Sri Lanka Law College Entrance

Overview

The Sri Lanka Law College, run by the Incorporated Council of Legal Education, admits students through a competitive entrance examination. The Department of Examinations of Sri Lanka conducts the exams. General applications are made online; Special applications are handed in on paper. There are two routes: a General Entrance Examination for school-leavers, and a Special Entrance Examination for graduates who hold a foreign LL.B. The figures and dates below come from the notices for the 2026 intake (General) and the 2025 intake (Special). Notices change from year to year.

Who can apply

General Entrance Examination

• You must be a citizen of Sri Lanka.

• You must have completed 17 years of age when you submit the application.

• You need two credit passes and an ordinary pass at a single sitting of the Sri Lanka G.C.E. Advanced Level examination, or the UK GCE Advanced Level.

• You need a credit pass in English and a credit pass in Sinhala or Tamil at the G.C.E. Ordinary Level (or the National General Certificate of Education, or the UK GCE Ordinary Level).

• Other results may be accepted if the Council has recognised them. You must ask the Law College and get permission before you apply on that basis.

Special Entrance Examination

This is for Sri Lankan citizens who registered on or after 30 December 2020 for an LL.B. at a foreign university recognised by the Council, and have completed it. As well as the school qualifications above, you must hold an LL.B. from a university in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore or New Zealand, or from a university ranked in the top 100 for law in the QS World University Rankings (or a ranking the Council recognises). You must also send a certificate from the relevant authority showing you are eligible to practise as an attorney in the country where you got the degree.

Exam pattern

General Entrance Examination (four papers)

You may answer the General Knowledge and General Intelligence papers in Sinhala, Tamil or English.

Special Entrance Examination (three papers, English only)

Each paper has three questions, and you answer two. Each paper carries 100 marks.

Marking and results

In the General examination you must score at least 40 percent in each paper to be eligible. Selection on merit uses only your marks in General Knowledge and General Intelligence. The two language papers act as qualifying papers.

In the Special examination you need at least 40 percent in each paper, and candidates are selected in order of total marks. The number selected cannot exceed the number who qualified in the General examination the previous year. Those admitted through this route go straight to the final-year examination, subject to the Council's other conditions.

Important dates

• General Entrance Examination for the 2026 intake: online applications were open from 17 March 2025 to 16 April 2025, and the exam was scheduled for July 2025.

• Special Entrance Examination for the 2025 intake: applications closed on 24 February 2025, and the exam was scheduled for May 2025.

• After the 2025 General examination, qualified candidates handed in their admission applications in person on 17 to 25 November 2025, with orientation planned for 19 to 22 January 2026 and lectures for the preliminary year starting on 26 January 2026 (both dates marked "to be confirmed").

Fees

All amounts are in Sri Lankan rupees (Rs.).

• General examination: an examination fee of Rs. 1,200, plus a Law College fee of Rs. 12,000 that must be paid before you apply and the receipt emailed to the college. Neither is refundable or transferable.

• Special examination: an examination fee of Rs. 1,200 and a Law College fee of Rs. 35,000.

• Once admitted, preliminary-year registration fees total Rs. 67,500 (admission 25,000, lecture 25,000, library 5,000, utility 10,000, identity card 2,000, union 500). You can pay in two instalments: Rs. 40,000 first and Rs. 27,500 within three months of registering.

How to apply

General Entrance Examination

1. Check your eligibility against the current notice.

2. Pay the Law College fee at the bank named in the notice and email the receipt to the address given. Keep your copy.

3. Fill in the online application, in English only, on the Department of Examinations website (doenets.lk) during the application window, and pay the examination fee.

4. Download your admission card once the Law College has approved you. The college decides who is allowed to sit.

5. Carry the signed admission card and your national identity card, a valid passport or a valid Sri Lankan driving licence to the exam.

Special Entrance Examination

The application is not online. Download the form from the Law College website, print it, and hand it in personally to the college's Student Records / Law Entrance Examinations Unit by the closing date (24 February 2025), together with certified copies of your certificates, the Law College fee receipt and the examination fee receipt. The examination fee is paid in cash at any post office, and the Law College fee goes to the bank account named in the notice.

Both routes

Applications may be rejected if they are incomplete, if a person sends more than one, if the fee receipt was not emailed to the college, or if the stated qualifications are not met when you apply.

After the exam

Qualified candidates submit a handwritten application with certified documents in person during the notified dates. The documents include results sheets, a character certificate, a Grama Niladhari certificate and a birth certificate. Late, emailed or scanned applications are rejected.

Preparation tips

• Concentrate on General Knowledge and General Intelligence, since only these two papers decide the ranking.

• Do not neglect the English and Sinhala or Tamil papers, as scoring below 40 percent in any paper rules you out.

• Read the current notice in full before applying, since eligibility rules and fees can change between intakes.