Why the distinction matters
Both routes end in the same place — the SRA deciding you do not need to sit part of the SQE. They get there very differently, and they ask for very different things from you. Preparing an individual application when an agreed route was available wastes months. Applying under an agreed route you do not qualify for gets refused.
The agreed exemption
An agreed exemption applies where the SRA has already looked at a particular qualification or jurisdiction, compared it against what the SQE tests, and accepted that it meets the standard.
The comparison work has been done centrally, so your job is narrower: show that you genuinely hold the qualification in question. Practically, that means making sure all your legal qualifications and jurisdictions are recorded in your mySRA profile before you apply.
Because the substantive assessment is already settled, these applications are usually decided well inside the SRA's stated window.
The individual SQE assessment exemption
If no agreed route covers your qualification, your application is assessed on its own facts. This is the heavier route. The SRA assesses it, and where applicable an external assessor does too.
You are expected to produce:
- evidence that your skills meet the solicitor statement of competence at level three;
- appropriately redacted work samples, such as attendance notes and client correspondence;
- detailed references from your supervisors confirming and corroborating all the work experience you rely on.
The SRA will decide within 180 days of receiving a fully completed application. The clock starts when the application is complete, not when you first submit something.
How to tell which applies to you
Start from your qualification, not from your CV. Check whether the SRA has an agreed route covering the specific professional qualification you hold and the jurisdiction you hold it in. If it does, that is your route. If it does not, you are on the individual route and should budget serious time for the evidence bundle.
Two people from the same country can be on different routes, because the route follows the qualification, not the nationality.
Not sure how your own qualification reads against the criteria? We advise on SQE exemptions — we assess your position and help you evidence the application you make. The SRA decides the outcome.
A note on SQE2
SQE2 tests practical legal skills, so exemption evidence is weighted towards demonstrated competence in practice rather than academic coverage. Applicants who have practised for years but cannot produce corroborated work samples often struggle here — not because they lack the skills, but because they cannot evidence them in the form the SRA is asking for.
Sitting SQE1? Our course covers all thirteen FLK1 and FLK2 subjects with a citation behind every rule, and the free tier needs no card — LexVerity Academy.
Last reviewed 2 August 2026. This guide is general information about the SQE qualification process, not legal advice, and not advice on your individual circumstances. LexVerity Legal Ltd is not authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Only the SRA can decide an exemption. Always check the current position on the SRA's own website before you act.