King's Inns Entrance

Overview

The King's Inns entrance examination is the gate to the Barrister-at-Law degree, the course that leads to practice as a barrister in Ireland. It is run once a year by the Honorable Society of King's Inns. You cannot enter the degree course without passing all five subjects.

The 2026 exam is held in person at King's Inns. It is a closed-book, laptop-based exam on Moodle, with human invigilators. A lockdown browser blocks internet access and every other file on your laptop. You type your answers straight into the online paper, so King's Inns expects you to be able to type, as all written assessments on the degree are typed.

Who can apply

You must hold an approved law degree, an approved postgraduate diploma, or the King's Inns Diploma in Legal Studies. The qualification must also cover the core subjects, each examined in the approved modules and at the credit volume set by the King's Inns Accreditation Board:

• Land Law (including Law of Succession)

• Company Law

• Equity and the Law of Trusts

• Law of the European Union

• Jurisprudence

• Administrative Law

If you are still completing your qualification, you can apply on a provisional basis by 31 May. The application then depends on you gaining the qualification by 1 July of the exam year. When you apply you also say whether you want the one-year full-time course or the two-year modular course. You may sit the exam whichever course is running that year.

The Society can refuse a candidate it considers unsuitable for admission.

Exam pattern

The exam covers five subjects:

The Education Rules say the exam is held once a year, in August or September. The official pages do not state the length or number of papers, so check the current candidate information from King's Inns.

Syllabus

King's Inns publishes a syllabus and reading list for each subject, and past papers are available on its site. The syllabus and reading list are usually published in April or May. Check the current ones on the King's Inns website.

Marking and results

• You need at least 50% in each subject to pass.

• You can pass with one failed subject if that mark is not below 45% and your aggregate is 50% or more. This is called compensation. Failing more than one subject means you fail the exam.

• An aggregate of 70% or more earns first class honours, and 60% or more earns second class honours.

• You must pass all subjects in a single sitting.

• If you pass four subjects and fail one without being eligible for compensation, you may resit only the failed subject at the next sitting, needing at least 50%. Your four passes are kept. You can use this once only.

Important dates

For 2026:

• 31 May: normal application deadline (midnight).

• 30 June: late applications are accepted until midnight, at a higher fee.

• 1 July: deadline for transcripts, and the date by which provisional applicants must hold their qualification.

• August: the examination.

• Early September: results and offers of places.

• Mid-September: acceptance of an offer and payment, with the exact date to be confirmed.

Fees

For 2026, the application fee is EUR 600 if you apply by 31 May. Late applications cost EUR 1,000.

How to apply

Lodge the application form and pay the fee by the deadline above. A resit needs a fresh application each time.

After the exam

• Everyone who passes is offered a place on their chosen course in that year. If more people pass than the course can teach, places go in order of aggregate mark at that sitting. Overflow candidates may be offered the other course format, if it is running.

• If your preferred format is not offered, you can take the other format or defer for a year. Deferral because a format is unavailable is capped at two years in total.

• Other deferrals need the Examination Board's consent and only for exceptional personal reasons or an exceptional professional, academic or employment opportunity. Ask within ten days of the offer notice.

• You have three attempts at the full exam in total. If you pass but decline your place (and have no permitted deferral), you must resit and that counts as an attempt. A one-subject resit does not count as an attempt.

FAQs