Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test
Introduction
The Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations (QLTR) allow certain overseas lawyers and other UK qualified lawyers to become qualified as solicitors in England and Wales.
There are usually two requirements that applicants applying under the QLTR are required to meet (depending on which primary jurisdiction they are qualified in) before they can apply for admission as a solicitor of England and Wales:
- Pass the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT); and/or
- Satisfy a two-year legal experience requirement (which includes experience of practising the law of England and Wales). Please note that your experience must be post call/admission, unless it forms part of a regulated training scheme to enable you to be admitted in your home jurisdiction.
Please note, the primary jurisdiction applies to applications made under Regulation 10.
Experience requirement
Qualified lawyers from outside the European Union are also required to show that they have gained two years' experience of working in legal practice in a common law jurisdiction. At least one year must have been gained by practising the law of England and Wales. Such experience
- must have been undertaken in three areas of common law, and
- must have covered contentious and non-contentious areas of practice.
Find out more about the experience requirement.
Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test
About the test
The Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) is a conversion test; it enables lawyers who are qualified in certain jurisdictions outside England and Wales (and barristers of England and Wales) to qualify as solicitors in England and Wales.
The test covers four heads (subject areas):
- Head 1 – Property
- Head 2 – Litigation
- Head 3 – Professional conduct and accounts
- Head 4 – Principles of common law
Exemptions
The SRA will determine the QLTT head(s) or subject area(s) that you must successfully complete based on your primary professional qualification. Applications for exemption from the requirement to pass any one of the test heads must be made with your initial QLTR application. Please refer to the exemption criteria.
Specification and providers
The SRA sets the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test specification (PDF 13 pages, 72K). The assessment is administered exclusively by SRA-authorised test providers. For details of test programmes and venues, you must contact test providers directly. Before you arrange to sit the appropriate head(s) with a test provider, you must apply to the SRA for a certificate of eligibility.
Application procedure
Find out how to apply.
Character and suitability
Qualified lawyers are also required to show that they are suitable for admission as a solicitor in England and Wales by declaring all convictions and other relevant matters when they apply for a certificate of eligibility to transfer to the roll of solicitors of England and Wales under the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations. Download the guidelines that we use to assess character and suitability: Guidelines on the assessment of character and suitability.
Before applying for admission as a solicitor in England and Wales, qualified lawyers are required to obtain a satisfactory standard disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau, which includes details of any current and spent convictions, police cautions, reprimands and final warnings held on the Police National Computer. We also make use of overseas criminal records information services whenever appropriate. Failure to disclose convictions and other issues at the certificate of eligibility stage or subsequently is a serious matter and may result in refusal of your application for admission as a solicitor.