Recording, Confirming and Registering Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) from Work Placements - A ‘Ten Top Tips’ Toolkit for Students - Guidance on Completing the SRA QWE Template

Sep 21, 2026

Toolkit explaining the rules and process for recording, confirming, and registering Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) gained through work placements, including formal or informal work experience, placements, and internships. Covers how applying to qualify as a solicitor works under the SRA’s post-September 2021 SQE route, what evidence applicants must show, and how QWE can be gathered from multiple organisations. Includes guidance on using the SRA QWE template and meeting character and suitability requirements, with practical pointers for students.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

What are the rules about applying to be a solicitor?

SQE route overview and requirements

QWE definitions and where it can be collected

Recording, Confirming and Registering Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) from Work Placements: A ‘Ten Top Tips’ Toolkit For Students-and Guidance on Completing the SRA QWE Template | Item Type | Other | | --- | --- | | Authors | Todd, Andrea; Blackburn, Lucy | | Rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International | | Download date | 15/05/2023 09:45:18 | | Item License | [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) | | Link to Item | [http://hdl.handle.net/10034/627781](http://hdl.handle.net/10034/627781) | RECORDING, CONFIRMING AND REGISTERING QUALIFYING WORK EXPERIENCE (QWE) FROM WORK PLACEMENTS: A ‘TEN TOP TIPS’ TOOLKIT FOR STUDENTS AND GUIDANCE ON COMPLETING THE SRA QWE TEMPLATE Andrea Todd, Director of Pro Bono and Community Engagement, University of Chester Lucy Blackburn, Director of Advice & Resolution Centre, University of Central Lancashire This Toolkit is intended to assist students in understanding the rules about Qualifying Work Experience and how it may apply to work placements. The definition of work placements in this document includes periods of formal or informal ‘work experience’(typically of up to a few weeks) as well as ‘placements’ and ‘internships’ (typically involving attending the workplace over a longer period of time, sometimes organised by, or with the help of, the student’s education provider). With thanks to the members of the North West Careers in Law Advisory Network who provided valuable input into this document by way of peer review prior to publication. 1. WHAT ARE THE RULES ABOUT APPLYING TO BE A SOLICITOR? If you want to be registered as a qualified solicitor, you need to apply to the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA)1 to be admitted to the roll of solicitors. This means that your name appears on the‘roll’, which is an online list of qualified solicitors held by the SRA. You also get a ‘practising certificate’ to show you are qualified. This needs to be renewed every year to allow you to carry on practising as a solicitor. The annual individual practising certificate is usually funded by the employer. In September 2021, a new set of rules was introduced setting out what you need to show the SRA when you apply to be admitted to the roll. This new set of rules is called the Solicitors’Qualifying Examination (SQE) route to qualifying as a solicitor. Under the new rules, when you apply for admission as a solicitor you need to show that you: 1. Have an undergraduate degree (it does not have to be in law)2; 2. Have passed the SQE 1 and SQE 2 central assessments3; 3. Have completed two years’ full-time equivalent of Qualifying Work Experience (‘QWE’)4; and 4. Meet the SRA’s character and suitability requirements (i.e. show you are sufficiently honest and trustworthy to be a solicitor)5. Everyone who starts a degree (in law or in anything else) from September 2022 must take the SQE route if they want to qualify as a solicitor.6 Here is a bit more information about the SQE route: SQE 1 tests your legal knowledge by way of two multiple-choice assessments, each containing 180 questions. SQE 2 tests your practical client-facing skills, such as interviewing, advocacy and drafting. The standard for these assessments is that of a newly qualified solicitor on their first day at work. Students will usually (but don’t have to) sit SQE 1 before they sit SQE 2. QWE can be collected from working in up to four organisations, including law firms, law centres, charities, in-house legal teams and university legal advice clinics (for advice about QWE from university clinics please consult our Ten Top Tips Toolkit for Student Volunteers, available on the CLEO website here: [https://www.cleo-uk.org/qualifying-work-experience/](https://www.cleo-uk.org/qualifying-work-experience/)) . You can collect QWE at any time, even before you sit any of the SQE assessments. You can undertake QWE in an organisation

FAQs

What do I need to show the SRA when applying to be admitted as a solicitor under the SQE route?

You must have an undergraduate degree, pass SQE 1 and SQE 2 central assessments, complete two years’ full-time equivalent of Qualifying Work Experience (QWE), and meet the SRA’s character and suitability requirements.

When do students need to take the SQE route to qualify as a solicitor?

Everyone starting a degree (in law or another subject) from September 2022 must take the SQE route to qualify as a solicitor.

How can QWE be collected and confirmed?

QWE can be collected from working in up to four organisations, such as law firms, law centres, charities, in-house legal teams, and university legal advice clinics. QWE can also be undertaken outside England and Wales if a solicitor qualified in England and Wales can confirm it.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Bill Black