£2,006 for SQE1, £3,086 for SQE2

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced a fourth fee increase for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), to cover inflation and translating the exams into Welsh.

Alongside the publication of its annual report, the SRA has confirmed that from September 2026, SQE fees will rise to £2,006 for SQE1 and £3,086 for SQE2, totalling £5,092. This amounts to a total increase of 3.7%.

This marks the fourth fee increase since the SQE’s inception in 2021, following a significant 11% rise in July 2023. As with the most recent increase last March, the SRA has cited inflation and the translation of exams into Welsh as the driving factors behind the latest adjustment.

The SRA said that “making sure that the quality of the SQE is maintained, and that it remains a valid, reliable, secure and fair assessment which meets the regulator’s accessibility commitments, is a priority.”