Image
Laptop, pen and application form

 

 

Application Process

This section contains guidance for those making LPC, GDL and SQE course applications.

1. Register on LawCAB

If you have not already registered, go to the SIGN UP page where you will be able to enter your email address and create your password. Do not re-register if you have previously created an account on LawCAB.

Once you have successfully registered, you are then ready to follow the steps below.

 

Look out for the email verification link which will be sent to you so that you can confirm your email address.

If this doesn't arrive in your inbox, check your junk/spam/promotions folders in case it gets stuck there.

If you experience any problems registering, please email us.

2. Find a course

Use the course finder to find the course(s) you want to apply for. 

You can filter courses based on your requirements, such as whether want a Diploma level or Master's course, the location you want to study in, start date etc. 

Each course entry contains information about how to apply for full or part-time options (where available), as well as which LawCAB application form you should use. You will also find links to relevant course pages on the institution websites where you will find more detailed information about their courses.

Image
Magnifying glass

3. Create your form

Once you have successfully registered and logged in via My Applications, you will be able to select what you want to apply for – a GDL/Law Conversion course, LPC or SQE preparation course (Use the Eligibility Checker if you are unsure).

An online application form is then created for you. You can only create one of the same form type (LPC, GDL, SQE) per academic year, but can create different form types if you want to apply for more than one qualification route (e.g. 1 x GDL + 1 x SQE or 1 x LPC + 1 x SQE).

You can complete the various sections of the form in your own time and in whatever order you wish, however, each section needs to be completed and saved (indicated by the green tick where completion of the section is mandatory) before you can submit your form. 

 

Note: You must attach to your form a copy of your degree transcript and/or certificate as the institutions will need this to confirm your eligibility for the course(s) you are applying for.  A degree certificate and/or degree transcript should contain at least one of an institution’s authenticity by way of a seal, signature and/or stamp. It should also clearly state your name, date of obtained award and the award classification. 

There is guidance provided in each section of the application form. Further guidance can also be found in the FAQ.

4. Nominate a referee

Most course providers require a recommendation or statement of support from someone who knows you (not a family member) and can confirm your suitability for the course for which you are applying. For the purposes of your LawCAB application, this person would ideally comment on your academic abilities and suitability for post-graduate study for a career in law.

Your reference forms part of the criteria that the course providers will take into account when considering your application and so it’s really important that you check with the person you nominate that they are happy to provide you with a reference in support of your application.

If the form does not ask you to enter referee details, it means that a reference is not necessary for your application.

 

Important: Do not nominate someone as a referee without checking with them first!

When you have submitted your form, the person you have nominated as a referee will receive an automated reference request from LawCAB.

Note: Your form is NOT released to the institutions until your referee has submitted a reference. It is important that you check that your referee has received the reference request after you have submitted your form.

If there are any problems, please contact the LawCAB team at applications@lawcabs.ac.uk.

5. Pay your application fee

When you reach the Payment section you will see a link to make the application fee payment via Stripe secure online payment processing. The application fee is currently £35.

All applicants for LPC, GDL and SQE preparation courses are required to pay the application fee; without payment the form will not be processed. This includes applicants who have obtained training contracts, bursaries, or scholarships.

Important: After you have made your application fee payment, make sure that you return to your form and go to the ‘submit’ section.

Single application fee for GDL/SQE forms:  If you are making an application between 2 October 2023 and 30 September 2024 for GDL and SQE courses which sit under different application forms, you only need to pay one application fee.  After you have created your forms, and paid the fee on one of them, please email applications@lawcabs.ac.uk so that we can complete the payment section for you on a second form.

Refund Policy: You may cancel your application and request a refund if you contact the Central Applications Board Ltd (CAB) within 14 days of the payment being received. You are not entitled to a refund if your form has been released to the institutions.

Note that as soon as your form has been submitted, it is automatically released to your chosen institutions when the reference is submitted. If a reference isn’t needed, your form is released as soon as it is submitted.

If your form is not yet released, you are within the 14 day refund period and you wish to cancel your application, please email payments@lawcabs.ac.uk giving the full name entered on the application together with your applicant ID. On receipt CAB will arrange for the refund to be made and for the application to be removed from the system.

For information about what your application fee covers, please return to the previous section.

6. Submit your form

After you have completed all the sections of your form, and paid your application fee, you will be able to submit your form.

You will be asked to confirm once again that you have read and understood the LawCAB Ltd Privacy Policy.

When you submit your form, you are agreeing to having the permission of anybody named in your form (i.e. your referee) to supply their details for us to contact as required in relation to your application.

You are also agreeing that as soon as your form has been submitted, it is subject to an automated process whereby it is automatically completed and released to your chosen institutions after your reference has been submitted.

In the event that a reference isn’t needed, your form will be released as soon as you submit it.

 

Submitting your application is not the end of the process as your form will not be completed until the reference has been submitted by your referee.

When you have submitted your form, the person you have nominated as a referee will receive an automated reference request.

Please note: Your form is NOT released to the institutions until your referee has submitted a reference. You must check that your referee has received the reference request and is able to submit a reference. If there are any problems, please contact the LawCAB team at applications@lawcabs.ac.uk.

After your reference has been submitted, your form will be released to your chosen institutions.

 

7. Form completed and released

Once your form has been released, the institutions you have applied to will contact you directly to advise you of their decision and you will then be able to liaise with them directly to accept or decline your offers.  

You should hear back from each of the institutions you selected to apply to and it will be up to you which offer you choose to accept, regardless of the order in which you placed the institutions on your form. You may only accept one offer though!

 

LawCAB has no further role in the process after your form has been released to your chosen institutions.

You should allow 5-10 working days for the institutions to respond before chasing up, however, the process of reviewing applications can take longer during busy periods.

Application process FAQs

Can I apply to more than three institutions, or make more than one application?

You can only make one GDL/law conversion, LPC or SQE application per academic year, but you can apply to up to three institutions at a time on your application form. 

There is nothing to stop you, however, from making a GDL, LPC and/or SQE application at the same time so, for example, you could decide to apply for GDL and SQE courses, in which case you would be able to create both a GDL form and an SQE form.  But you cannot create two GDL forms, or two SQE forms unless one of them has been closed.

Each application may only be with a maximum of three institutions at any one time, but if you want to make changes to your institution and/or course choices after your form has been released, we can do this for you.

Please do not attempt to create a new or duplicate account with the intention of creating a new application; the system will prevent you from submitting a new form if you already have a live application for the same course on the system.

If you wish to apply to new institutions after your form has been released, please be aware that we will need to withdraw your application from one or more of the institutions you originally applied to on the basis that your application cannot be with more than three course providers at any one time.  If you email us, including your full name and applicant ID (AXXXXXX), providing the full details of the institutions and/or courses you would like to add or remove, we will make the amendments for you. We will then notify any new institution(s) added and also notify those removed from your form that your application has been withdrawn.

Your form is released at the same time to all of those you select to apply to.  Each institution will be able to see who else you have applied to and the order of preference in which you placed them. You should hear back from each of the institutions you apply to and can choose which offer you want to accept, regardless of where the institution was placed on your form.  You may only accept one offer though!

Will the institutions I apply to see my other institution choices?

Yes - your form is released at the same time to all of those you selected to apply to.  Each institution will be able to see who else you have applied to and the order of preference in which you placed them. 

You should hear back from each of the institutions you apply to and can choose which offer you want to accept, regardless of where the institution was placed on your form.  You may only accept one offer though!

What is a reference?

Most course providers require a recommendation or statement of support from someone who knows you (not a family member) and can confirm your suitability for the course for which you are applying.

For the purposes of your LawCAB application, this person would ideally comment on your academic abilities and suitability for post-graduate study and a career in law.

Your reference forms part of the criteria that the institutions will take into account when considering your application and so it’s really important that you check with the person you nominate that they are able and willing to provide you with a reference in support of your application. 

Do not nominate someone as a referee without checking with them first!

Who should I ask to provide a reference?

If you are a current undergraduate or a recent graduate, you are encouraged to nominate a current academic tutor who can comment on your academic abilities and suitability for post-graduate study for a career in law, and also provide an expected final grade if possible.

It is really important that you check with your referee before you nominate them, as some referees will not be able to provide you with a reference and some may no longer be working at the academic institution if you are not a current student. It is also worth bearing mind holiday periods when referees may be away and unable to pick up emails.  

If you cannot nominate an academic tutor, you should nominate a current or recent employer to provide a reference in support of your application. Please do check with your employer before you nominate them as some employers will only provide a basic employment reference.

If you do not have a current or recent employer that you can nominate, and are not able to nominate a tutor from your university, please could we suggest that you nominate a regulated professional (for example, a teacher, doctor, lawyer, accountant) who knows you well enough to provide a reference in support of your application.

Please note that references from family members are not permissible.

Important: Delays in receiving references from referees will cause delays in your application being released to your chosen institutions. Please ensure you follow up with your referee once you submit your application, to ensure that they have received a reference request (spam filters may block requests) and are able to submit your reference in good time, before courses close to new applications. Please pay particular attention to reference requests submitted during periods of academic shutdown when referees may be on annual leave for several weeks.

Can I nominate more than one referee?

As the institutions require just one reference, the form allows the details for one referee to be entered and we can only one send reference request (which is sent automatically when you submit your form).

If your form has been submitted but you would like to amend or replace your current referee details we are happy to do this for you.  Please email us, including your full name and applicant ID (AXXXXXX), and provide the full details of your new referee (title, first name, last name, email address) so that we can make the changes and enable a new reference request to be sent. Alternatively, if you prefer, we can give you access to your form by returning it to 'not submitted' status to enable you to make any changes yourself.

Can I nominate a new referee?

If you need to nominate a new referee, please email the LawCAB team at applications@lawcabs.ac.uk including your full name and applicant ID together with the details of the referee would you like to nominate in place of your original referee.

Please include title, first name, last name and email address of your new referee.

If you are changing your referee, please also be sure to notify your original referee that a reference is no longer needed.

What should I do if my referee hasn't received the reference request?

When you submit your form, an automated reference request is sent to your referee at the email address you have provided. If your referee has not received our email please check that you have provided the correct email address in your form.

Occasionally emails generated by the system can get caught up in spam/junk/promotions folders so do ask your referee to check there if our email has not reached the inbox.

If no email has been received please ask your referee to email the reference directly to us at applications@lawcabs.ac.uk and we will upload it to complete the process for you.

What does ‘aggregate marks’ mean?

The form asks those who have not yet completed their degree to enter their overall/average mark for years 1 and 2 (or final two years if your degree is a 4 year course).

For those who are completing a form in relation to a full time 1 year GDL qualification, please indicate N/A (not applicable) for aggregate 1 and 2 marks.

You are then also asked to enter in your expected final result.

It is important that you upload a copy of your transcript (or a screenshot from your student portal if you do not have a transcript) showing your marks to date as those you apply to will need this when they consider your application.

What is a transcript?

This is a document from your university which lists the courses you have studied as part of your degree (or GDL/law conversion) and the marks you have been awarded. An unofficial transcript showing the marks you have received to date is fine for those who have not yet completed their studies.

A degree certificate and/or degree transcript should contain at least one of an institution’s authenticity by way of a seal, signature and/or stamp. It should also clearly state your name, date of obtained award and the award classification.  

If you do not yet have a copy of your transcript and cannot obtain one from your university, please use a screenshot from your student portal showing your marks. The institutions you apply to may then ask you for an official version further on in the application process.

Do I need a certificate of academic standing if I have a non-UK degree?

If your degree was gained outside of England and Wales and you wish to apply for a law conversion/GDL with the intention of going on to qualify as a solicitor, a certificate of academic standing is not required but please ensure that you attach to your form a copy of your degree including transcript(s).

If your degree was gained outside of England and Wales and you wish to apply for a law conversion/GDL with the intention of going on to qualify as a barrister, you should apply for a Certificate of Academic Standing from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) before beginning a law conversion/GDL course.

What is a personal statement and what should I include in it?

Your personal statement is your opportunity to tell the universities about yourself and why they should offer you a place on their courses. It should be written as generically as possible because your completed application will be released to all of the institutions that you have selected on your form.

Your personal statement is important as it forms part of the criteria the universities will take into account when considering your application. They will be using it to assess your written English as well as your motivation for studying the course for you which you are applying.

The following are suggestions for what you might want to include in your personal statement:

  • Why you are applying for the course
  • What interests you about the course
  • What motivates you
  • Your future career
  • Your skills and achievements
  • Your hobbies
  • Your work experience

Although you are allowed up to 10,000 characters (including all punctuation, paragraph breaks etc), you are not expected to write an essay. Most applicants submit a personal statement that is approximately 500-1000 words (3-4000 characters).

You can either write the statement in a word processing package and then copy and paste the information into the box provided, or if you prefer, upload your personal statement as a document to the Reason & Personal Statement section of the form. Please ensure you save the page after adding narrative into the box.

NB: If the form defaults to not requiring a personal statement but you have been told that you need to provide one for UK visa and immigration purposes, please attach your personal statement for this specific purposes in the Academic History attachments section of your form, with a suitable file name, for example 'personal statement for UKVI purposes'.

Why can't I amend my form after I have submitted it?

After you have submitted your form, you can no longer amend it yourself.

If you you need to make changes, such as your institution choices, please email applications@lawcabs.ac.uk, giving your full name and applicant ID and we will either return your application to you so that you can edit your form yourself, or we can make any requested changes for you.

Please note: once your form has been released, we cannot return the form to you and only we can make any changes to it.

If you are not sure of the status of your form, please use our guidance on tracking your form.

Can I accept more than one offer?

You can only accept one offer. You can accept an offer from whichever institution you choose, regardless of the order in which they were placed on your form.

If you change your mind after accepting an offer, please ensure you cancel any places previously accepted prior to accepting any new offers received.

Please do check the terms and conditions of any offer you receive as there may be fee implications if you accept and then decline.

The institutions will set their own acceptance deadline dates, however, these can often be extended if you are not in a position to accept a place on their original time scale. Please liaise directly with the institutions if you have queries about an offer you have received from them.