SQE1 January 2027 Payment Window: You Have 48 Hours to Pay (19 October to 18 November 2026)

Short answer: If you completed the SRA seat reservation form for the January 2027 SQE1 by 24 September 2026, the SRA is now sending payment requests by email. They go out between 10am on 19 October 2026 and 5pm on 18 November 2026. Once yours arrives, you must pay within 48 hours or your seat is cancelled. The SQE1 fee is £2,006 for both FLK papers.

Not everyone gets the link to pay at the same time. The SRA sends the payment requests across the whole window, so yours may arrive on 19 October or several weeks later. If it has not come yet, that is normal.

If you take one thing from this post, take this: check your registered SQE email address (and your spam folder) every day until your payment request lands.

Key dates for the January 2027 SQE1

All times are UK time. Source: the SRA's January 2027 SQE1 and assessment dates and booking windows pages.

How the payment request works

The SRA does not open a single booking day any more. The process runs in stages:

1. You reserved a seat. You filled in the seat reservation form that arrived on 22 September and submitted it by 24 September.
2. The SRA processes the forms. This happens after the reservation deadline has passed.
3. You get a payment request by email. It goes to the email address registered on your SQE account. The emails go out across the window, so not everyone receives theirs on 19 October. Some candidates will wait several weeks. That is normal.
4. You pay within 48 hours. You log in to your SQE account and pay for your assessment. A reserved seat that has not been paid for is not a booking.
5. Your booking is confirmed.

If you miss the 48 hours, the SRA cancels the seat. The SRA page mentions no grace period, so do not leave it until the evening of day two.

Still waiting for your payment email?

You are not the only one. Not all candidates get the link to pay at the same time, and it can take some time for yours to arrive. The SRA sends payment requests from 19 October until 5pm on 18 November 2026, and it does not say who gets theirs first. A friend receiving their email before you is not, on its own, a sign that anything is wrong with your reservation.

Keep checking your registered email address and spam folder, and make sure you can log in to your SQE account so you are ready when it lands. If 18 November is close and you still have nothing, contact the SQE team.

Candidates with reasonable adjustments

If you have agreed reasonable adjustments, your payment request also comes from 19 October 2026, but the email asks you to phone the SQE team to pay rather than paying online. The same 48 hour rule applies, so call as soon as you can.

You must not use the direct online booking route in November. To change location, email accessibility@sqe.sra.org.uk rather than using the Bookings page.

What if I did not fill in the seat reservation form?

You still have a route, but it is narrower. From 10am on 19 November 2026 until 5pm on 23 November 2026, the SRA opens online booking directly through your candidate account. Only a limited number of seats are released, subject to availability. Popular test centres in London and other big cities tend to go first, so log in early on 19 November and be flexible on location.

Before then, make sure your SQE account is ready: ID verified, and the diversity survey and reasonable adjustments section completed. The SRA lists these as pre-booking steps, so finish them well before 19 November.

How much does SQE1 cost for January 2027?

The SQE1 assessment fee is £2,006, covering both FLK1 and FLK2. It rose from £1,934 in September 2026. The fee covers the assessment only, not preparation courses or materials. Our SQE1 cost guide sets out what prep adds on top.

Have the full amount ready on the card you plan to use before your email arrives. A declined payment on hour 47 is the stuff of nightmares, and the SRA's 48 hour clock does not care that your bank flagged it as fraud.

Your 48 hour checklist

• Add the SQE team's email address to your contacts so the payment request does not land in spam
• Check your registered email (and spam) every morning and evening
• Make sure your card has £2,006 available and your bank will not block a large one off payment
• Know your SQE account login details before the email arrives
• Pay the same day you receive the request if you can
• Save the confirmation and screenshot it

What changes in the January 2027 exam itself

Once you have paid, the focus shifts to preparation, and January 2027 is a little different from previous sittings:

• Fewer questions, same time. Each FLK paper drops from 180 to 170 questions, which is 85 per session. Each session is still 2 hours 33 minutes, so you get slightly more time per question.
• Subjects grouped by session. Each session now covers a set group of subjects. FLK1 session 1, for example, is Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution and Legal Services. Ethics can still come up in any session, and questions within a session are still mixed.
• Updated FLK specifications. The SRA updated the FLK1 and FLK2 specifications for assessments from 1 September 2026. Most changes are clarifications, and a few add new testable points.
• Examinable law cut off. Law and practice is examinable up to and including 11 September 2026.

This matters for your mocks. If you are practising on 180 question papers, your pacing will be slightly off on the day. Our guide to the January 2027 changes goes through the specification changes subject by subject.

How Barex can help between now and January

I sat SQE1 and self studied for it. My cofounder and I built Barex from our own notes, because we did it the hard way and wanted something better for the next cohort.

• Free plan: SQE-style MCQs you can sort by difficulty, plus one full mock exam
• Paid plan: full access, including cheat sheets and 12 full mocks built to feel like the real exam
• Already on the new format: our mocks follow the January 2027 structure of 85 questions per session and 170 per FLK, with subjects grouped by session
• Coaching plan: coaching from someone who has passed the exam. If you want to talk it through, book a chat with me and my cofounder

FLK1 starts on 11 January 2027, 12 weeks after the payment window opened. That is enough time for a proper plan if you start now.

Try the free mock on Barex

Quick answers

When do I pay for SQE1 January 2027?

The SRA sends payment requests by email between 10am on 19 October 2026 and 5pm on 18 November 2026. You must pay within 48 hours of receiving yours.

What happens if I do not pay within 48 hours?

Your reserved seat is cancelled. You would then have to try for one of the limited seats released for direct online booking from 19 to 23 November 2026.

I have not received my payment email yet. Should I worry?

Not yet. Not everyone gets the link to pay at the same time. The SRA sends payment requests across the whole window, which runs until 5pm on 18 November 2026, so it may take some time for yours to arrive. Keep checking your registered email and spam folder. If the window is closing and you still have nothing, contact the SQE team.

How much is the SQE1 fee for January 2027?

£2,006 for both FLK papers.

Can I still book SQE1 January 2027 if I missed the seat reservation form?

Possibly. Direct online booking opens at 10am on 19 November 2026 and closes at 5pm on 23 November 2026, with a limited number of seats subject to availability.

Can I change my test centre after paying?

Yes, subject to availability. Rescheduling to another location opens at 10am on 19 November 2026 and closes at 5pm on 23 November 2026, through the Bookings page of your SQE account. Candidates with reasonable adjustments email the SQE accessibility team instead.

When are the January 2027 SQE1 exam dates?

FLK1 runs from 11 to 15 January 2027 and FLK2 from 18 to 22 January 2027. Results are released on 9 March 2027.

How many questions are in SQE1 from January 2027?

170 questions per FLK paper (340 in total), split into two sessions of 85 questions each.

Sources

This post is based on the SRA's published booking information as of 19 October 2026. Always check the official SQE website for the latest updates before acting.

• SRA: January 2027 SQE1
• SRA: Assessment dates and booking windows
• SRA: Update on SQE fees
• SRA: Important changes to SQE1 for January 2027 onwards