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Guide

Free SQE1 Resources: Questions, Mocks and Guides Worth Using

What each free SQE1 resource gives you, checked on the provider's own page: SRA sample questions, free mocks and question sets, notes, podcasts and forums, plus a 12-week plan built from free material and where free runs out.

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Short answer: The best free SQE1 resources are the SRA’s own 220 sample questions and its assessment specification, which need no account and cost nothing. After those, the most useful free practice is a handful of providers’ free mocks and sample sets: two full mocks in the January 2027 format from FQPS, one full 85-question session from BAREX, two 50-question mocks from QLTS School and smaller diagnostics from SQEase, Lawdojo, BPP, SQE1 Prep and Ant Law.

For each resource we give what you get, whether you need an account or a card, and who it suits. After the lists there is a suggested 12-week plan that uses only free material, and a section on where free stops being enough. We checked every figure on the provider’s own page on 7 November 2026. Free offers change often, so check the page before you plan around one.

BAREX is not affiliated with any provider listed or with the SRA. If a figure here is out of date, email hello@barex.uk and we will correct it.

Official SQE1 resources from the SRA

Start here whatever else you use. This material comes from the regulator that sets the exam, and none of it needs an account.

The 220 SQE1 sample questions

The SRA publishes 220 sample questions in two sets, online and as PDFs, in English and Welsh (SRA, SQE1 sample questions):

  • The original set of 90, 45 for FLK1 and 45 for FLK2, released before the first SQE1 sitting in November 2021 and written through the same process as live questions.
  • The pre-tested set of 130, 65 for each paper. Every one has been used in a real SQE1 assessment, and the SRA shows the percentage of candidates who answered each question correctly.

The SRA says the pre-tested questions were chosen to be representative in difficulty and length. On average 53.1% of candidates answered them correctly, against 56.2% across SQE1 assessments up to July 2025, and they average 208 words against 206 in the real papers. So they are, if anything, slightly harder than the exam.

The SRA is also clear about their limits: the sample questions “are not designed to be a full mock exam” and do not cover all of the assessment material. Use them to learn the style and to test yourself at the end, and use other material for volume.

The SQE1 assessment specification

The SQE1 assessment specification applies to assessments from 1 September 2026 and was updated in August 2026. It lists every subject in FLK1 and FLK2, the knowledge you are expected to apply, which subjects sit in each session, and a blueprint in Annex 4. It also says SQE1 does not test “matters of detail which a newly qualified solicitor would be expected to look up”. Treat it as your syllabus checklist and tick topics off as you cover them.

The specification sets the law cut-off at four calendar months before the first assessment in a window. For January 2027, with FLK1 starting on 11 January 2027, that puts the cut-off at 11 September 2026. Anything you study, free or paid, should reflect the law at that date.

The exam software demo, videos and statistics

  • The Pearson VUE demo: The SRA’s sample questions page links to a demonstration of the SQE1 exam interface, in English and Welsh (Pearson VUE demo exam). When we tried it, the link opened a demo session straight away, with no login. It is worth ten minutes before your first timed mock so the flag and navigation tools are familiar on the day.
  • SRA videos: The SRA’s YouTube channel has a short video, Understanding the anatomy of an SQE1 question, and the sample questions page links to another on how the SQE1 pass mark is set.
  • Statistical reports: Past pass marks and pass rates are in the SQE1 statistical reports. We have put every sitting in one table in SQE1 pass rates for every sitting.

Best for: every candidate, first-timers and resitters alike.

Free SQE1 question banks and mocks

These free sets are also a sensible way to judge a provider’s questions before you pay for its bank.

Provider What is free Account or card Best for
FQPS 53 practice questions with answers across 12 of the 13 subject areas, plus one full FLK1 mock and one full FLK2 mock, each 2 × 85 questions Questions: no sign-up. Mocks: free account, no card, the page says they never expire Full-length timed rehearsal in the January 2027 format
BAREX One full FLK session mock (85 questions in 2 hours 33 minutes, any of the four sessions), with your mark and an explanation of every option; one topic pack per subject; a monthly allowance of AI tutor time; five worked questions on its practice questions page Free account with email or Google, no card Rehearsing the exact session you will sit, then topic practice
QLTS School Two mock tests of 50 questions each, for FLK1 and FLK2, on a Pearson VUE-style platform with AI feedback, plus practice MCQs and other samples Name and email for instant access (phone optional) A mid-point check on an exam-style platform
BPP 50 MCQs and one SQE1 mock exam with pre-set feedback (mock length not stated), plus a criminal law workbook sample and two recorded lectures Requested from the page; the page does not say whether you need an account Seeing a large course provider’s material before choosing a course
SQEase A 45-question diagnostic mock, three questions from each of 15 topics, about 81 minutes, with a written report; the free plan then gives five questions and 15 AI tutor messages a day No sign-up to start; free account (Google, Apple or email) to see the report. The 7-day trial of the paid plan takes a card An early read on which subjects are weakest
Lawdojo A timed 25-question diagnostic at about 1 minute 42 seconds a question, with worked answers and 10 AI tutor messages Free account with Google or email, no card A short baseline under time pressure
SQE1 Prep A 20-question readiness quiz in 20 minutes, sample topics on a free account, and a free question with each podcast episode The quiz has “no email wall”, in the provider’s words A quick baseline across subjects
Ant Law 10 SQE1 sample questions with explanations No card; sign in only if you want to save progress A short taster of the bank
BARBRI A PDF of sample MCQs and an example study guide chapter (number of questions not stated), plus a free demo account for its SQE1 Prep platform and Personal Study Plan PDFs are linked directly; the demo needs registration Deciding whether a full taught course suits you
Kinnu A 7-day free trial of the full platform, then £48 a month unless you cancel Account; the page says no credit card is required A short, intensive week of practice

Add up the fixed free sets in this section and the SRA’s samples and you get more than 950 questions, including five full-length 85-question sessions: four from FQPS and one from BAREX. The real SQE1 has 340 questions over four sessions. Free material can therefore give you roughly one complete rehearsal of each session, with one spare, which is a reasonable minimum to aim for.

When a free mock is shorter than a real session, time it at the exam’s pace. The SRA puts that at about 1.8 minutes a question, so a 50-question QLTS mock should take you about 90 minutes.

For what these providers charge once the free part runs out, see our cheapest SQE1 prep courses ranking and SQE1 practice questions compared by provider.

Free SQE1 notes, guides and legal sources

We found far fewer free notes than free questions. These are worth having:

  • legislation.gov.uk: The official place of publication for new UK legislation. Its help pages say all Acts on the site are kept up to date, and a “Changes to Legislation” box lists amendments not yet applied. It is most useful for checking a rule when two sets of notes disagree.
  • Revise SQE (revise4law.co.uk): The publisher of the Revise SQE books puts several useful pages online for free: a table of the legal authorities required for SQE1 that you can download, a legal updates page for its 2027 editions covering changes up to the January and July 2027 cut-off dates, and a guide to single best answer questions. The books and online mocks themselves are paid.
  • QLTS School’s sample pack: Alongside the mocks, the same form gives you textbook samples, example summary notes, a revision map and digital flash cards.
  • BPP and BARBRI samples: BPP offers a sample criminal law online workbook, and BARBRI’s sample materials page links to an extract from its SQE1 study guide.
  • A study plan from SQE1 Prep: Its free study plan emails you a week-by-week schedule across its 144 topics, based on your sitting and your weekly hours (5 to 40). You give an email address, and it says it sends four follow-up emails with tips over two weeks.
  • FQPS planning tools: FQPS offers a free SQE prep Notion template and a free 30-minute call with one of its mentors.

Best for: self-studiers building their own notes, and anyone using second-hand books who needs to check what has changed since they were printed.

Free SQE1 podcasts and videos

Audio and video suit commutes and tired evenings. They work best for going over material you have already learned, alongside question practice.

  • SQE1 Prep, The Audio Course: 144 episodes, about 52 hours in all, one topic per episode in 13 seasons by subject. It is free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and by RSS, and each episode has a transcript. The provider says episodes are narrated by an AI voice from scripts written and checked by its editors.
  • FQPS podcasts: Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Podtail. FQPS says episodes prompt you to answer questions or pause and reflect as topics are explained. The page does not give an episode count.
  • SQETV with Jonny Hurst: A YouTube channel about the SQE, presented by a former law firm partner and lecturer. BPP describes it as Jonny Hurst’s independent channel.
  • Recorded lectures in sample packs: BPP’s free pack includes two recorded lectures, Contract Offer and Acceptance and An Introduction to Criminal Law. QLTS School’s pack includes video library previews and a sample podcast.
  • The SRA’s own videos, listed in the official section above.

Best for: working candidates who need to use travel time, and anyone revising a subject for the second time.

Free SQE1 communities

  • TCLA SQE forum: An active SQE discussion board in TCLA’s aspiring lawyers section. You can read it without an account and register to post. It has study diaries from candidates sitting in January 2027, threads on how people passed and provider reviews. Some threads are started by providers, so weigh recommendations with that in mind.
  • The Student Room: We could not find a board just for the SQE. SQE threads sit in the Legal careers and training forum, which lists 6,891 discussions across all legal careers, and in individual university boards. It is better for questions about routes and courses than for revision.
  • Reddit: SQE candidates also talk about the exam in Reddit groups. Read a group’s rules and recent posts before you rely on what you find there.
  • FQPS WhatsApp group: FQPS runs a WhatsApp support group for students and tutors.

Best for: finding study partners and getting a quick answer about booking or results. Forum advice on the law is unchecked, so confirm it against the specification or a primary source.

How to combine free SQE1 resources into a study plan

This is our suggestion for a 12-week run-up, not an official method. It uses only the resources listed above, and it saves the best material for when it is most useful: the SRA’s pre-tested questions and the full-length mocks come late, when a score tells you something.

Timeline of a 12-week SQE1 run-up using free resources. Week 1: set a baseline with the SRA specification, the 90 original SRA sample questions and one free diagnostic. Weeks 2 to 7: learn and drill topic by topic with the SQE1 Prep podcast, FQPS questions, BAREX topic packs and SQEase, BPP and Ant Law samples. Week 8: mid-point check with QLTS School's two 50-question mocks and BPP's mock. Weeks 9 to 10: full timed sessions, the Pearson VUE demo then four FQPS sessions and one BAREX session of 85 questions in 2 hours 33 minutes. Week 11: the SRA's 130 pre-tested questions, 65 a paper, about 1 hour 57 minutes each. Week 12: review every wrong answer from weeks 8 to 11, then the specification again.
A 12-week run-up built only from free material. The full timed sessions in weeks 9 and 10 matter most. Our suggestion, not an official method.
  1. Week 1, set your baseline: Read the assessment specification and make it your checklist. Work through the SRA’s original 90 sample questions untimed to learn the style, then take one diagnostic: SQEase’s 45-question mock, Lawdojo’s 25 questions or SQE1 Prep’s 20-question quiz.
  2. Weeks 2 to 7, learn and drill by topic: Take one topic at a time. Listen to the matching SQE1 Prep episode, make notes against the specification, then answer questions on it straight away: FQPS’s 53, BAREX’s topic pack for that subject, SQEase’s five a day, BPP’s 50 and Ant Law’s 10. Check doubtful rules on legislation.gov.uk and ask questions on the TCLA forum.
  3. Week 8, a mid-point check: Sit QLTS School’s two 50-question mocks, about 90 minutes each, and BPP’s mock. Move the topics you scored worst on to the front of the queue.
  4. Weeks 9 and 10, full sessions: Try the Pearson VUE demo first. Then sit FQPS’s FLK1 and FLK2 mocks, which are four 85-question sessions, and use your BAREX session for the one you feel weakest on. Sit each in one go, closed book, in 2 hours 33 minutes.
  5. Week 11, the SRA’s pre-tested questions: Sit the 65 FLK1 questions in one go, then the 65 FLK2 questions, each in about 1 hour 57 minutes at the SRA’s pace. Compare your result on each question with the percentage of candidates who got it right.
  6. Week 12, review: Go back over every question you got wrong in weeks 8 to 11 and the rule behind it. Re-read the specification. Leave new resources alone.

If you are sitting in January 2027, you have just over nine weeks from 7 November 2026 to FLK1 on 11 January, so shorten weeks 2 to 7 and keep the mocks. Our 10-week revision plan for January 2027 sets out a tighter version, and our guide to study hours while working full time helps if you are fitting this around a job. If you have not booked yet, see how to apply for SQE1.

The honest limits of going free

Free material can carry a lot of your preparation. It helps to know where it runs out.

  • The SRA says its samples do not cover all the assessment material, and no free set here covers everything either. FQPS, for example, notes that its free questions include no Solicitors Accounts yet.
  • Five free full-length sessions is about one sitting’s worth. Once you have seen a mock, a second attempt mostly tests your memory of it.
  • Free tiers cap the help that explains your mistakes: 10 AI tutor messages on Lawdojo, 15 a day on SQEase and a monthly allowance on BAREX.
  • Free material tests and summarises the law, and nobody sets your pace. If you learn best from lectures and a timetable, a taught course will probably suit you better, and our guide to the best SQE1 prep courses by need may help.
  • Check that anything you use reflects the law at the cut-off date. The SRA amends its sample questions when the law changes, but older free PDFs and second-hand books may be out of date.
  • Most free mocks need an account, some providers follow up by email, and SQEase’s paid-plan trial takes a card. QLTS School notes that access to its free mocks was restricted during the July 2026 exam period, so do not leave free mocks to the final days.

Where BAREX fits

BAREX is an SQE1 prep platform with SQE-style MCQs you can filter by exam, subject, topic and difficulty, an explanation after every answer, an AI law tutor, topic packs and cheat sheets, and mocks in the January 2027 format, each one FLK session of 85 questions in 2 hours 33 minutes.

The free plan gives you one full FLK session mock, one topic pack per subject and a monthly allowance of AI tutor time, with no time limit and no card. Paid plans add 12 full mocks for each FLK, from £50 a month. BAREX does not have lectures or a fixed timetable, so it works best on its own for self-studiers who set their own pace, or alongside a course from another provider for practice and mocks. You can see the format first on our free SQE1 mock exam page.

Start free on BAREX.

Quick answers

Where can I get free SQE1 practice questions?

Start with the SRA’s 220 sample questions, which need no account. FQPS publishes 53 free questions with answers and no sign-up, and QLTS School, BPP, SQEase, Lawdojo, SQE1 Prep, Ant Law and BAREX all offer free sets, most after a free sign-up.

Is there a free full SQE1 mock exam?

Yes. FQPS gives one full FLK1 and one full FLK2 mock in the January 2027 format with a free account, and BAREX gives one full 85-question FLK session. QLTS School’s free mocks are 50 questions each.

Are the SRA sample questions enough to pass SQE1?

The SRA says they are not designed to be a full mock and do not cover all the assessment material. They are the best guide to style and difficulty, so use them alongside more practice and timed mocks.

Do I need a card to use free SQE1 resources?

None of the free tiers we checked mentions a card. SQEase’s 7-day trial of its paid plan does take one, and most free mocks need a free account.

Are there free SQE1 podcasts?

Yes. SQE1 Prep’s audio course has 144 episodes, about 52 hours, free on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other apps. FQPS also has podcasts on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Can you pass SQE1 using only free resources?

No one publishes data on this. Free material gives you more than 950 questions and about one full rehearsal of each session. Whether that is enough depends on how much teaching you need and how many timed mocks you want to sit.

Sources

Prices and details checked on 7 November 2026 on each provider’s own website and the SRA’s. Free offers change often; check the provider’s page before relying on one.