SQE1 Mock Exams for January 2027: Which Use the New 170-Question Format, and How to Use Them
The short answer
- Few mocks on sale use the January 2027 format yet. On 30 September 2026, SQE1 Prep and FQPS stated on their own pages that their mocks use two sessions of 85 questions. Revise SQE says its updated practice assessment books will be available in early November. Most other providers we checked still describe 180-question or 90-question papers.
- An old 180-question mock is still worth sitting. The subject weightings haven't changed. You need to change how you sit it: regroup the questions by session, time them at the new rate and set aside the spare questions.
- No mock score tells you whether you will pass. Use mocks to find out which subjects and which kinds of mistake are costing you marks, then fix those.
The format change itself is covered in SQE1 changes for January 2027. This article covers choosing and using mocks for that sitting.
What the change means for a mock
The SRA announced on 10 September 2026 that, from the January 2027 sitting, each FLK assessment has 170 questions instead of 180. Each session has 85 questions instead of 90, and the session length stays at 2 hours 33 minutes (SRA, 10 September 2026). Each session now covers a fixed group of subjects:
| Paper | Session 1 | Session 2 |
|---|---|---|
| FLK1 | Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Legal Services | Tort, Contract Law, Legal Systems |
| FLK2 | Wills, Solicitors Accounts (wills context), Trusts, Land Law | Property Practice, Solicitors Accounts (property context), Criminal Liability, Criminal Practice |
Ethics and professional conduct can still appear in any session. Within a session, questions from its subjects still come in random order. The SRA says the blueprint, meaning the share of questions per subject, is unaffected.
For a mock, that means three things. A realistic mock session now has 85 questions from one subject group, not 90 from all of them. The average time per question is about 1.8 minutes, or 108 seconds, and the SRA's own sample question papers now use that figure (SRA pre-tested sample questions, FLK1). And a mock written for the old format still tests the right mix of law, but the shape of its sessions is wrong.
Full details of what's in each subject are on our SQE1 specification page.
Which mocks use the new format today
We checked each provider's own page on 30 September 2026. "Not stated" means we couldn't find the information on that page. It doesn't mean the provider has no such feature. Providers are updating quickly, so check the page again before you buy.
| Provider and product | Format stated on the provider's page (checked 30 September 2026) |
|---|---|
| SQE1 Prep: timed mocks | January 2027 format: two sessions of 85 questions, 2 hours 33 minutes each, with the SRA subject groups in each session. Mocks are drawn from the question bank. |
| FQPS: free and paid SQE1 mocks | One free FLK1 and one free FLK2 mock of 2 × 85 questions "in the January 2027 format". Paid mocks are also 2 sessions of 85. Session subject grouping is not stated. |
| Revise SQE: FLK1 and FLK2 Practice Assessments books | The current edition has 180 questions. The publisher says updated editions for the new format will be available early in November, and copies bought from its own website will be replaced free. |
| Revise SQE online mocks (also sold on Law Drills) | These use questions from the practice assessment books. The Law Drills page describes each one as 180 questions. |
| TheOneHundred: mock bundles | 180 questions per mock, in two sittings of 90 at 153 minutes each. The page says its materials follow the Assessment Specifications updated in September 2026. A switch to 170 questions is not stated. |
| Law Drills: premium mocks | Half-mocks of 90 questions and full mocks of 180. |
| BARBRI SQE1 Boost | "Four sets of 180 questions each". |
| SQEMCQ | The FAQ describes 180 questions per assessment and 90 per session. Mock length is not stated separately. |
| University of Law: SQE1 preparation courses | Describes assessments of 180 questions. |
| QLTS School | Mock tests "with 90 questions each". The 2027 format is not stated. |
| College of Legal Practice | A revision pack of 4 × 90 questions. |
| Solon Prep (ours): Solon Court and our mock books | Solon Court, now open, has mock papers in the January 2027 format. Our SQE FLK1 Mock Exams and SQE FLK2 Mock Exams books each have three full mocks (510 questions, 170 per paper). |
We sell mocks ourselves, so read our row with that in mind. For prices and access periods across these providers, see what SQE1 question banks and mocks cost. For how the questions compare in quality, see our question bank comparison.
Solon Court is open. It has timed SQE1 mock papers in the January 2027 format on an exam-style screen, and Mock 4 Session 1 will be free when it is published. Try 10 free questions first.
Using a 180-question mock for January
Most mocks you already own, or can buy today, are in the old format. The blueprint hasn't changed, so the law they test is still the right law. What needs changing is how the papers are split into sessions.
1. Regroup by session. Before you start, go through the paper's answer section or subject summary and list each question's subject. Look only at the subject labels, not the answers. Then split the 180 questions into the two new groups for that paper. For FLK1, Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution and Legal Services go to Session 1, and Tort, Contract and Legal Systems go to Session 2. Keep each ethics question with the subject it is set in. For FLK2, sort Solicitors Accounts by its facts: probate and estates questions go to Session 1, and conveyancing questions go to Session 2. Shuffle each group before you sit it, as the real sessions mix subjects in random order.
2. Trim each group to 85. The two piles won't split exactly 90/90. Remove questions at random until each pile has 85. Don't remove the ones that look hard. That leaves 10 spare questions, which you can keep as an unseen mini-set for later.
3. Time it at the new rate. Give yourself 153 minutes for 85 questions. If you can't regroup a paper, for example an online mock that fixes the question order, sit it as it is and time it at 1.8 minutes a question. That means 162 minutes for a 90-question session.
4. Check it against the current law and specification. The examinable law cut-off for January 2027 is 11 September 2026 (SRA booking windows). The updated specification applies from 1 September 2026, and one change is that where you need tax rates, thresholds, exemptions or reliefs, they will be given in the question (SRA, specification changes September 2026). If an old mock marks you wrong on something that has since changed, record it as an out-of-date question, not as a mistake.
A 90-question mock, such as the ones QLTS or the College of Legal Practice describe, is about one old session. Either sit 85 of its questions in 153 minutes, or sit all 90 in 162 minutes.
What to look for when choosing a mock
- Format, stated plainly: 170 questions, two sessions of 85, and the session subject groups. If a page says only "updated for 2027", check whether that means the question count and grouping or just the syllabus.
- Law-as-at date: a date close to 11 September 2026, the cut-off for January.
- Reasons for every option: an explanation of why each wrong option is wrong, not only why the key is right. Many pages say "detailed explanations" without saying which. Treat that as not stated until you've seen a sample.
- Unseen papers: the number of distinct full papers you can sit for the first time. A second attempt at the same paper, even in a new order, tells you much less.
- A score breakdown: results by subject and, ideally, by session group.
- Access that lasts to 22 January 2027, the last day of the FLK2 window.
- A free sample first: the SRA's sample questions are free, several providers offer a free mock or a trial, and there are more on our SQE1 practice questions page.
How many mocks, and when
The January 2027 sitting runs from 11 to 15 January for FLK1 and from 18 to 22 January for FLK2, and results are released on 9 March 2027 (SRA booking windows). The deadline for the seat reservation form was 24 September 2026. If you missed it, a limited number of seats can be booked directly online from 10am on 19 November to 5pm on 23 November 2026, subject to availability (SRA, January 2027 SQE1, checked 30 September 2026). If you did submit a form, the SRA sends payment requests by email between 19 October and 18 November.
A workable plan from today is three full mocks per FLK, sat at the start, middle and end of your preparation:
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| October | One timed session per paper as a baseline. The SRA's pre-tested samples work for this. Spend most of your time on topic practice for your weakest subjects. |
| November | Pay for your seat when the SRA asks, or book online between 19 and 23 November if you need a seat. Sit your first full mock of each FLK, both sessions on the same day, under exam timing and closed book. |
| December | Sit your second full mock of each FLK. Give more of your time to reviewing mistakes than to sitting new papers. |
| By about 4 January | Sit your third and last full FLK1 mock, leaving about a week before your FLK1 date. |
| Between FLK1 and FLK2 | Sit your last full FLK2 mock early in that week. After that, do short session-group sets rather than a full new paper. |
If you only have one unseen paper per FLK, sit it in December and use regrouped old mocks for the other slots. Sitting more papers is less useful than reviewing them properly: three mocks reviewed in full teach more than six that are only marked.
Reading your mock score
A mock percentage is not an SQE1 score. The SRA reports scaled scores from 0 to 500, and the passing score in July 2026 was 300 on each FLK (SRA July 2026 statistical report, published 29 September 2026). No published method turns a mock percentage into that scale. In that sitting, 50% of candidates passed each FLK, and 42% of the 6,260 candidates who sat both passed SQE1 (47% of first-attempt candidates). More detail is on our SQE pass rates page.
Use the SRA's own figures to set expectations. The SRA publishes the percentage of candidates who answered each of its 130 pre-tested sample questions correctly. Averaged across those questions, 53.1% of candidates answered correctly (57.0% on FLK1, 49.2% on FLK2). On the real SQE1 assessments up to July 2025, the equivalent average was 56.2% (57.5% on FLK1, 54.9% on FLK2) (SRA pre-tested sample questions). These are averages across everyone who sat, including candidates who passed and candidates who failed. They are not a pass mark. They do show that real SQE1 questions are hard, so a very high score on a new paper may say as much about the paper as about you.
Compare like with like. A score is only meaningful against your own earlier scores on similar papers:
- First attempts only. Repeating a paper, or questions you've seen in a bank, pushes your score up.
- Same conditions. Timed and closed book, both sessions in one day.
- Same source where you can. Candidates often report that a mock's difficulty relative to the real exam varies by provider, in both directions. A drop when you switch provider may just mean a harder paper.
Look at the breakdown before the total. Your subjects, your session groups, and your error categories from the review below tell you what to do next. The total doesn't.
The SRA says its sample questions "are not designed to be a full mock exam". Use them for style and difficulty, not as a full practice paper.
The review routine
Most of what a mock teaches you comes from the review. Plan to spend at least as long reviewing as you spent sitting.
1. Keep an error log. Record one row for every question you got wrong and every question you guessed right:
| Question | Subject and session group | Your answer / key | Why you lost it | The rule, in one line | Retest date |
|---|
2. Give each mistake one reason. Use a short fixed list: didn't know the rule; knew the rule but misapplied it; misread the facts; misread the lead-in (for example, "most likely" or "which is not"); narrowed it to two and picked the wrong one; ran out of time; changed a correct answer. Tally the reasons after each mock. A knowledge gap needs revision, a reading error needs a slower first read, and a timing problem needs session practice.
3. Explain all five options. For each question in your log, write one line on why each wrong option fails. If you can't explain an option, you haven't found the gap yet. This is also how you learn the distractors examiners use.
4. Retest with new questions. Retest the rule, not the question. Use a fresh question on the same point a week later. Getting the same question right the second time mostly shows that you remember it.
5. Keep ethics in every review. Ethics can appear in any session, so for any question, ask what the conduct issue would have been if the examiner had wanted one.
FAQ
Do any SQE1 mocks use the new 170-question format yet?
A few do. When we checked providers' own pages on 30 September 2026, SQE1 Prep and FQPS stated that their mocks use two sessions of 85 questions in the January 2027 format. Revise SQE said its updated practice assessment books would be available in early November. Most other providers we checked still described 180-question or 90-question papers.
Can I still use a 180-question SQE1 mock for January 2027?
Yes. The SRA says the blueprint, meaning the share of questions per subject, is unchanged, so an older mock still tests the right mix of law. To make it closer to the new exam, split the questions into the new session subject groups, cut each group to 85 at random, and allow 153 minutes per session. If you can't regroup a paper, allow 1.8 minutes per question.
How many SQE1 mocks should I do before January 2027?
Aim for about three full, unseen mocks per FLK: a baseline, a mid-point check and a final check about a week before each paper. Reviewing each mock thoroughly matters more than sitting extra papers.
What mock score do I need to pass SQE1?
No mock score tells you whether you will pass. SQE1 is reported as a scaled score out of 500, and the passing score in July 2026 was 300 on each FLK. On the SRA's pre-tested sample questions, an average of 53.1% of candidates answered each question correctly, against 56.2% on real SQE1 assessments up to July 2025. Those are averages across all candidates, not a pass mark. Track your own first-attempt scores under exam conditions, and read the breakdown by subject.
When can I book the January 2027 SQE1?
The seat reservation form deadline was 24 September 2026. A limited number of seats can be booked directly online from 10am on 19 November to 5pm on 23 November 2026, subject to availability. FLK1 runs from 11 to 15 January 2027, FLK2 from 18 to 22 January 2027, and results are released on 9 March 2027.
Are the SRA sample questions a full SQE1 mock?
No. The SRA publishes 220 sample questions: 90 original and 130 pre-tested, with the percentage of candidates who answered each pre-tested question correctly. The SRA says they are not designed to be a full mock exam. They are most useful for checking question style and difficulty.
Try a January 2027-format mock session free
Solon Court is our mock platform, and it's open. Its mocks use the January 2027 format: 170 questions per paper, in two sessions of 85. It sits alongside Solon Chambers, our question bank of about 2,500 practice questions with worked solutions. 250 Chambers questions are free now, Mock 4 Session 1 will be free when it is published, and full paid access goes on sale soon.
If you own one of our books, such as the SQE FLK1 Mock Exams or SQE FLK2 Mock Exams, each book unlocks its own questions in the bank.
Try 10 free questions, or unlock your book's papers if you own one of our mock books.
To see how we write and check our questions, read how we write our SQE1 practice questions.
Provider information was checked on each provider's own website on 30 September 2026. SRA information is from sqe.sra.org.uk as at the same date. If you spot something out of date, contact us and we'll correct it.