SQE1 syllabus changes proposed for January 2028

The SRA is consulting on changes to the SQE1 syllabus, which it calls the Functioning Legal Knowledge. The consultation opened on 8 October 2026 and closes at 23:59 on 3 December 2026. These are proposals. If they are adopted, they would first be assessed in January 2028.

Taken from the SRA consultation page and its Annex 3 (FLK1) and Annex 4 (FLK2). Checked 12 October 2026.

Who is affected

Candidates sitting SQE1 in January 2027 or July 2027 are not affected. On the SRA’s timetable those sittings are assessed on the current syllabus, and you should not add the proposed topics to your revision or drop the topics proposed for removal. See the current SQE1 syllabus and the 2027 sitting dates.

If you expect to sit in January 2028 or later, the final syllabus is the one to prepare from. The SRA says it will publish it in April 2027.

The SRA’s planned timetable

Step	When
Consultation opened	8 October 2026
Consultation closes	3 December 2026, 23:59
SRA response and final versions published	April 2027
Any changes come into effect	September 2027
First SQE1 assessments after any changes take effect	January 2028

Proposed changes, subject by subject

The table lists each proposal in the two annexes. “Reworded or narrowed” covers entries where the SRA changes the wording of an existing topic or limits its scope. Every entry is a proposal, and on the SRA’s timetable none applies to a 2027 sitting.

Subject	Proposed additions	Proposed removals	Reworded or narrowed
Business Law and Practice FLK1	Restructuring plans and moratoriums, added to the insolvency options and procedures Stamp Duty on share transfers	Income tax: the scope of anti-avoidance provisions Capital gains tax: the scope of anti-avoidance provisions Corporation tax: outline of anti-avoidance legislation Inheritance tax business property relief (it stays in Wills and the Administration of Estates)	The finance entry is reworded to: statutory obligations to maintain financial and accounting records; identification of relevant figures in standard financial statements
Dispute Resolution FLK1	Domestic freezing orders, search orders and strike out, added to the interim applications	None	Pre-action protocols limited to four: personal injury, clinical negligence, debt claims and professional negligence
Contract Law FLK1	None	Termination by expiry or other specified event	None
Tort FLK1	No changes proposed
Legal System of England and Wales; Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law FLK1	No changes proposed
Legal Services FLK1	No changes proposed
Property Law and Practice FLK2	Termination by the tenant under section 27 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 Listed buildings and conservation areas, added to the core principles of planning law	None	A guidance note confirming that short residential leases are not examinable Rent review set out in detail: open market rent review (the hypothetical lease, its assumptions and disregards, and the process for determination) and the basic principles of stepped, turnover and index-linked rent review
Wills and the Administration of Estates FLK2	The spouse or civil partner’s right to acquire the matrimonial home on intestacy Post-death variations and disclaimers Fiduciary duties of personal representatives Letters of wishes, under the interpretation of wills	Inheritance tax: the scope of anti-avoidance provisions	None
Solicitors Accounts FLK2	None	Operation of a joint account and operation of a client’s own account	The entry on breaches is reworded from a duty to correct breaches of the SRA Accounts Rules promptly on discovery to a duty to correct and report them
Land Law FLK2	No changes proposed
Trusts Law FLK2	The beneficiary principle The rules against perpetuity (instruments taking effect after 6 April 2010) The Trust Registration Service: registrable trusts, information obligations, deadlines and penalties Letters of wishes Dispositions of equitable interests Delegation of trustees’ powers and duties	The distinction between charitable trusts and non-charitable purpose trusts	Beneficial entitlement extended to income, capital and successive interests Trusts of the family home reworded to: the presumption that equity follows the law, establishing common intention, detrimental reliance and quantification. Proprietary estoppel reworded to: establishing the estoppel, and remedies “The nature of equitable remedies and the availability of tracing in equity” replaced by “the nature and availability of proprietary claims”
Criminal Liability FLK2	Aggravated arson Handling stolen goods (the heading becomes theft and related offences)	None	None
Criminal Law and Practice FLK2	Searches under section 18 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Breach of sentence Committals for sentence Fines, conditional discharges and absolute discharges, added to the types of sentence	None	None

What is not changing

The subjects. The SRA does not propose any fundamental changes to the practice areas covered. It records suggestions to add family law and social welfare law and does not take them forward.
The Threshold Standard. The SRA is not proposing any changes to the standard at which a newly qualified solicitor is expected to perform. It says it would welcome feedback on it.
England and Wales. The SRA is not proposing changes on the differences between the law in England and the law in Wales, and asks for views on whether the syllabus reflects them.
The format. The consultation is about what is assessed. The format change from January 2027, to 170 questions a paper in two sessions, is separate and already announced. See SQE1 dates 2027.

The same consultation covers the Statement of Solicitor Competence

The first half of the consultation proposes amendments to the Statement of Solicitor Competence, which sets out what solicitors need to be able to do. The proposals add references to technology and AI, including checking the outputs of technology by reference to primary resources, a separate section on supervising others, and new wording on professional conduct and on health and wellbeing. These are separate from the syllabus changes in Annexes 3 and 4. The SRA notes that the SQE assessments are mapped against the Statement and says it will need to consider whether any changes need to be reflected in the assessment.

How to respond

The SRA says it welcomes views from all interested stakeholders, which includes candidates. Responses go through an online questionnaire, linked from the consultation page. It closes at 23:59 on 3 December 2026. The SRA says it will publish and attribute responses unless you ask it not to.

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Common questions

Is the SQE1 syllabus changing?

The SRA has proposed changes and is consulting on them from 8 October 2026 to 3 December 2026. Nothing has changed yet. The SRA says it will publish its response and final versions in April 2027, that any changes would come into effect in September 2027, and that this is ahead of the SQE1 assessments in January 2028.

Do the proposed changes affect the January 2027 or July 2027 SQE1 sittings?

No. On the SRA's timetable any changes take effect in September 2027, ahead of the January 2028 assessments. Candidates sitting in January 2027 or July 2027 are assessed on the current syllabus.

Is the SRA adding new subjects to SQE1?

No. The consultation says the SRA does not propose any fundamental changes to the practice areas covered. It records suggestions to add family law and social welfare law, and does not take them forward. The proposed changes are additions, removals and rewordings of topics within the existing subjects.

What is being removed from the SQE1 syllabus?

The SRA proposes to remove the anti-avoidance provisions for income tax, capital gains tax, corporation tax and inheritance tax; termination of a contract by expiry or other specified event; the operation of a joint account and of a client’s own account in Solicitors Accounts; and the distinction between charitable trusts and non-charitable purpose trusts. Inheritance tax business property relief would be removed from Business Law and Practice and remain in Wills and the Administration of Estates. These are proposals. On the SRA’s timetable they would not apply before the January 2028 assessments, so these topics stay on the syllabus for the January 2027 and July 2027 sittings.

What is being added to the SQE1 syllabus?

Most of the proposed additions are in FLK2: Trusts Law, Wills and the Administration of Estates, Property Law and Practice, Criminal Liability and Criminal Law and Practice. In FLK1 the proposed additions are restructuring plans and moratoriums, Stamp Duty on share transfers, and three interim applications in Dispute Resolution: domestic freezing orders, search orders and strike out. The full list is in the table on this page. On the SRA’s timetable none of these would be assessed before January 2028.

How do I respond to the SRA consultation?

Through the SRA's online questionnaire, which is linked from the consultation page. The consultation closes at 23:59 on 3 December 2026. The SRA says it will publish and attribute responses unless you ask it not to.

Independent SQE1 preparation for study, not legal or careers advice. The proposals are the SRA’s and may change before they are final. Sources: SRA consultation: review of the Statement of Solicitor Competence and the Functioning Legal Knowledge, Annex 3: proposed changes to FLK1, Annex 4: proposed changes to FLK2. Checked 12 October 2026.