Applying for Legal Practice Course exemption
Updated 25 October 2023
You can no longer apply for an exemption unless you meet our LPC route transitional requirements. If you do not meet these, you will need to qualify under the SQE.
You can apply for exemption from either or both Stages 1 and 2 of the Legal Practice Course (LPC).
- Stage 1 - Core Practice areas and skills; and
- Stage 2 - Three vocational electives
See all the LPC Outcomes.
What you need
You need to make sure that:
- you can demonstrate that the content of the LPC has been met by certificated learning and/or work-based learning.
- for work-based learning, your evidence will need to confirm the work carried out and how it meets the LPC Outcomes. This must be corroborated by your supervisor. They should be a solicitor or another individual who has knowledge of the LPC outcomes and legal practice.
- for certificated learning you need to upload certified copies of your qualification or certificates, transcripts and module descriptors.
- If you are claiming an exemption based on an award obtained outside the UK, the awarding body must be recognised by UK ENIC.
We won't grant exemptions
- based on learning completed during the academic stage. For example, if on your university degree you have studied business taxation, or accounts, we will not exempt you from this element of the LPC. There is a progressive element to the standard at which the knowledge and skills are achieved.
Making your application
You will need to make your application by applying online in mySRA. To do this, you will need to create a mySRA account. If you already have one, you will need to log in.
You may find it useful to have this guidance open in a separate device or browser window to help you complete all the steps. You will need to download the application and document index on the 'Getting Started' page in mySRA, before you can start to complete it.
You may be completing this application over several weeks or months.
When you are ready to submit your application click start application on the Getting Started page to upload it along with the index and all supporting documents. The application fee is £600, you will need to pay by credit or debit card at the end of the process to complete the application.
We will let you know our decision within 180 days.
Save and keep copies of your application and evidence, once you have uploaded your application.
Step by step guide
Section 3 requires you to give details of degrees and diplomas including the name of the institution, title of qualification and course dates.
Section 4 requires you to give dates of degrees and diplomas including the name of the institution, title of qualification and course dates. Enter details of professional qualification(s) or completed course(s). For example, relevant qualifications you have undertaken within your employment. If you are using these to support your application include certified copies of your certificate(s), transcript(s) and module descriptor(s).
Tell us where you completed your experience that you are relying on to support your application including:
- The organisation's name, address and SRA ID (if applicable)
- Start and end date in this role.
This is a key part of your application. You must complete this table.
We can grant you exemption from Stage 1 of the LPC, Stage 2 or both.
To do this we must be satisfied that you have achieved all the outcomes.
You must read and understand the LPC Outcomes to complete the assessment table.
When completing the assessment table:
- set out specific, detailed examples showing how you achieved each outcome
- specify where you gained your professional experience
- cross reference your evidential documents to the outcomes
- every page must be numbered, and an index should also be provided
- update the document index with your evidential documents all evidence must be corroborated by references from your supervisor(s) in each period of experience claimed.
Supporting evidence
While everyone's experience is unique, you must include the following evidence within your application:
- detailed references from your supervisors to corroborate your claim to experience and
- redacted samples of your work.
Guidance for referees
You must make sure that your referee(s) have read this information.
References must:
- be provided for each period of experience claimed
- be written for the purposes of this application and be dated within the last 3 months
- be submitted on letterheaded paper
Referees must:
- have supervised you directly as a general employment reference is not sufficient
- have read your application, reviewed all supporting evidence before corroborating your experience and confirm that they have done so in their reference
- familiarised themselves with the LPC Outcomes and refer directly to these when providing their reference(s)
- include examples from their direct observation of your work.
If your supervisors are not solicitors, ask them for a statement outlining their skills, experience and qualifications. These must be relevant to supervising your legal work. They may also wish to comment on how familiar they are with the LPC Outcomes.
How to document your experience and provide examples of work
Here is a suggestion for how you could complete the Assessment Table, taking the Taxation outcome as an example.
| Outcome to be demonstrated | Knowledge and skills claimed and how achieved | Areas of law and practice in which outcome achieved | Evidence in support (e.g. letter, certificate, reference, job description) | Assessor comments only |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxation | ||||
|
Sufficient knowledge of tax law to be able to understand the impact of taxation (Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax and VAT) on the areas covered by the course and be able to:
|
You must look at the LPC Outcomes which set out the requirements in full. Make sure that your examples show that you have dealt with Income Tax, Corporation Tax, Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax and VAT. When giving your examples, make sure that you demonstrate the skills outlined in bullet points. For example, "When advising on Income Tax I recognised a conduct issue which was a conflict of interest. I took the following steps…." You may wish to provide 2 or 3 examples per taxation area. |
For example, Commercial law. |
For example, Letter of advice to client page 23. Paragraph 6 of the reference letter from J Bloggs & Co. |
You do not need to complete this column. |
Supporting evidence
While everyone's experience is unique, you must include the following evidence within your application:
- detailed references from your supervisors to corroborate your claim to experience and
- redacted samples of your work.
Guidance for referees
You must ensure that your referee(s) have read this information.
References must:
- be provided for each period of experience claimed
- be written for the purposes of this application and be dated within the last 3 months
- be submitted on letterheaded paper.
The samples of work you provide should support the Knowledge and Skills examples that you have given.
You must redact all samples of your work to remove sensitive or identifying information. We will not accept non-redacted documents.
You may also wish to include the following documents:
-
Job descriptions
Giving an overview of your role and responsibilities.
-
Courses and training
Include certificates of attendance and course syllabuses as evidence of courses attended and relevant training completed. All certificates must be certified copies.
-
Training records
Include training records for any completed period(s) of work experience relevant to the LPC. These must be signed by you and your supervisor.
It is essential that the document index is completed correctly and uploaded as part of your application.
How to complete the document index
Please makes sure that:
- When you save your documents, and before uploading them to your application, you name each one with the document number at the start. This means that your documents will be uploaded in the order that you have chosen (see example below)
- there are no spaces in any part of the document name
- the same document numbers are entered in section 6 of your application in the final column headed - Evidence to support your application.
Here is an example of a completed document index.
| Doc no | Description (document name) | Date | No of pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1referenceABC | 01/01/2020 | 3 |
| 2 | 2appraisalABC | 31/01/2019 | 8 |
| 3 | 3worksamplesABC | 01/03/2019 | 25 |
| 4 | 4referenceSmith&co | 14/01/2020 | 2 |
| 5 | 5appraisalSmith&co | 01/05/2018 | 6 |
| 6 | 6worksamplesSmith&co | 15/04/2018 | 20 |
We suggest that you complete the index as you progress through the application. Please make sure that each piece of evidence is included in the final index.
The number of lines is not an indication of the volume of documents you need to send. It is for you to decide on what you think is relevant to show your work knowledge. You may continue on a separate sheet if necessary.
How we use your document index
This index will be used by your caseworker and the assessor as part of their assessment of your application. They will cross reference your evidence to each of the outcomes, so clear alignment is vital.
We may not accept your application if this index is not included with your evidence, or not completed correctly.
The fee is £600 and is payable via credit or debit card.
How to
Open allYou will need an account with us, so if you don't have an account, watch our video to find out how.
To return to your application once you have started it, go to 'my applications and documents.'
Ready to apply
If you have read our step by step guide and meet the relevant criteria, you are ready to make your application.
Exemptions from the Legal Practice Course (LPC) by equivalent means.
Log in to mySRA to apply, go to start a new application