SQE1 · Paper 1 of 2
FLK1: what is on the first SQE1 paper
FLK1 is the first of the two SQE1 assessments. It tests your functioning legal knowledge across six subject areas, in 71 topics, through 170 single-best-answer questions from January 2027. Here is what it covers and how to get ready for it.
What FLK1 is
FLK (Functioning Legal Knowledge) is the knowledge half of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination. SQE1 splits it into two papers, FLK1 and FLK2. FLK1 is the first paper, sat over two timed sessions in a single day. Every question is set at the standard of a day-one newly qualified solicitor, and professional conduct can come up in any scenario.
How FLK1 is structured
- 170 questions from January 2027, sat as two 85-question sessions in one day.
- Single best answer. A scenario, five options, one best answer.
- About 1 minute 48 seconds per question. Each session is 2 hours 33 minutes, and pace is part of the test.
- No negative marking. A wrong answer costs the same as a blank, so you answer everything.
- Standard-set. The pass mark moves with each sitting, so you are clearing a bar, not chasing a fixed score.
From January 2027 each session tests a fixed group of subjects, with the questions still in a random order within the session:
- Session 1: Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Legal Services.
- Session 2: Tort, Contract, and the Legal System of England and Wales, including Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law.
Ethics and professional conduct can still be tested in either session.
The six FLK1 subjects
These are the subject areas FLK1 draws from, with the topics under each. Lawdojo has questions across all of them.
Business Law & Practice
18 topics
- Business & organisational characteristics (sole trader, partnership, LLP, company)
- Legal personality & limited liability
- Company incorporation & constitution (articles, memorandum)
- Company decision-making & resolutions (board, members, meetings, written resolutions)
- Directors — appointment, duties, removal
- Shareholders — rights & protection (incl. unfair prejudice, derivative claims)
- Share capital — allotment, transfer, maintenance of capital
- Partnership law (Partnership Act 1890)
- Limited liability partnerships
- Financing a business — equity, debt, charges & registration
- Corporate insolvency (liquidation, administration, CVA, receivership, wrongful/fraudulent trading)
- Personal insolvency (bankruptcy, IVAs)
- Income tax
- Capital gains tax (incl. business reliefs)
- Corporation tax
- Value added tax
- Inheritance tax & business property relief
- Taxation of partnerships & sole traders
Dispute Resolution
13 topics
- Analysis of claim — causes of action, forum, merits
- Pre-action conduct & protocols
- Limitation periods
- Parties, issue & service, statements of case
- Tracks & case management
- Interim applications (summary judgment, interim payments, injunctions, security for costs)
- Disclosure & inspection
- Evidence — witness, expert, hearsay
- Settlement & Part 36 offers
- Trial, judgment & interest
- Costs
- Enforcement of judgments
- ADR — mediation & arbitration
Contract
14 topics
- Formation — offer & acceptance
- Consideration & intention to create legal relations
- Privity & third-party rights
- Terms — express, implied, interpretation
- Exemption clauses & unfair terms (UCTA / CRA 2015)
- Misrepresentation
- Mistake
- Duress & undue influence
- Illegality
- Discharge — performance & breach
- Frustration
- Remedies — damages (incl. remoteness, mitigation)
- Equitable remedies (specific performance, injunctions)
- Unjust enrichment & restitution
Tort
10 topics
- Negligence — duty of care
- Negligence — breach & standard of care
- Negligence — causation & remoteness
- Pure economic loss & psychiatric harm
- Employers' liability & vicarious liability
- Occupiers' liability (1957 & 1984 Acts)
- Product liability (Consumer Protection Act 1987)
- Nuisance & Rylands v Fletcher
- Defences (consent, contributory negligence, illegality)
- Remedies & damages in tort
Legal System (incl. Constitutional/Admin & EU)
10 topics
- Courts — structure & jurisdiction
- Sources of law & doctrine of precedent
- Statutory interpretation
- Parliamentary sovereignty & rule of law
- Separation of powers & constitutional conventions
- Royal prerogative
- Judicial review — grounds, standing, remedies
- Human Rights Act 1998 & ECHR
- Retained/assimilated EU law post-Brexit
- Legal personnel & the judiciary
Legal Services
6 topics
How to prepare for FLK1
- Cover all six subjects. The paper draws across everything, so a weak area anywhere costs marks.
- Practise single-best-answer questions at exam pace. Reading notes builds knowledge; sitting questions against the clock builds the skill the exam actually tests.
- Find your weak topics early and close them, rather than meeting them for the first time on the day.
- Track your readiness honestly, and book when the data says you are there.
Try an FLK1 question
This question is taken from the bank. Answer it to see the worked reasoning and the tutor. You do not need to sign up to try it.
A director of a private company learns through his position that a supplier is selling a profitable business in the company's line of trade. The company cannot finance the purchase. The director tells the board that he wishes to buy it personally. Neither the board nor the members give permission, and the articles contain no permission for him to take such opportunities. He buys it using his own money and makes a profit. The company seeks an account of that profit. Which best states the director's position?
Practise at the real standard
FLK1 is half the exam, and 58% did not pass SQE1 in July 2026. Find out which FLK1 areas are costing you marks.
Complete includes
- ✓An AI tutor on every question. The tutor already knows the correct answer
- ✓5 full timed mock papers, plus unlimited drilling — no daily cap
- ✓The whole 2,263-question bank, with worked answers and references, all 137 topics
- ✓Your weak-spot map: exactly where you’re losing marks
One payment, nothing recurring. The 25-question diagnostic is free with no card.
Common questions
What does FLK1 cover?
FLK1 covers six subject areas: Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Contract, Tort, the Legal System of England and Wales (including constitutional, administrative and retained EU law), and Legal Services. Ethics and professional conduct run through every question rather than sitting as a separate subject.
How many questions are in FLK1?
From January 2027 FLK1 has 170 single-best-answer questions, sat as two 85-question sessions in one day. Session 1 tests Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution and Legal Services; session 2 tests Tort, Contract and the Legal System. Each question gives a scenario and five options, and one is the single best answer.
How is FLK1 scored?
FLK1 is standard-set, so the pass mark is decided for each sitting against a consistent competence standard. There is no negative marking, so you answer every question. You need to pass both FLK1 and FLK2 to pass SQE1.
Is FLK1 harder than FLK2?
Both papers are set to the same competence standard. Which one you find harder usually comes down to which subjects are your weaker ones. Since you have to pass both, the safe approach is to be solid across the whole syllabus.
How long do you get per question in FLK1?
About 1 minute 48 seconds per question from January 2027, with 85 questions in each session of 2 hours 33 minutes. Pacing is part of the challenge, so practising at that speed matters as much as knowing the law.
Next: FLK2 and its subjects, the full SQE1 syllabus, and the latest SQE1 pass rate. For the whole exam in one place, read the SQE1 guide.
Exam structure and rules are set by the SRA. See the official SQE site for the definitive assessment specification. Subject coverage reflects Lawdojo's syllabus map.