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 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, Nottingham, Glasgow, and SOAS. 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.
Practise the real thing before test day
PrepGenie recreates the LNAT screen so the format is second nature by the time it counts.