How SQE1 works: FLK1, FLK2 and single best answer questions

SQE1 is the first assessment stage in the SQE. It tests functioning legal knowledge, which means legal knowledge that can be applied to practical client-based and ethical situations at the level expected of a newly qualified solicitor.

The key point is that SQE1 is not designed as a memory quiz. It is a closed book assessment using single best answer multiple choice questions. Candidates need to understand legal principles well enough to apply them to facts, spot the issue and choose the best option from plausible alternatives.

Who this article is for

This article is for candidates who know they need to sit SQE1 but are still working out what the assessment looks like. It will also help career changers, non-law graduates and law graduates who want a plain-English explanation before building a study plan.

It is most useful at the planning stage. If you are close to an assessment window, you should also read the current SRA assessment specification, sample questions and candidate guidance directly.

What you need to know

SQE1 is made up of two functioning legal knowledge assessments: FLK1 and FLK2. The SRA's public guidance states that SQE1 has 360 questions in total, with 180 questions in each assessment. Each FLK assessment is split into two sessions of 90 questions. Ethics and professional conduct is examined across both, as covered in how ethics appears across FLK1 and FLK2.

FLK1 covers Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Contract, Tort, the Legal System of England and Wales including Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law, and Legal Services. FLK2 covers Property Law and Practice, Wills and the Administration of Estates, Solicitors Accounts, Land Law, Trusts, Criminal Liability and Criminal Law and Practice.

Ethics and professional conduct are examined pervasively across both assessments. That means ethical judgement is not just a separate topic to learn at the end. It can appear through realistic scenarios across the SQE1 subject areas.

Single best answer questions have a specific shape. The SRA describes them as having a stem, a lead-in and five options. The stem sets out the scenario. The lead-in asks the question. The options are plausible, but only one is the correct answer. The task is to select the single most accurate answer based on the facts and the question asked.

Key points

• SQE1 is split into FLK1 and FLK2.

• Each assessment tests applied functioning legal knowledge.

• The format is single best answer multiple choice.

• Each question has five options and only one correct answer.

• Ethics and professional conduct can be tested across both FLK1 and FLK2.

• Official sample questions are useful, but they are not a complete mock exam.

How to prepare or use this guidance

Plan for breadth first. SQE1 covers a large body of law and practice. You cannot rely on a few favourite topics carrying your score, because questions can draw on combinations of subject areas that might arise in practice.

Then practise application. A single best answer question may include several legally relevant facts, but usually turns on one decisive rule, procedural consequence or legal distinction. Your job is not to find an answer that sounds generally sensible. It is to find the best answer to the exact question asked.

Use official sample questions to understand the format and tone. Do not treat them as the full syllabus or as a prediction of what will appear. The SRA says sample questions are designed to illustrate the type of questions candidates can expect, not to cover all assessment material.

When reviewing practice questions, spend time on wrong answers as well as right ones. At this overview stage, the key point is simple: SQE1 practice should show whether you can apply law to facts, not just whether you recognise topic labels.

How Qualifico helps

Qualifico supports SQE1 preparation by helping candidates practise little and often. It can help you build familiarity with FLK1 and FLK2 topics, test recall through flashcards and work through question practice with explanations.

That matters because SQE1 rewards active use of knowledge. Reading a rule once is not the same as applying it under time pressure. Short, repeated practice sessions can make it easier to turn recognition into usable understanding.

Qualifico covers FLK1 and FLK2 practice for SQE1, and the SQE2 tasks through Written Response practice, so the same account carries you into the second assessment.

Next steps

With the format clear, a practical SQE study plan turns FLK1 and FLK2 into a weekly routine, and the preparation mistakes that cost the most marks is worth reading before you build one. The SQE resource hub has the rest of the SQE1 guides.