Your LNAT score is your mark out of 42 on the Section A multiple-choice questions, and there is no pass or fail mark. In 2025–26, Oxford applicants averaged 24.94 and offer holders 30.48; at UCL, the average of all results received was 23 and offer holders averaged 30.
LNAT score range: what the number means
The LNAT has two sections: 42 multiple-choice questions in 95 minutes, then one essay in 40 minutes. Only Section A produces your LNAT score. LNAT's FAQs say you receive a score out of 42 and that there is no pass or fail mark.
Your Section B essay is not turned into a score by LNAT. It is made available to your universities alongside the score, and each one decides whether and how to read it. LNAT says there is no fixed weight to the test and that universities use it in different ways.
Universities can download your score and essay within 24 hours of your test, except for tests taken between 1 September and 20 October, which are released together from 21 October. You get your own result later: in mid-February if you test on or before 26 January, or mid-August if you test after that. For dates, fees and format details, see our LNAT 2026 guide.
LNAT score distribution: what is officially published
LNAT does not publish an annual score distribution on its results or FAQ pages. The most recent technical report we found on the LNAT website covers September 2015 to June 2016, so treat it as background only:
- 7,849 candidates sat the LNAT in that period, spread across five test versions.
- Average raw scores on the five versions ranged from 22.04 to 24.43 out of 42, with standard deviations of about 5 to 6 marks.
- Scores were equated so the versions were of roughly equal difficulty; after equating, the gap between the two most extreme versions was 2.27 points.
- The report gives a standard error of measurement of about 2.8 to 3.0 raw marks per version, so a difference of one or two marks between two candidates is within normal measurement error.
For recent years, the best published guides to the overall spread come from universities. Oxford's average across all 2,115 law applicants in 2025–26 was 24.94, and UCL says the average of all LNAT results it received in 2025/26 was 23. Both describe their own applicants, not every LNAT candidate.
LNAT score for Oxford
Oxford's Faculty of Law publishes an admissions report each year with LNAT averages at each stage. These are the two most recent:
| Measure | 2024–25 (report) | 2025–26 (report) |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 2,061 | 2,115 |
| Average LNAT score, all applicants | 24.5 | 24.94 |
| Average LNAT score, shortlisted | 29.18 | 29.37 |
| Average LNAT score, offer holders | 30.96 | 30.48 |
| Average essay mark, all applicants | 62.75 | 62.38 |
| Average essay mark, offer holders | 65.41 | 65.21 |
Oxford marks the LNAT essays internally. For shortlisting in 2025–26, it ranked candidates on its two LNAT scores (the multiple-choice score and the essay mark) and their contextualised GCSE results: where a candidate had a contextualised GCSE score, the rank was 10% on each of the two LNAT scores and 80% on GCSEs. Candidates without one were ranked on the two LNAT scores equally, then reviewed individually in light of their school qualifications. The shortlist ended at 2.0 candidates per place.
So an offer-holder average of around 30 to 31 doesn't mean you need that score to be shortlisted. Your GCSEs carry most of the weight in Oxford's initial rank where they are available, and the essay counts too.
LNAT score for UCL
UCL Laws publishes the clearest figures after Oxford. On its applying and entry requirements page, for the 2025/26 cycle:
| Group | Average LNAT score |
|---|---|
| All LNAT results received by UCL | 23 |
| Candidates who received an offer | 30 |
| Candidates who received a contextual offer | 27 |
UCL's process has stages. After checking academic requirements, it looks at your LNAT score: each year it sets a benchmark threshold based on the average multiple-choice score of applicants from previous years, and candidates who meet it go to an Admissions Tutor. The tutor then marks your essay, which UCL says carries considerable weight.
UCL's FAQ page puts it slightly differently, saying it does not have a fixed benchmark or minimum score and that a high score does not guarantee an offer. Read together, the threshold changes each year and is not published in advance.
LNAT scores at KCL, LSE, Cambridge, Durham and Bristol
We checked each university's own admissions pages for a published LNAT figure. None of these five publishes one:
| University | Published LNAT figure? | What the official page says |
|---|---|---|
| King's College London | No | You must sit the LNAT by 31 December. KCL's admissions statistics for law give application and offer numbers but no LNAT scores. |
| LSE | No | LSE only uses the multiple-choice score; the essay is not considered for most applicants. |
| Cambridge | No | Cambridge says it doesn't expect you to get every question right and gives no score. |
| Durham | No | The multiple-choice section is marked out of 42, and its Law course page says no minimum score is required for it. |
| Bristol | No | Bristol considers your GCSEs, A-levels (or equivalents) and your LNAT score; its own staff read and assess the essay. |
What is a good LNAT score?
No official body defines a good LNAT score, but the published figures give you reference points:
- About 23 to 25 is roughly where the applicant averages sit at UCL (23) and Oxford (24.94) in 2025–26.
- About 27 is UCL's average for contextual offers in 2025/26.
- About 29 to 31 is where Oxford's shortlisted and offer-holder averages and UCL's offer-holder average sit.
These are averages, not cut-offs, so some offer holders will have scored below them. Your essay also matters, especially at UCL, Oxford and Bristol. Our LNAT essay guide covers how to write it.
How to raise your LNAT score
You can only sit the LNAT once per cycle, so your practice is what moves your score. Start with LNAT's own free tutorial and practice papers (linked from our LNAT guide), then:
- Work through passages untimed, checking why each wrong option is wrong, not just which answer is right.
- Move to timed passages: 95 minutes for 42 questions is a little over two minutes per question, including reading.
- Write 40-minute essays and compare them against a clear structure.
- Sit a timed practice paper and log every mistake by type (misreading, unsupported inference, running out of time).
Our free LNAT practice test has LNAT Section A practice questions and LNAT Section B essay practice, and the LNAT hub collects everything in one place.
Free practice tests
Complete, timed, in the official format, with a worked solution for every question. No account needed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the LNAT score out of?
42. Your LNAT score is the number of Section A multiple-choice questions you answer correctly. The essay is sent to universities but is not part of the score.
What LNAT score do you need for Oxford?
Oxford's admissions report gives averages rather than a minimum. In 2025–26 the average was 24.94 for all applicants, 29.37 for those shortlisted and 30.48 for offer holders. In 2024–25 offer holders averaged 30.96.
What LNAT score do you need for UCL?
UCL publishes no fixed minimum. In 2025/26, the average of all results it received was 23, offer holders averaged 30 and contextual offer holders 27. UCL sets an unpublished benchmark each year from previous applicants' scores.
What is the average LNAT score?
LNAT does not publish a yearly average. Among recent applicants, Oxford reports 24.94 (2025–26) and UCL 23 (2025/26). LNAT's 2015–16 technical report gave averages of 22.04 to 24.43 across test versions.
Is the LNAT essay scored?
Not by LNAT. Universities receive the essay and mark or use it themselves: Oxford and UCL mark it, Bristol's staff assess it, and LSE does not consider it for most applicants.
Next steps
Link to this guide
Using these figures on your site or in class? You're welcome to quote them with a link back:
<a href="https://www.keiko.study/blog/lnat-scores">LNAT Score: Range, Averages and What Oxford and UCL Want</a>
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.
- Results — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Test format — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- FAQs — LNAT Consortium. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- LNAT Technical Report, September 2015 – June 2016 — LNAT Consortium / Pearson VUE. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Law Admissions Report 2025-2026 — University of Oxford, Faculty of Law. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Law Admissions Report 2024-5 — University of Oxford, Faculty of Law. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Applying and Entry Requirements (LLB) — UCL Faculty of Laws. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- LLB Frequently Asked Questions — UCL Faculty of Laws. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Law LLB entry requirements — King's College London. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Admissions statistics for the Dickson Poon School of Law — King's College London. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- LLB Bachelor of Laws — London School of Economics and Political Science. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Law test (LNAT) — University of Cambridge. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Law National Aptitude Test (LNAT) — Durham University. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Law M101 — Durham University. Accessed 2026-10-01.
- Undergraduate Admissions Statement: Law, 2027 — University of Bristol. Accessed 2026-10-01.
Related guides
Sources and corrections
Sources last checked 2026-10-01Every source cited on this page was checked on the date shown, and we update the page when a source changes. If something looks wrong, tell us and we'll recheck it.