Which SQE Provider Gives Refunds If You Fail?

Spending several thousand pounds on an SQE prep course and then failing is a painful outcome. It is natural to want to know, before you commit, whether any of the money comes back if things go wrong.

The answer, for most providers, is no. But a small number do offer some form of conditional refund or retake credit. This guide covers what each provider actually offers, what the conditions are, and what you should know before treating a "pass guarantee" as a reason to choose one course over another.

The short answer

Most SQE providers give no refunds whatsoever if you fail. University of Law, BPP, and Barbri all operate standard no-refund policies once course access begins. A small number of providers -- most notably QLTS School -- offer conditional refund or pass guarantee schemes, but with conditions attached.

Provider-by-provider breakdown

University of Law

No refund if you fail. ULaw's standard terms state that fees are non-refundable once the course has started. There is no pass guarantee or retake credit scheme. This applies to all SQE1 and SQE2 programmes.

BPP University Law School

No refund if you fail. BPP's terms are consistent with ULaw's: once course materials have been accessed or the programme has commenced, fees are not refunded. No conditional guarantee is offered.

Barbri

No refund if you fail. Barbri's UK SQE product does not include a pass guarantee or money-back clause. Some Barbri products in other jurisdictions have historically included retake support, but this has not been replicated in their UK SQE offering.

QLTS School

QLTS School do offer a conditional pass guarantee on certain packages. If you complete the programme requirements -- including mock assessments and structured study -- and still fail, they offer a refund or credit for a retake. The specific conditions vary by package, so read the terms carefully before purchasing.

Key things to check in the QLTS School guarantee:

• Which packages include it (not all do)
• What "completing the programme" means -- there are typically engagement requirements such as submitting mock answers and attending specified sessions
• Whether the guarantee applies to both SQE1 and SQE2 or just one
• Whether the remedy is a refund or a retake credit (these are different things)

FQPS Academy

FQPS does not offer a refund if you fail. Their pricing is considerably lower than the large providers, which partly reflects this. No pass guarantee or retake scheme is offered.

Barbri

Covered above. No guarantee.

College of Legal Practice

No pass guarantee or refund scheme. CLP offer lower-cost materials but standard no-refund terms once access begins.

Revise4Law

Revise4Law is a question bank and study tool, not a full course provider. Refund terms relate to subscription cancellation rather than exam outcomes. No exam-outcome guarantee is offered.

What "pass guarantee" actually means

When a provider uses the phrase "pass guarantee," it almost never means an unconditional refund if you fail. It means: if you complete our programme to our standard and you still fail, we will do something -- usually provide retake access, a credit, or in some cases a partial refund.

The conditions typically include:

• Completing a minimum number of practice questions
• Submitting timed mock assessments
• Attending live sessions or accessing a minimum percentage of the material
• Failing by a specific margin (some guarantees exclude borderline fails)
• Sitting the exam within a particular window

If you are seriously weighing a guarantee as part of your decision, ask the provider in writing what the exact conditions are and what you receive if you meet them. Do not rely on the marketing language alone.

Should a refund guarantee influence your choice of provider?

In most cases, no.

A refund guarantee is valuable only if two things are true: (1) the course fails to prepare you adequately despite your full engagement, and (2) you meet all the conditions for the refund. Both conditions are uncommon.

What matters more is whether the course suits your learning style, your timeline, and your existing knowledge level. A cheaper course with a refund guarantee is not automatically better than a more expensive course without one, if the expensive one is more likely to get you through.

That said, if you are genuinely torn between two otherwise comparable providers and one includes a meaningful guarantee with clear, achievable conditions, it is a reasonable tiebreaker.

The actual risk to manage

The risk most candidates underestimate is not "what if I want a refund." It is: "what if I fail and need to resit, and I cannot afford to?"

SQE1 and SQE2 resit fees are paid directly to Kaplan (the SRA's assessment provider) and are not covered by any course guarantee. The SQE1 sitting fee is currently £1,934 and SQE2 is £2,974. A retake credit from a provider covers their materials, not the Kaplan sitting fee.

If budget is tight, the more important calculation is whether you can afford two sittings, not whether the course money comes back.

Summary

If you want to see pass rates, pricing, and a full comparison of what each course includes, the SQE provider comparison on this site has the detail.