LNAT 2026: Dates, Deadlines, Universities and Fees

What the LNAT is

The LNAT (Law National Aptitude Test) is used by a group of universities to help select students for undergraduate law degrees. It doesn't test your knowledge of law or any other subject; instead it looks at the reading, reasoning and writing skills that law degrees need. The content is managed by the LNAT Consortium, and the test is run by Pearson VUE on computers at test centres.

Universities use your result alongside your UCAS application, qualifications and, in some cases, interviews. LNAT says there is no fixed weight given to the test, and each university uses it in its own way.

LNAT format

The LNAT is a 2¼-hour test in two sections:

There is no penalty for wrong answers in Section A, so never leave a blank. LNAT also says the test doesn't put great emphasis on speed, and that every question has exactly one correct answer found in the passage. You get a whiteboard and pen for notes rather than scrap paper, and the test is only available in English.

Our LNAT essay guide covers Section B in detail, and you can try the multiple-choice part with our LNAT Section A practice questions.

Which universities require the LNAT

LNAT's official list names nine UK universities. All applicants to the listed courses, whether from the UK, the EU or overseas, must sit the test.

LNAT also lists three universities outside the UK that rely on the LNAT under certain conditions: O.P. Jindal Global University (India), the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and IE University (Spain), where a choice of tests applies. Check directly with those universities.

LNAT 2026–27 dates and deadlines

For entry in autumn 2027, registration and booking opened on 1 August 2026 and testing started on 1 September 2026. You can take the test on any day a slot is free at your chosen centre, before or after you send your UCAS application. The deadline that matters is the one set by the universities you apply to:

On LNAT's UK list, 'all other LNAT universities' leaves Glasgow and SOAS. Universities may not accept results from tests taken as late as July, so check before relying on the late-application dates. SUSS applicants can sit the LNAT between 1 September 2026 and 15 March 2027 for the July 2027 intake.

King's College London puts its rule firmly: if you haven't sat the LNAT by 31 December, it will be unable to consider your application further. Oxford's Faculty of Law says you must sit the LNAT before 6pm GMT on 15 October in the year you apply, or your application will be incomplete.

LNAT fees and how to pay

The fee depends on where you sit the test, not on where you live or your nationality. LNAT's payment page lists:

• Paying: online when you book, in pounds sterling, by major credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB) or a Visa or Mastercard debit card that doesn't need PIN verification. Your card company may add foreign transaction charges.
• Vouchers: candidates paying from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Iran, Kenya, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, Tanzania or Uganda must pay with an LNAT voucher. Anyone without a suitable card can also apply for one. Allow at least a week for processing.
• Bursaries: fees are waived for UK and EU students receiving certain state benefits. Apply before you book, and allow at least a week.
• Rescheduling: free up to 12 noon UK time on the second working day before your test. After that you have to rebook and pay again, and fees aren't refunded if you decide not to sit the test.

LNAT test centres (Pearson VUE)

The LNAT is taken on a computer at a Pearson VUE test centre. LNAT says there are over 500 test centres worldwide, 150 of them in the UK, and you can search them with the live test centre locator linked from that page. You book online through your LNAT account, not by contacting a centre.

• Personal items go in a locker; you can't take bags, papers, pens or drinks into the test room.
• Outside the UK, some centres use local or US keyboard layouts, so check with the centre if that worries you.
• If you're more than 15 minutes late, you'll be recorded as a no-show and have to book and pay again.
• If there is no test centre you can reasonably reach, apply to each LNAT university for an exemption. Each university decides for itself.

Applying from outside the UK? Our guide to UK admissions tests for international students covers the other tests you might need.

LNAT results and retakes

There is no pass or fail mark: you get a score out of 42, and universities see it, with your essay, before you do. From 21 October, universities can download results for tests taken between 1 September and 20 October; after that, results are available to them within 24 hours of your test. You get your own result by email: in mid-February if you test on or before 26 January, or mid-August if you test later.

For a sense of scale, Oxford's 2025–26 law admissions report says the average multiple-choice score was 24.94 for all 2,115 candidates, 29.37 for those shortlisted and 30.48 for those offered places. Durham, by contrast, says it has no minimum multiple-choice score.

You can only sit the LNAT once per cycle, and results can't be carried over to the next year. LNAT warns that a test taken before the 2026 summer holiday will not count for 2026–27, so don't sit it early as a trial run. If you reapply in a later year, you take it again.

How to prepare for the LNAT

LNAT offers free official materials on its practice tests page: an online tutorial and an on-screen sample test you can take as often as you like, plus two practice papers with a commentary and marking scheme. LNAT recommends doing the tutorial first, partly because some new on-screen features were introduced from 2026.

1. Do the official tutorial to learn the on-screen controls.
2. Work through passages slowly at first, checking why each wrong option is wrong.
3. Move to timed sets: 95 minutes for 42 questions is a little over two minutes per question, including reading time.
4. Write timed 40-minute essays using our LNAT essay guide.
5. Sit a full practice paper, then review every mistake.

When you're ready, try our free LNAT practice test, or start at the LNAT test hub.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Every source below was accessed on the listed date. Pages — especially department admissions pages — change without notice; the links go to the live versions.

1. What is LNAT? — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
2. Test format — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
3. Do I need to sit the test? — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
4. When do I take the LNAT? — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
5. Dates and deadlines — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
6. Paying for your test — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
7. Booking your test — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
8. Test centres — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
9. Results — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
10. Hints and tips — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
11. Practice tests — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
12. FAQs — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
13. BA in Jurisprudence Admission FAQs — University of Oxford, Faculty of Law. Accessed 2026-10-01.
14. Law Admissions Report 2025-2026 — University of Oxford, Faculty of Law. Accessed 2026-10-01.
15. Law LLB: Entry requirements — King's College London. Accessed 2026-10-01.
16. Law M101 — Durham University. Accessed 2026-10-01.

Related guides

• LNAT Essay Guide: Questions, Structure and Word Limit
• UK Admissions Tests for International Students: TMUA, ESAT
• UCAT for International Students: £115 Fee, Centres, Rules
• Oxford and Cambridge Admissions Tests 2027: Course List