The LNAT is required by only a small consortium. Plenty of excellent law schools — all twelve below are Russell Group — select without it. Here’s the list, what they ask for instead, and what “no LNAT” means for how you apply.
Jump to the listIf the LNAT is the thing standing between you and a law degree, here’s the good news: most UK law schools don’t use it. The test is required by a single consortium — eight or nine universities for 2026 entry — plus SOAS, which treats it as optional. Everywhere else selects on your UCAS application.
That “everywhere else” includes some of the strongest law schools in the country. The twelve below are all Russell Group members, and none of them asks you to sit the LNAT. Nottingham is the clearest example: it left the LNAT consortium for 2023 entry and now decides on the UCAS form and predicted grades alone.
Every school here selects undergraduates on the UCAS application: predicted (and then achieved) grades, GCSEs, your personal statement and reference. No aptitude test, and — for the standard LLB — usually no interview.
| University | Where | Typical A-level offer | How they select |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nottingham | Nottingham | A*AA | UCAS form + predicted grades |
| Warwick | Coventry | A*AA | UCAS application |
| Edinburgh | Edinburgh (Scotland) | A*AA | UCAS application |
| Manchester | Manchester | AAA | UCAS application |
| Leeds | Leeds | AAA | UCAS application |
| Sheffield | Sheffield | AAA | UCAS application |
| Birmingham | Birmingham | AAA | UCAS application |
| Exeter | Exeter | AAA–A*AA | UCAS application |
| Southampton | Southampton | AAA | UCAS application |
| QMUL (Queen Mary) | London | A*AA | UCAS application |
| York | York | AAA | UCAS application |
| Newcastle | Newcastle | AAA | UCAS application |
Standard A-level offers are the typical published requirement and change from year to year and route to route (contextual offers, foundation and access routes differ). Always confirm the current requirement on the university’s own course page before you rely on it.
What each one is known for, and the one thing worth knowing before you list it.
Left the LNAT consortium for 2023 entry. One of the largest, highest-ranked law schools outside the Golden Triangle; selects on the UCAS form and predicted grades.
Warwick Law School is known for its “law in context” approach — law taught alongside its social and political setting. No admissions test.
Scotland’s flagship LLB and a Scots-law qualifying degree. No LNAT — but note the Scottish-system difference if you want to practise in England (see below).
One of the UK’s largest law schools, with a broad module range and strong commercial and human-rights strengths. UCAS application only.
A big, research-led School of Law with notable criminal-justice and human-rights work. Decides on the UCAS application.
Research-intensive law school with a collegiate feel. No aptitude test — grades, GCSEs and personal statement carry the application.
Birmingham Law School is one of the original civic-university law schools. UCAS application; no LNAT.
Consistently highly ranked, with a large and well-resourced law school. Selects on the UCAS application.
Southampton Law School has long-standing strengths in maritime and commercial law. No admissions test.
Queen Mary is a Russell Group law school in east London with a strong commercial-law reputation — a London option that doesn’t need the LNAT, unlike UCL, KCL and LSE.
York Law School is built around problem-based learning — you work through realistic legal problems rather than sitting through lecture courses alone. UCAS application.
Newcastle Law School offers a qualifying LLB with a practical, employability-focused bent. No LNAT.
Dropping the test from your list changes where the weight in your application falls — it doesn’t lower the bar.
A common, sensible strategy: sit the LNAT once for an aspirational consortium choice or two (say Oxford or UCL), then fill the rest of your five with strong non-LNAT schools from the list above. One test, a balanced list.
Edinburgh appears here because it doesn’t require the LNAT — but its LLB is a Scots-law degree. If you intend to qualify and practise in England & Wales, a Scottish LLB usually means a conversion step, or choosing a programme that includes English law. None of that involves the LNAT; it’s just worth knowing before you list a Scottish school alongside English ones. The same “no LNAT” point applies to Scotland’s other law schools.
No. For the standard LLB, none of the twelve requires the LNAT or an alternative aptitude test. Selection runs on your UCAS application. A few may set extra steps for specific routes (mature, Access, foundation or international), so check the relevant course page.
No. All twelve are Russell Group universities. The LNAT is an admissions filter, not a quality mark — it doesn’t appear on your degree or your CV. A qualifying law degree from any of these schools feeds the same SQE or Bar route.
Yes. UCAS lets you list up to five choices and you can freely mix consortium and non-consortium schools. You only need to sit the LNAT if at least one of your choices requires it — and a single sitting covers all of them.
Nottingham left the LNAT consortium for 2023 entry. It now selects on the UCAS application and predicted grades rather than a test score. It remains one of the most competitive law schools on this list.
This list reflects the LNAT consortium roster published at lnat.ac.uk together with each university’s own LLB course pages (entry requirements and admissions policy). Russell Group membership is per the Russell Group’s published list of 24 universities. Standard A-level offers are the typical published requirement for recent entry and change year to year — treat them as a guide and confirm on the course page. We don’t quote applicant or offer-rate figures here because these schools don’t publish them in a consistent, comparable form; where we do hold per-university data, it’s in the individual admissions guides.
The other side of the same decision — and the schools that do use the test.
The full list of LNAT-using law schools, and how heavily each one weights the test.
Read the guide →What’s on the test, who takes it, and why it trips so many people up.
Read the guide →Per-university deep-dives into LNAT scores, offer rates, grades and shortlisting.
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