If Law is your target course, the LNAT is the admissions test to know about -- it's the one test in the five-test UK admissions-test system built specifically around one subject, and it's required at nearly every UK university with a competitive undergraduate Law program.
Which universities require it
Nine UK universities require the LNAT for undergraduate Law: University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, UCL, London School of Economics, King's College London, University of Bristol, Durham University, University of Glasgow, and SOAS University of London. Coverage isn't limited to the LLB itself -- several of these also require it for joint Law degrees and Law-with-foundation-year programs, so check your exact course code against each university's own admissions page.
What's actually in the test
The LNAT runs 2 hours 15 minutes, split into two sections. Section A is 42 multiple-choice questions built around 12 reading passages (roughly three to four questions per passage), covering comprehension, interpretation, analysis, and basic logical reasoning -- you get 95 minutes for this section, and it's the only part that's formally scored. Section B gives you 40 minutes to write an essay on one of three prompts you choose from a shortlist. The essay isn't scored by LNAT itself -- a copy goes directly to each university you applied to, for their own admissions tutors to weigh alongside the rest of your application.
Dates, registration, and cost for 2027 entry
The LNAT testing window is far longer than the other four tests: you can sit it any time between 1 September 2026 and 31 July 2027, but only once. Registration for the 2027-entry cycle opens 1 August 2026. Deadlines then diverge by university:
- Oxford and Cambridge: register and book by 15 September 2026, sit the test by 15 October 2026 -- matching their standard UCAS deadline.
- King's College London, LSE, and UCL: sit by 31 December 2026.
- Bristol and Durham: register by 13 January 2027, sit by 13 January 2027 -- matching the standard UCAS Law deadline.
- Other LNAT universities (Glasgow and SOAS): register by 20 January 2027, sit by 25 January 2027.
The LNAT is delivered at over 500 test centres in 165 countries, so a US-based applicant tests locally rather than traveling to the UK. The fee is £75 at a UK or EU test centre, or £120 everywhere else -- what a US-based applicant should expect to pay -- with a bursary available that waives the fee entirely for UK/EU candidates who meet certain financial-need criteria.
What this means for you
- Oxford and Cambridge's LNAT deadline is a full three months earlier than several other LNAT universities' deadlines -- if you're applying to Oxbridge Law alongside a later-deadline school, plan around the earliest one, not the average.
- Only Section A is scored -- treat the essay seriously anyway, since it's the one piece of unfiltered, timed writing every LNAT university actually reads themselves.
- One sitting satisfies every LNAT university you apply to, so if you're applying to both UCL and Bristol, you don't sit it twice.
- The bursary only applies to UK/EU-based candidates -- there's no equivalent fee waiver built in for a US-based applicant testing at a US Pearson centre.
For the personal statement that goes alongside your LNAT score, see our guide to writing a UCAS personal statement.