CPS vs GLP Legal Trainee Scheme: Which Is Right for You?

Two of the most sought-after public sector legal training routes in England and Wales are the CPS Legal Trainee Scheme and the Government Legal Profession (GLP) Legal Trainee Scheme. Both are civil service positions. Both offer real legal work from day one. Both lead to qualification as a solicitor (or barrister). But they are not interchangeable — and the differences between them are more significant than most comparison guides suggest.

This article covers every material difference: funding, salary, type of work, employment guarantees, application timelines, and long-term career implications. It also explains which type of candidate is likely to be better suited to each route.

One thing to note upfront: these are not mutually exclusive. There is nothing stopping you from applying to both in the same cycle, provided you meet the eligibility criteria for each.

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The headline difference: what you will actually spend your time doing

This is the most important factor and the one most guides underplay.

The CPS is a single-purpose organisation. Its job is to prosecute crime. As a CPS legal trainee, you will spend two years working on criminal cases — reviewing police files, applying the Full Code Test, drafting court applications, attending magistrates' courts, and rotating through specialist units including RASSO and the Complex Casework Unit. If you want a varied legal diet across different areas of law, the CPS is not the place.

The GLP is the opposite. It covers GLD (the Government Legal Department), HMRC, the National Crime Agency, and the Competition and Markets Authority. GLD alone spans employment, commercial, public, constitutional, and EU-derived law. HMRC covers tax and revenue law. The CMA focuses on competition. The NCA handles serious organised crime. Across the four departments, GLP trainees rotate through four six-month seats over two years, working across genuinely different areas of law. The work is largely advisory rather than prosecutorial — advising ministers, drafting legislation, and handling judicial review rather than standing up in court.

If you are certain you want to prosecute criminal cases: CPS. If you want breadth, advisory work, or commercial/public law: GLP. If you are not sure: GLP gives you more to work with post-qualification.

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SQE and qualification funding: the most practical difference

This is where the two schemes diverge most sharply in practical terms.

CPS: no funding

The CPS does not fund SQE or the LPC. You must have already passed SQE1 and SQE2 (or the LPC under the transitional route) before you start, and your qualifications must be submitted to the CPS by 1 September in your start year. SQE assessment fees alone are currently £4,908 (£1,934 for SQE1, £2,974 for SQE2). Preparation courses add a further £2,500 to £18,000+ depending on provider. All of this is at your own expense. The SQE cost calculator will show you a full financial breakdown, and the SQE provider comparison covers what each provider costs and what they offer.

GLP: funded, with a bursary

The GLP funds SQE for trainees who have not yet completed it. Departments cover SQE preparation course fees and assessment fees in full. They also pay a cost-of-living bursary of approximately £5,400 (regional/online) or £7,600 (London) for the study period. Candidates who have already self-funded SQE1 and are partway through can still apply — departments will cover SQE2 under departmental provision in those cases, with a pro-rated bursary.

GLD does not fund the GDL/PGDL law conversion course, so non-law graduates still need to cover that themselves. HMRC and NCA also offer LPC funding for candidates on the transitional route.

What this means in practice

If you have not yet completed SQE and cannot self-fund, the GLP route is the only realistic option between the two. If you have already passed SQE (or are planning to self-fund regardless), the funding difference becomes less significant — though the GLP bursary still represents meaningful financial support.

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Salary comparison

Both schemes pay broadly comparable amounts during the training period and include the Civil Service Defined Benefit pension with contributions of up to 28.97% of salary — a benefit that significantly increases the real value of both packages beyond the headline numbers.

On qualification, CPS NQ salary rises to £44,520–£47,720 nationally, or £46,800–£50,000 in London. GLP NQ salaries vary by department — GLD and HMRC NQ positions are competitive within the public sector but differ by department and grade. Both routes sit at broadly comparable salary levels post-qualification.

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Employment guarantee on completion

This is a material difference between the two schemes.

CPS: guaranteed employment

On satisfactory completion of the CPS Legal Trainee Scheme, you are guaranteed a position as a Crown Prosecutor or Crown Advocate. This is a formal commitment, not an aspiration. It is one of the most significant advantages of the CPS route and one that no private firm training contract offers.

GLP: hoped-for, not guaranteed

The GLP is explicit that employment on completion cannot be guaranteed. GLD "hopes to be able to offer a permanent qualified lawyer role" at Legal Officer level on completion of the two-year training period. The CMA, HMRC, and NCA use similar language — departments aim to offer newly qualified positions but this is always subject to business need and the trainee meeting the required standard.

In practice, most GLP trainees do progress to NQ roles. But the formal guarantee that CPS trainees receive does not exist on the GLP route. For candidates for whom job security is a priority, this distinction matters.

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Application timeline and number of places

CPS

• Approximately 80 places per year nationally (source: Legal 500 Future Lawyers 2026)
• Applications open: typically January each year
• For October 2028 start: applications expected January 2027, closing early February 2027
• Window is approximately six weeks

GLP

• 60+ trainee solicitor positions through the 2026 campaign (for September 2028 start, with a small number available for September 2026)
• 8 pupil barrister positions in the 2026 campaign (GLD and HMRC)
• Applications typically open April–May for trainee solicitors; January for pupil barristers
• The 2026 trainee solicitor campaign deadline was 28 April 2026 (midday) — the SJT must also be completed by 3pm the same day

Both schemes recruit approximately two years in advance. The CPS has a slightly larger intake of trainee solicitors. The GLP offers the additional barrister route, which the CPS also runs separately.

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Application process comparison

CPS stages:

1. Online application form with competency questions + casework skills test + civil service verbal reasoning test + CV upload
2. Recorded video interview (STAR framework, short completion window)
3. In-person assessment centre: written exercise, competency interview, group exercise

GLP stages:

1. Online application form + situational judgement test (SJT — 16 scenarios, 25–30 minutes)
2. Video interview
3. Half-day online assessment centre: 60-minute written exercise + 70-minute panel interview (two senior lawyers + independent chair)

The GLP written exercise is explicitly designed with non-law students in mind — the law you need is provided in the materials. The CPS casework skills test assumes more familiarity with criminal law concepts, particularly the Full Code Test. Preparation strategy differs accordingly.

Both use Civil Service Success Profiles. Both test Behaviours and Strengths elements. The GLP panel interview is notably long at 70 minutes and involves senior legal assessors. The CPS application tests criminal-specific motivation more directly and earlier in the process.

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Work type and day-to-day experience

CPS: Criminal prosecution only. Charging decisions, court attendance, specialist unit rotations (RASSO, Complex Casework). After completing the associate prosecutor course, trainees conduct independent magistrates' court advocacy. High exposure to real decisions with real consequences early on. Narrow in scope — you will become very good at criminal law.

GLP: Varies significantly by department. GLD trainees rotate through four six-month seats across different legal practice areas — this might include judicial review, employment, commercial, EU, or constitutional law depending on business need. HMRC trainees focus on tax and revenue litigation. NCA trainees work on serious and organised crime law (advisory and asset recovery rather than frontline prosecution). CMA trainees work on competition law — mergers, markets, cartels, consumer law.

The GLP is not predominantly court-based. Most work is advisory: advising ministers and departments, drafting submissions, and instructing counsel rather than appearing yourself. If advocacy experience matters to you, the CPS offers more of it.

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Career mobility after qualification

CPS: Criminal prosecution is a specialist track. Moving into criminal defence or legal aid after the CPS is straightforward. Moving into commercial law is significantly harder and requires a strong rationale. The CPS NQ position is essentially a commitment to criminal practice for the foreseeable future.

GLP: Broader post-qualification options. GLD lawyers develop skills across multiple practice areas, which translates more readily to public law, regulatory, commercial, and in-house roles. The NCA and CMA offer particularly strong specialist profiles — NCA experience in serious crime law, and CMA experience in competition law that is highly valued in private practice and in-house teams.

If you want to keep your options open post-qualification, the GLP — particularly GLD or CMA — gives you more flexibility.

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Who should apply to each

Apply to the CPS if:

• You are certain you want a career in criminal prosecution
• You want guaranteed employment on completion
• You want court-based advocacy experience early in your career
• You have already self-funded (or plan to self-fund) SQE
• You are motivated by the public interest dimension of prosecution specifically, not just public service generally

Apply to the GLP if:

• You need SQE funding (this may be the deciding factor)
• You want breadth across different areas of law
• You are interested in advisory work, policy, legislation, or competition law
• You are not certain about criminal law as a long-term specialism
• You want to qualify somewhere that keeps private practice options open

Apply to both if:

• You meet the eligibility criteria for both
• Your motivation is genuine for both routes
• You can prepare tailored applications — a generic motivation statement for either scheme will not get you through

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply to both the CPS and GLP in the same cycle?

Yes. They are separate schemes with separate application processes and separate timelines. Applying to both is a sensible strategy if you are genuinely motivated by both routes. You will need to prepare tailored applications — the motivation questions differ meaningfully.

Does the GLP fund the GDL/PGDL for non-law graduates?

No. GLD, HMRC, NCA, and CMA do not fund the law conversion course. You need to cover that cost yourself before applying to the GLP.

Is the CPS employment guarantee legally binding?

The CPS's published position is that trainees are guaranteed a Crown Prosecutor or Crown Advocate role on satisfactory completion. The GLP uses "hopes to offer" language, which is materially weaker. Verify the current formal position directly with CPS recruitment before making decisions based on it.

Which is harder to get into?

Both are competitive. The CPS takes roughly 80 trainees nationally; the GLP takes 60+ trainee solicitors across four departments. Both have multi-stage assessment processes. The CPS tests criminal-specific motivation and knowledge more intensively; the GLP written exercise is more deliberately accessible to non-law candidates.

Does GLP QWE count toward SQE admission?

Yes, in the same way CPS QWE does. Your two years of training at any GLP department counts as Qualifying Work Experience for SRA admission purposes. The QWE tracker is useful for logging evidence of your development throughout training.

What if I am interested in the barrister route?

Both the CPS and GLP run separate pupil barrister schemes. The CPS pupillage is in criminal prosecution; the GLP offers pupillages at GLD and HMRC. The GLP 2026 pupil barrister campaign closed in January 2026; the next campaign is expected to launch in January 2027.

Does QWE at the CPS count toward the SQE?

Yes. Two years as a CPS Legal Trainee counts as Qualifying Work Experience for SQE admission purposes, in the same way as GLP QWE. See the full guide to the CPS Legal Trainee Scheme for more detail on what trainees actually do and how the scheme is structured.

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Sources: GOV.UK GLP Legal Trainee Scheme guidance (updated April 2026); GOV.UK GLP How to Apply (updated April 2026); CPS official recruitment pages; Legal 500 Future Lawyers 2026; GLD Careers — Early Talent page.

The headline difference: what you will actually spend your time doing

This is the most important factor and the one most guides underplay.

The CPS is a single-purpose organisation. Its job is to prosecute crime. As a CPS legal trainee, you will spend two years working on criminal cases — reviewing police files, applying the Full Code Test, drafting court applications, attending magistrates' courts, and rotating through specialist units including RASSO and the Complex Casework Unit. If you want a varied legal diet across different areas of law, the CPS is not the place.

The GLP is the opposite. It covers GLD (the Government Legal Department), HMRC, the National Crime Agency, and the Competition and Markets Authority. GLD alone spans employment, commercial, public, constitutional, and EU-derived law. HMRC covers tax and revenue law. The CMA focuses on competition. The NCA handles serious organised crime. Across the four departments, GLP trainees rotate through four six-month seats over two years, working across genuinely different areas of law. The work is largely advisory rather than prosecutorial — advising ministers, drafting legislation, and handling judicial review rather than standing up in court.

If you are certain you want to prosecute criminal cases: CPS. If you want breadth, advisory work, or commercial/public law: GLP. If you are not sure: GLP gives you more to work with post-qualification.

---

SQE and qualification funding: the most practical difference

This is where the two schemes diverge most sharply in practical terms.

CPS: no funding

The CPS does not fund SQE or the LPC. You must have already passed SQE1 and SQE2 (or the LPC under the transitional route) before you start, and your qualifications must be submitted to the CPS by 1 September in your start year. SQE assessment fees alone are currently £4,908 (£1,934 for SQE1, £2,974 for SQE2). Preparation courses add a further £2,500 to £18,000+ depending on provider. All of this is at your own expense. The SQE cost calculator will show you a full financial breakdown, and the SQE provider comparison covers what each provider costs and what they offer.

GLP: funded, with a bursary

The GLP funds SQE for trainees who have not yet completed it. Departments cover SQE preparation course fees and assessment fees in full. They also pay a cost-of-living bursary of approximately £5,400 (regional/online) or £7,600 (London) for the study period. Candidates who have already self-funded SQE1 and are partway through can still apply — departments will cover SQE2 under departmental provision in those cases, with a pro-rated bursary.

GLD does not fund the GDL/PGDL law conversion course, so non-law graduates still need to cover that themselves. HMRC and NCA also offer LPC funding for candidates on the transitional route.

What this means in practice

If you have not yet completed SQE and cannot self-fund, the GLP route is the only realistic option between the two. If you have already passed SQE (or are planning to self-fund regardless), the funding difference becomes less significant — though the GLP bursary still represents meaningful financial support.

---

Salary comparison

Both schemes pay broadly comparable amounts during the training period and include the Civil Service Defined Benefit pension with contributions of up to 28.97% of salary — a benefit that significantly increases the real value of both packages beyond the headline numbers.

On qualification, CPS NQ salary rises to £44,520–£47,720 nationally, or £46,800–£50,000 in London. GLP NQ salaries vary by department — GLD and HMRC NQ positions are competitive within the public sector but differ by department and grade. Both routes sit at broadly comparable salary levels post-qualification.

---

Employment guarantee on completion

This is a material difference between the two schemes.

CPS: guaranteed employment

On satisfactory completion of the CPS Legal Trainee Scheme, you are guaranteed a position as a Crown Prosecutor or Crown Advocate. This is a formal commitment, not an aspiration. It is one of the most significant advantages of the CPS route and one that no private firm training contract offers.

GLP: hoped-for, not guaranteed

The GLP is explicit that employment on completion cannot be guaranteed. GLD "hopes to be able to offer a permanent qualified lawyer role" at Legal Officer level on completion of the two-year training period. The CMA, HMRC, and NCA use similar language — departments aim to offer newly qualified positions but this is always subject to business need and the trainee meeting the required standard.

In practice, most GLP trainees do progress to NQ roles. But the formal guarantee that CPS trainees receive does not exist on the GLP route. For candidates for whom job security is a priority, this distinction matters.

---

Application timeline and number of places

CPS

• Approximately 80 places per year nationally (source: Legal 500 Future Lawyers 2026)
• Applications open: typically January each year
• For October 2028 start: applications expected January 2027, closing early February 2027
• Window is approximately six weeks

GLP

• 60+ trainee solicitor positions through the 2026 campaign (for September 2028 start, with a small number available for September 2026)
• 8 pupil barrister positions in the 2026 campaign (GLD and HMRC)
• Applications typically open April–May for trainee solicitors; January for pupil barristers
• The 2026 trainee solicitor campaign deadline was 28 April 2026 (midday) — the SJT must also be completed by 3pm the same day

Both schemes recruit approximately two years in advance. The CPS has a slightly larger intake of trainee solicitors. The GLP offers the additional barrister route, which the CPS also runs separately.

---

Application process comparison

CPS stages:

1. Online application form with competency questions + casework skills test + civil service verbal reasoning test + CV upload
2. Recorded video interview (STAR framework, short completion window)
3. In-person assessment centre: written exercise, competency interview, group exercise

GLP stages:

1. Online application form + situational judgement test (SJT — 16 scenarios, 25–30 minutes)
2. Video interview
3. Half-day online assessment centre: 60-minute written exercise + 70-minute panel interview (two senior lawyers + independent chair)

The GLP written exercise is explicitly designed with non-law students in mind — the law you need is provided in the materials. The CPS casework skills test assumes more familiarity with criminal law concepts, particularly the Full Code Test. Preparation strategy differs accordingly.

Both use Civil Service Success Profiles. Both test Behaviours and Strengths elements. The GLP panel interview is notably long at 70 minutes and involves senior legal assessors. The CPS application tests criminal-specific motivation more directly and earlier in the process.

---

Work type and day-to-day experience

CPS: Criminal prosecution only. Charging decisions, court attendance, specialist unit rotations (RASSO, Complex Casework). After completing the associate prosecutor course, trainees conduct independent magistrates' court advocacy. High exposure to real decisions with real consequences early on. Narrow in scope — you will become very good at criminal law.

GLP: Varies significantly by department. GLD trainees rotate through four six-month seats across different legal practice areas — this might include judicial review, employment, commercial, EU, or constitutional law depending on business need. HMRC trainees focus on tax and revenue litigation. NCA trainees work on serious and organised crime law (advisory and asset recovery rather than frontline prosecution). CMA trainees work on competition law — mergers, markets, cartels, consumer law.

The GLP is not predominantly court-based. Most work is advisory: advising ministers and departments, drafting submissions, and instructing counsel rather than appearing yourself. If advocacy experience matters to you, the CPS offers more of it.

---

Career mobility after qualification

CPS: Criminal prosecution is a specialist track. Moving into criminal defence or legal aid after the CPS is straightforward. Moving into commercial law is significantly harder and requires a strong rationale. The CPS NQ position is essentially a commitment to criminal practice for the foreseeable future.

GLP: Broader post-qualification options. GLD lawyers develop skills across multiple practice areas, which translates more readily to public law, regulatory, commercial, and in-house roles. The NCA and CMA offer particularly strong specialist profiles — NCA experience in serious crime law, and CMA experience in competition law that is highly valued in private practice and in-house teams.

If you want to keep your options open post-qualification, the GLP — particularly GLD or CMA — gives you more flexibility.

---

Who should apply to each

Apply to the CPS if:

• You are certain you want a career in criminal prosecution
• You want guaranteed employment on completion
• You want court-based advocacy experience early in your career
• You have already self-funded (or plan to self-fund) SQE
• You are motivated by the public interest dimension of prosecution specifically, not just public service generally

Apply to the GLP if:

• You need SQE funding (this may be the deciding factor)
• You want breadth across different areas of law
• You are interested in advisory work, policy, legislation, or competition law
• You are not certain about criminal law as a long-term specialism
• You want to qualify somewhere that keeps private practice options open

Apply to both if:

• You meet the eligibility criteria for both
• Your motivation is genuine for both routes
• You can prepare tailored applications — a generic motivation statement for either scheme will not get you through

---

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply to both the CPS and GLP in the same cycle?

Yes. They are separate schemes with separate application processes and separate timelines. Applying to both is a sensible strategy if you are genuinely motivated by both routes. You will need to prepare tailored applications — the motivation questions differ meaningfully.

Does the GLP fund the GDL/PGDL for non-law graduates?

No. GLD, HMRC, NCA, and CMA do not fund the law conversion course. You need to cover that cost yourself before applying to the GLP.

Is the CPS employment guarantee legally binding?

The CPS's published position is that trainees are guaranteed a Crown Prosecutor or Crown Advocate role on satisfactory completion. The GLP uses "hopes to offer" language, which is materially weaker. Verify the current formal position directly with CPS recruitment before making decisions based on it.

Which is harder to get into?

Both are competitive. The CPS takes roughly 80 trainees nationally; the GLP takes 60+ trainee solicitors across four departments. Both have multi-stage assessment processes. The CPS tests criminal-specific motivation and knowledge more intensively; the GLP written exercise is more deliberately accessible to non-law candidates.

Does GLP QWE count toward SQE admission?

Yes, in the same way CPS QWE does. Your two years of training at any GLP department counts as Qualifying Work Experience for SRA admission purposes. The QWE tracker is useful for logging evidence of your development throughout training.

What if I am interested in the barrister route?

Both the CPS and GLP run separate pupil barrister schemes. The CPS pupillage is in criminal prosecution; the GLP offers pupillages at GLD and HMRC. The GLP 2026 pupil barrister campaign closed in January 2026; the next campaign is expected to launch in January 2027.

Does QWE at the CPS count toward the SQE?

Yes. Two years as a CPS Legal Trainee counts as Qualifying Work Experience for SQE admission purposes, in the same way as GLP QWE. See the full guide to the CPS Legal Trainee Scheme for more detail on what trainees actually do and how the scheme is structured.

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Sources: GOV.UK GLP Legal Trainee Scheme guidance (updated April 2026); GOV.UK GLP How to Apply (updated April 2026); CPS official recruitment pages; Legal 500 Future Lawyers 2026; GLD Careers — Early Talent page.