What Is the LNAT? Test Format, Scoring and Universities
A clear explanation of the National Admissions Test for Law, including its sections, timings, scoring and role in UK Law admissions.
The LNAT
OverviewThe LNAT (National Admissions Test for Law) is a two-hour, fifteen-minute computer-based test that a small consortium of UK universities uses to shortlist law applicants before they ever see a personal statement. It isn’t a law test, no legal knowledge is assessed, it’s a test of how you read, reason and argue under time pressure. That’s exactly why grades alone don’t predict who does well on it.
42Section A questions
95 + 40Minutes, Section A / B
£75Fee, UK / EU
The two sections
Every sitting has the same shape: a multiple-choice reasoning section, then a single timed essay. Nothing on the test is law-specific, it draws on ordinary passages about politics, science, ethics and public life, and asks you to read carefully rather than recall facts.
Section A · 95 minutes
Reading & reasoning
Twelve short passages, three to four inference questions each, 42 questions total. You’re marked on argument, inference and summary, not vocabulary. Scored out of 42.
Section B · 40 minutes
The essay
One essay, chosen from three broad prompts, typically 500-700 words. No right answer, just a position you can defend with a clear structure. Not machine-marked.
How it’s scored, and by whom
Section A is marked automatically: one point per correct answer, no penalty for guessing, out of 42. The national average sits around 24-25, which is lower than most candidates expect going in, most people miss well over a third of the questions.
Section B works differently. The LNAT consortium doesn’t assign it a mark centrally, it sends your raw essay text to whichever universities you’ve applied to, and each one decides how to use it. Some read it directly as part of your file; others, Oxford is the clearest example, run it through a comparative-judgement platform (No More Marking) that pits essays against each other in pairs and converts the result into a 0-100 scaled score. Either way, there is no single official combined LNAT score. For what actually counts as competitive on each part, see what’s a good LNAT score.
The most common misread: candidates assume Section A is the whole test and cram MCQ drilling while barely touching the essay. At several consortium universities the essay carries as much weight as the MCQ score, or more, at the shortlisting stage.
Who actually requires it
A small consortium of UK law schools currently requires it outright, a couple of others have dropped it or use it selectively, and everywhere else in the UK selects law applicants on the UCAS form alone. Requirements shift year to year, always confirm on the university’s own course page before relying on it.
| University | LNAT status |
|---|---|
| Oxford | Required |
| Cambridge | Required |
| UCL | Required |
| King’s College London | Required |
| LSE | Required |
| Durham | Required |
| Bristol | Dropped from 2024 entry |
| Glasgow | Not required |
| SOAS | Selective, not universal |
Requirements are set year to year by each admissions office. See which universities require the LNAT for how heavily each one weights it, or good law schools that skip the LNAT entirely if you’d rather avoid it.
Booking, cost and timing
- Format: sat on a computer at a Pearson VUE test centre, not on paper, and not at home.
- Cost: £75 for UK/EU candidates, £120 elsewhere. You register and pay once for a single sitting, and it covers every consortium university on your UCAS form.
- Window: the test opens for booking in the autumn before entry, with an earlier deadline for the UCAS October cycle (Oxford, Cambridge) and a later one for the rest. Always check the current dates on lnat.ac.uk, they move slightly year to year.
- Retakes: one sitting per admissions cycle. You cannot resit if you’re unhappy with your score that year.
FAQ
Do I need to know any law for the LNAT?
No. Every passage and prompt is deliberately drawn from outside law, current affairs, science, ethics, history. It tests reading and argument, not subject knowledge.
Is the LNAT more important than my grades?
It depends on the university. Most consortium members use it as one input among several (grades, personal statement, sometimes interview), not a standalone cut-off. See each university’s page for how it’s weighted in practice.
Can I use a calculator or dictionary?
No outside materials are permitted. The test is closed-book and proctored at the test centre.
What happens if I do badly on Section A?
A weak MCQ score doesn’t rule you out on its own, a strong essay and application can offset it at several universities, though not all. See what’s a good LNAT score for the university-by-university detail.
How we checked this
Format, timing and scoring details are drawn from the LNAT consortium’s own published test specification (lnat.ac.uk) and the per-university admissions data in our individual university guides, where each school publishes or discloses its own MCQ and essay averages.
Continue reading
Now that you know what the test covers, here’s what to do about it.
Scoring
What’s a good LNAT score?
National averages, and the per-university table of what actually clears the bar.
Read the guide →Preparation
How to prepare for the LNAT
A 12-week, three-phase plan covering both sections.
Read the guide →Universities
Which universities require the LNAT?
The full consortium list, and how much weight each gives it.
Read the guide →