How to record and log your QWE

Qualifying work experience doesn't come with a workbook or a supervisor filling in a form every Friday. QWE is flexible: spread across up to four organisations if you need it to be, built up on your own schedule. But that flexibility means the record-keeping is on you, not an employer's HR system.

This post covers the mechanics: what to write down as you go, how mySRA fits in, how competencies get mapped, and how to get sign-off from a solicitor or COLP without a scramble two years in.

Why you need your own record at all

The SRA doesn't ask you to submit a running log while you're doing the work. The record you keep is for your own benefit, and you need it for two reasons.

Memory is unreliable over a two-year stretch, especially if you're moving between roles. And the person confirming your QWE at the end, a solicitor or a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP), needs to look at what you did and agree it meets the requirement. Turning up after two years with a vague sense of "I did some litigation work and some conveyancing" makes that a hard conversation for both of you.

A simple, consistent log solves both problems, and it doesn't need to be elaborate. It just needs to exist and be accurate.

What to capture, entry by entry

Think of each entry as answering: what did I do, how long did it take, and what did it develop in me. A workable template looks like this:

• Date range for the piece of work or reporting period (weekly or monthly logs both work).
• Organisation you were working for at the time.
• Supervisor you were working under, with their role.
• Task description, a sentence or two on what the work actually was.
• Approximate hours spent on it.
• Competencies touched on, in your own words, mapped loosely to the SRA's Statement of Solicitor Competence.
• Any outputs worth referencing later, such as a matter reference or document, that jogs your memory months on.

You don't need forensic detail. A weekly summary covering the main pieces of work is usually enough, as long as you and whoever signs off your experience can reconstruct a credible picture of what you did two years from now.

Mapping to competencies, without overthinking it

The SRA's QWE requirement is tied to the Statement of Solicitor Competence, the framework describing what a newly qualified solicitor should be able to do: managing your own work, maintaining trust and acting with integrity, delivering legal services effectively, and so on.

You don't need to force every task into a formal competency code. What helps is noting, in plain language, what a piece of work actually developed. "Drafted a letter before action, applying the relevant law to a client's facts" tells a reviewer far more than "did some drafting."

Patterns will show up over time. If everything clusters around one narrow competency, like document review, that's worth noticing early, while there's still time to ask for a wider spread of work. QWE doesn't require every competency to be hit equally, but spotting a gap at month six beats spotting it at month twenty-three.

Recording QWE through mySRA

The formal side of QWE happens through your mySRA account, the SRA's online portal for managing your application to qualify. This is separate from your day-to-day log, which you can keep however suits you: a spreadsheet, a document, a notes app. mySRA is where the confirmed record eventually gets submitted as part of your application for admission.

The general shape of the process:

1. You keep your own working record throughout your QWE, in whatever format works for you.
2. Periodically, or at the end of a placement, you ask the relevant solicitor or COLP to confirm that period of experience.
3. Confirmed QWE gets recorded through mySRA, either as you go or when you're ready to apply.
4. When you apply for admission, your full QWE record, confirmed and complete, forms part of that application alongside your SQE1 and SQE2 results.

Check the SRA's current mySRA guidance for the exact screens and steps, since the SRA updates its online processes from time to time.

Getting sign-off from a solicitor or COLP

Confirmation has to come from a solicitor or a COLP in a position to assess your work. It doesn't have to be a partner, and it doesn't have to be the person who line-managed you day to day, but it does need to be someone who can genuinely vouch for what you did.

A few things make this easier:

• Don't wait until the end to raise it. If you're moving on from a role, ask for confirmation of that stretch before you leave, while details are fresh and the person is still available. Chasing a former supervisor a year later, after they've moved on too, is a needless risk.
• Bring your log to the conversation. Handing a solicitor or COLP a tidy summary, with dates and competencies, makes their job far easier than asking them to reconstruct it from memory or old emails.
• Ask early who the right person is. In a smaller organisation it might obviously be the principal or a named COLP. In a larger one, check who actually handles QWE confirmations rather than assuming.
• Keep your own copy. Whatever mySRA asks for, retain a copy of the confirmation alongside your log, not just a note that "they said yes."

If you gain QWE across more than one organisation, each stretch typically needs its own confirmation rather than one blanket sign-off from someone who only saw part of the picture. That's another reason a log per organisation, rather than one long undifferentiated document, tends to work better.

The best QWE record is the one you actually keep up. An elaborate system you abandon after three weeks is worth less than a five-minute weekly habit: block time on a Friday, jot down what you worked on and roughly how long it took, and revisit the log every couple of months to check the spread of work looks reasonable. None of this needs special software, just consistency and a backup somewhere safe.

Where QWE fits with your exam timeline

Recording QWE properly is one task among several if you're also studying for SQE1 and SQE2. It helps to view all three requirements on one timeline rather than as separate projects that happen to overlap. A free SQE study planner can help you see study blocks and work commitments side by side, so logging QWE stays a five-minute weekly habit rather than something competing with revision time.

If you're still working out the shape of QWE itself, the QWE explained post covers the underlying rule, and the training contract vs QWE post helps if you're comparing a structured scheme against assembling your own experience. For the exam side, see the SQE costs breakdown and SQE dates.

Frequently asked questions

How do I record QWE for the SQE?

Keep an ongoing log of what you worked on, roughly how many hours, and which competencies it developed, for each organisation. Confirmed periods of QWE are then recorded through mySRA, forming part of your application for admission once SQE1 and SQE2 are complete.

What is the QWE form?

There isn't one fixed "QWE form" for the whole two years. Your day-to-day log is informal and can take whatever shape suits you. The formal record for your application is entered and confirmed through mySRA, so check the SRA's current guidance for the exact steps.

Who can confirm my QWE?

A solicitor or a COLP in a position to assess your work. It doesn't need to be the same person throughout, and each organisation typically needs its own confirmation.

Do I need to log every single task I do?

No. A weekly or monthly summary of the main pieces of work, with rough hours and competencies involved, is generally enough. The goal is a credible, reviewable picture, not a minute-by-minute record.

What happens if I can't get sign-off from a former employer?

This is exactly why it's worth asking for confirmation before you leave a role, rather than afterward. If you're already in that position, check the SRA's current guidance on confirming QWE where the original supervisor is no longer available.

Recording QWE isn't complicated, but it rewards consistency over intensity. A short weekly note, kept per organisation and backed up somewhere safe, will save you a difficult scramble two years from now when it's time to ask someone to sign off experience they only vaguely remember.