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 saving your personal details in a new form if you have a pre-existing account on the system.

If you want 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then notify any new institution(s) added and also notify those removed from your form that your application has been withdrawn.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!

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 are advised to apply for a Certificate of Academic Standing from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) before beginning a law conversion/GDL course. (You do not need a Certificate of Academic Standing to make your course application through LawCAB.)

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'.

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.

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.