Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test
Qualified lawyers from overseas jurisdictions may be eligible to transfer to the roll of solicitors of England and Wales under the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 1990.
Applicants from most jurisdictions are required to complete successfully the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test, if they meet the eligibility criteria.
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Qualified lawyers from outside the European Union are also required to show that they have gained two years of common law experience within the past five years; such experience must have been undertaken in three areas of common law and must have covered contentious and non-contentious areas of practice. Download details of the experience requirement (PDF 25K).
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 (PDF 57K).
Before applying for admission as a solicitor of 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.
If you are a lawyer from another jurisdiction and wish to transfer to the roll of solicitors of England and Wales, you must comply with the requirements of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 1990 specific to your particular professional circumstances.
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
With a view to your primary professional qualification, the SRA determines the QLTT head(s) or subject area(s) that you must successfully complete.
The SRA sets the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test specification (PDF 72K). The assessment is administered exclusively by SRA-authorised test providers. For details of test programmes and venues, contact test providers directly.
Before contacting an authorised test provider, you must successfully apply to the SRA for a certificate of eligibility to attempt the QLTT.
Qualified European lawyers
For qualified lawyers from the European Union, there is an alternative transfer route for those who intend to practice permanently in the UK.
Rule 15 (Overseas practice) and rule 16 (European cross-border practice) of the Solicitors' Code of Conduct explain the conduct requirements for Registered European Lawyers (RELs).
Use form RF6 to apply for initial registration as a REL.