Common Professional Examination

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The Common Professional Examination/Postgraduate Diploma in Law (CPE/PGDL) is a postgraduate law course in England and Wales taken by non-law graduates (graduates who do not have a qualifying law degree for legal practice) wishing to become either a solicitor or barrister in England and Wales.^[1] It is being replaced by the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) which was introduced on 1 September 2021.^[2]

The course allows non-law graduates to convert to law after university (exceptions exist for non-graduates depending on circumstances). It is commonly known as a "law conversion course". The course is designed as an intense programme covering roughly the same content as a law degree.^[3]

Most CPE courses award a diploma and are often titled Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL).

The CPE is one (full-time) or two (part-time) years long, and successful candidates may proceed to either the Legal Practice Course (LPC) for solicitors or the Barrister Training Course (BTC) for barristers.^[4]