Why the July 2025 SQE1 pass rate fell to 41%

If you sat SQE1 in July 2025 and the result stung, you weren't alone. The overall pass rate for that sitting came in at 41%, the lowest recorded for SQE1 up to that point. Even first-time candidates, who typically post the strongest numbers in any sitting, only passed at 46%.

This piece sticks to what's actually known: the headline figures, the size of the cohort, and what commentators in the legal press flagged at the time. No guesswork dressed up as explanation.

The July 2025 numbers

Here's what the SRA's statistical report for the July 2025 SQE1 sitting showed:

• 5,851 candidates sat SQE1 in July 2025.
• 41% passed overall, combining first-time sitters and resitters.
• 46% of first-time candidates passed, the figure most relevant if this was your first attempt.
• It was the lowest overall SQE1 pass rate recorded up to that point.

For context, the January 2025 sitting had produced a very different picture: 56% overall and 60% for first-timers. That's a 15-percentage-point drop on the overall figure across two sittings of the same exam format, six months apart.

Why the overall and first-time figures differ

Every SQE1 sitting mixes two groups: people sitting a paper for the first time, and people resitting after an earlier fail. The overall 41% blends both groups together. The first-time 46% isolates just the first group.

That gap matters because resit pass rates run consistently below first-attempt rates across nearly every large-scale assessment, not just the SQE. A sitting with a heavier mix of resitters will show a lower blended (overall) number even if nobody's individual preparation changed. If July 2025 saw a larger share of the sitting made up of resitters carrying forward from earlier fails, that alone would pull the overall figure down relative to the first-time figure, without saying anything about the exam getting harder.

This is also why the first-time rate, not the overall rate, is the more useful comparison point if you're approaching SQE1 for the first time. Comparing your own chances to a number that includes people on their second or third attempt understates what a clean first attempt typically looks like.

What commentators flagged

Legal press coverage following the July 2025 results noted the scale of the drop and asked, reasonably, why a single sitting had fallen so far below the January figure and below prior sittings generally. Commentary at the time pointed to a few candidate explanations worth naming, while being clear that the SRA itself did not publish a single confirmed cause for the size of the swing:

• Cohort composition. As above, a shift in the first-time-to-resit ratio between January and July could account for part of the gap.
• Who chooses to sit, and when. Training contract start dates, visa timelines, and personal readiness all influence who books a given sitting. That mix isn't the same from January to July, and the SRA doesn't publish enough detail to isolate its effect.
• Question-bank variation between sittings. SQE1 draws from a rotating bank of questions across sittings, with standard-setting intended to keep the pass mark comparable. Some sitting-to-sitting variation in how demanding a particular version turns out to be is expected, even with that process in place.

None of these were confirmed by the SRA as the cause. They're the explanations that kept surfacing in commentary, offered as plausible contributors rather than a settled answer. If you want the fuller mechanics of how cohort mix and sitting effects distort a headline pass rate, cohort pass rates, decoded goes into that in more depth.

Putting July 2025 in context

Zooming out slightly: SQE1's pass rate has moved noticeably between sittings since the exam launched, and July 2025 is the clearest example of that volatility so far, not a new baseline to assume going forward. A single low sitting doesn't mean the exam has permanently become harder, any more than a single high sitting means it's become easier.

If you're preparing for an upcoming sitting, the more useful reference points are usually:

1. The first-time pass rate, since it strips out resit effects and reflects candidates in a similar position to you.
2. Your own mock performance and syllabus coverage, tracked over time, rather than one cohort-wide percentage from a previous sitting.
3. The trend across several sittings, not just the most recent one, since any single sitting can be an outlier in either direction.

A free SQE study planner that tracks your own coverage against the syllabus gives you a far more personal readiness signal than any published pass rate, however low or high that number happens to be.

For the practical side of preparing, what the SQE costs and the SQE dates for 2026-27 cover the fees and calendar you'll need to plan around your next sitting.

Frequently asked questions

What was the SQE1 pass rate in July 2025?

The overall pass rate was 41%, with 5,851 candidates sitting the exam. First-time candidates passed at a higher rate of 46%. It was the lowest overall SQE1 pass rate recorded since the assessment began.

Why did the SQE1 pass rate drop so much in July 2025?

The SRA has not published a single confirmed cause. Commentators pointed to a possible shift in the mix of first-time versus resit candidates, differences in who chooses to sit a given exam window, and normal variation between sittings in how demanding the question bank turns out to be. These are plausible contributors, not a confirmed explanation.

How many people sat SQE1 in July 2025?

5,851 candidates sat the SQE1 assessment in the July 2025 sitting, according to the SRA's statistical report for that sitting.

Is the July 2025 pass rate typical of SQE1 going forward?

Not necessarily. SQE1 pass rates have varied noticeably between sittings since the exam launched. July 2025 was the lowest sitting on record, but a single low or high sitting shouldn't be treated as the new normal without looking at the trend across several sittings.

Where can I check the latest SQE1 pass rate?

The SRA publishes a statistical report after every SQE1 and SQE2 sitting on its website. That's the primary source, and it's updated after each new sitting closes.