What is the LNAT?
The Law National Aptitude Test is used by a number of UK universities as part of their undergraduate law admissions. It tests how you think, not what you have memorised.
An aptitude test, not a knowledge test
The LNAT does not test legal knowledge, and you cannot revise facts for it. It is designed to measure the skills that matter for studying law: careful reading, the ability to follow and evaluate an argument, drawing inferences, and expressing a clear position in writing. The test is administered by Pearson VUE on behalf of the LNAT Consortium, and it is taken on a computer at an authorised test centre.
Because it is an aptitude test, the most effective preparation is not cramming content but practising the format under realistic conditions until the timing and the question style feel familiar.
The two sections
Section A: multiple choice
42 multiple-choice questions, each with four answer options, based on 12 argumentative passages, with roughly three to four questions per passage. You have 95 minutes. This section is marked automatically and produces your LNAT score out of 42.
Section B: the essay
One essay chosen from three prompts, in 40 minutes. It is not given a numerical score. Instead it is sent to the universities you have applied to, who read it as evidence of how you construct and express an argument.
How it is scored
Only Section A produces a number: your LNAT score, out of 42. There is no negative marking, so you should answer every question, even the ones you are unsure of. Section B is not scored by the LNAT; the universities assess it themselves alongside the rest of your application. There is no published pass mark. Admissions teams read your score in the context of everything else you submit.
Which universities use it
A number of leading UK law schools require the LNAT, including Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, King's College London, Durham, Bristol, Glasgow, and SOAS. Cambridge joined the list more recently, having previously set its own law test, so older advice that it does not use the LNAT is out of date. The list can change from year to year, so always confirm whether your chosen universities require the LNAT on the official website at lnat.ac.uk.
Who takes the LNAT, and when?
You take the LNAT if you are applying for an undergraduate law degree at one of the universities that require it. You sit it in the same admissions cycle as your UCAS application, usually in the autumn or early winter of your final school year, and the result applies to that year's applications only. Mature students, international applicants and those applying after a gap year take it on the same basis. If none of your chosen universities requires the LNAT, you do not need to sit it, so confirm your list before you book. For the exact deadlines, see our LNAT dates and deadlines.
How the LNAT differs from your A-levels
A-levels and most school exams reward knowledge you can revise: learn the content, practise the mark scheme, reproduce it under time. The LNAT deliberately removes that lever. There is no syllabus and nothing to memorise, so what is on display is how you read and reason, not what you have stored. Strong students sometimes underperform at first precisely because their usual method does not transfer. The reassuring part is that the underlying skills are trainable through the right kind of practice, which is exactly what these guides and the simulator are for. If you are wondering how tough it really is, see how hard the LNAT is.
How your results reach universities
You do not send your score yourself. Your Section A result is released to the universities you have applied to through UCAS, and your Section B essay is forwarded to them as you wrote it. There is no separate step for you to complete once you have sat the test, and you cannot choose which universities see which parts. Because the essay travels with the score, both halves of the test reach every LNAT university on your list.
What is the LNAT: FAQ
What does LNAT stand for?
Do I need legal knowledge for the LNAT?
How is the LNAT scored?
Which universities require the LNAT?
How much does the LNAT cost?
Practise the real thing before test day
PrepGenie recreates the LNAT screen so the format is second nature by the time it counts.