On 30 April 2026, the SRA published updated Assessment Specifications and Functioning Legal Knowledge for SQE1 and SQE2. This follows their annual review, which this year included focus groups with over 80 legal stakeholders. The result is a longer list of changes than any previous annual review has produced.
If you are sitting SQE1 in July 2026, none of this affects you. The current spec applies to your exam. Nothing has changed.
If you are planning to sit from January 2027 onwards, this page breaks down every change and what it means for your revision.
The updated FLK applies to assessments taking place after 1 September 2026. The first affected SQE1 sitting will be January 2027. The July 2026 SQE1 and SQE2 sittings use the current spec.
The SRA has published versions of the updated FLK showing tracked changes. Clean versions will replace the current spec after the July 2026 assessments.
Most changes are clarifications. The SRA has taken content that was already implicitly testable and made it explicit in the FLK. A few areas have been restructured, some terminology updated, and a handful of new testable concepts added.
The practical effect: where the FLK now lists specific items (seven duties of personal representatives, four methods of will revocation, named trust law cases), you can expect questions targeting those specific items. The examiners have shown you exactly what they consider fair game.
Two changes to the Assessment Specification itself, separate from the FLK content:
Tax questions. Where you need to apply specific monetary exemptions, reliefs, rates, or thresholds, these will be provided in the question. You will not need to memorise current tax figures.
Money laundering in SQE2 can now be examined in the context of Property Practice as well as Business Law and Practice.
FLK1 has relatively few changes. The subject areas affected:
Business Law and Practice. The FLK now specifies which business structures are in scope: sole trader, partnership, LLP, private and unlisted public companies. Funding options confirm that redemption and buyback of shares are testable, with an explicit exclusion for other reductions of share capital and financial assistance under the Companies Act 2006. Corporation tax adds detail around calculation of income profits and chargeable gains.
Dispute Resolution. "Oral examination" is renamed to "obtaining information from judgment debtor" to match current terminology.
Contract Law. One FLK line has been split into two. Interpretation of contract terms and classification of terms (conditions, warranties, innominate terms) are now listed separately. Both were already assessable. The split signals they can appear as distinct question topics.
Legal System of England and Wales. "The judiciary" becomes "judicial function." "The appeal system" is removed from this area — it is tested in Dispute Resolution and Criminal Law. "Legitimacy" is removed as redundant with separation of powers and rule of law, which remain.
Legal Services. Criminal legal aid eligibility is removed from FLK1. It remains testable in FLK2 under Criminal Law and Practice.
Tort. No changes.
FLK2 has significantly more changes. Three subject areas carry the bulk of the updates.
Several items that experienced practitioners would consider standard knowledge are now stated in the FLK for the first time:
If your revision already covers these, nothing changes for you. If it does not, these are now explicitly fair game.
The FLK is now more granular across several areas:
Validity of wills. Knowledge and approval is added as a distinct requirement. The burden of proof when challenging validity is now listed separately.
Personal representatives. Eligibility and suitability of executors are broken out as sub-topics.
Codicils. "Use and effect" replaces "use" alone.
Revocation of wills. Four specific methods are now listed: later will, codicil, destruction, and marriage or civil partnership. The previous line about the effect of marriage and divorce on a testator has been replaced with a specific line on the effect of divorce or dissolution on an existing will.
This area has the most extensive changes of any subject.
Grants of representation. The FLK now lists: order of priority where the deceased left a will, order of priority on intestacy, and the application procedure and evidence required for each type of grant (probate, letters of administration with will annexed, letters of administration).
Inheritance Tax. Burden, liability, and incidence of IHT are broken down by personal representatives, beneficiaries, trustees, and co-owners. Gifts with reservation of benefit are added to the lifetime transfers section.
Administration of estates. Seven specific duties of personal representatives prior to distribution are now listed:
PR liability. Protections are broken down by unknown beneficiaries, missing beneficiaries, insolvent beneficiaries, and creditors.
Inheritance Act 1975 claims. The factors the court takes into account when considering a claim are now explicitly included.
Three named cases are added as explicit exceptions to the rule that equity will not assist a volunteer: Re Rose, Strong v Bird, and Choithram v Pagarani.
Resulting trusts are split into automatic resulting trusts and presumed resulting trusts.
"Recipient liability" and "accessory liability" are renamed to "knowing receipt" and "dishonest assistance" to reflect more common terminology.
Several additions across procedure and evidence:
Solicitors Accounts. No changes.
Land Law. No changes.
July 2026 candidates. Ignore it. Your exam uses the current spec. Spend your time revising, not reading about future changes.
January 2027 candidates. Read the SRA's full change documents alongside this summary. Pay particular attention to Probate and Administration, which has moved from relatively sparse FLK bullet points to detailed, specific content. Check your revision materials cover the Wills changes (revocation methods, validity requirements) and the named Trusts cases.
All candidates. The SRA has also confirmed a 3.8% fee increase from September 2026. SQE1 will cost £2,006 (up from £1,932). SQE2 rises to £3,086.
SQETrack maps your revision progress to the official SRA topic list. We are updating our topic hierarchy and question coverage to reflect the September 2026 FLK changes. If you are preparing for January 2027, your SQETrack dashboard will match the spec that applies to your sitting.
SQETrack tracks your confidence and MCQ performance against the official SRA topic list. We are updating coverage for the September 2026 FLK changes so January 2027 candidates revise against the spec that applies to their sitting.
See SQETrack plans