA specifically holds back a batch of SQE2 seats for release on or shortly after SQE1 results day to enable exactly this transition — subject to availability, so it’s a ten-day decision made under pressure. The steadier route is the January 2027 SQE2 (orals from 26 January, written 2–4 February): its seat reservation form goes out on 13 October with a 16 October deadline, giving you a month to regroup after results. If I don’t pass, I already know whether a January SQE1 resit is realistic given work, finances and how the last prep cycle actually went. Deciding the plan in advance turns a stressful fortnight into a formality. For context, in the January 2026 sitting 53% of candidates passed SQE1 overall, and 58% of first-attempt candidates passed — a reminder that a resit is a common path.

What the 11 September 2026 law cut-off actually means

One detail candidates often misread: the examinable law and practice cut-off for January 2027 is 11 September 2026. Legal developments up to and including that date are examinable in January; anything that changes afterwards is not. Practically, that means you don’t need to chase every legal development through the autumn — but it also means revision notes made in early 2026 need checking against the law as it stands at the cut-off, particularly in fast-moving areas.

What to do this week

If January 2027 is your sitting, the sequence is simple. Register your SQE account now and complete ID verification and the diversity survey. Request any reasonable adjustments immediately. Put 21 and 24 September 2026 in your calendar with alarms. Have £2,006 accessible for late September. Then get back to the thing that actually determines the outcome — a structured revision plan built backwards from 11 January 2027, which as of today gives you roughly 19 weeks. If you haven’t built that plan yet, our complete SQE1 study strategy walks through it step by step.

The dates will not move for you, but none of them are difficult to hit if you know they’re coming. Now you do.

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