When is the KCL LNAT deadline for 2027 entry? Build a personalised timeline that includes KCL's LNAT sitting date, UCAS submission, and the deadlines for any other LNAT-using universities you're applying to.
KCL LNAT deadline · 25 January 2027 · UCAS · 29 January 2027
Applying to King's College London for 2027 entry means hitting two deadlines, not one. The LNAT itself must be sat by 25 January 2027; your UCAS form lands separately by 29 January 2027. The planner above merges both into a single chronological view, alongside any other LNAT-using universities you've added.
The LNAT is a two-hour entrance exam used by nine UK undergraduate law programmes plus a small number of universities outside the UK. Section A is 95 minutes of multiple-choice reasoning over twelve short passages. Section B is a 40-minute essay. The whole sitting is administered at a Pearson VUE test centre, and you may only sit the test once per application cycle — your score is sent to every LNAT-using university on your UCAS form, regardless of which one you sit it for.
That “sit once per cycle” rule is what makes the timeline matter. If you've applied to Oxford and UCL, your LNAT must be sat by Oxford's earlier deadline (15 October for 2027 entry), even though UCL's deadline is in late January. Booking late, getting ill, or running out of test slots at your nearest centre all carry no recovery in the same cycle — they push you to the next.
For practical purposes, the LNAT-using universities split into three deadline groups:
UCAS is the central application service for UK undergraduate programmes. Your UCAS form (personal statement, predicted grades, references) is what universities receive; the LNAT is a separate signal sent directly by the consortium. You must sit the LNAT no later than your earliest LNAT-using university's deadline. Submitting UCAS first is fine; sitting the LNAT first is fine. They are independent submissions with sequenced deadlines.
Concretely: a candidate applying to Oxford and UCL can sit the LNAT on, say, 5 October and submit UCAS on 10 October. Oxford sees both. UCL also sees both, even though its own deadline is three months later. Conversely, sitting the LNAT on 20 January disqualifies you from Oxford's consideration, even if you submitted UCAS by 15 October — the LNAT is a precondition for being assessed.
Most candidates aim for ten to fourteen weeks of focused LNAT prep at three to four hours per week. For Oxford applicants sitting in October, that means starting in mid-July. For the general consortium group sitting in late January, work backwards from your booked test date — most candidates pick a slot in mid-November to leave room for a re-attempt mindset (which the consortium does not actually allow, but which keeps you out of the late-cycle slot scramble).
For a longer treatment, see our twelve-week LNAT prep playbook, and our breakdown of what counts as a good LNAT score at each university.
LNAT registration opens on 1 August for the upcoming cycle. UK test centres in major cities — London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh — fill their best autumn slots within six weeks. If you're applying to Oxford, book within the first fortnight of registration. If you're sitting later in the cycle, you've got more flexibility, but slots in the final two weeks of January routinely sell out.
The test fee is £75 in the UK and EU, £120 elsewhere. Bursaries are available through the LNAT consortium for eligible UK candidates — they cover the full fee. Rebooking is allowed for a small administrative charge as long as you do it before your scheduled date; missing your slot without rebooking forfeits the fee and counts as your sitting attempt for the cycle.
The general LNAT consortium deadline for 2027 entry is 25 January 2027. Oxford applicants must sit by 15 October 2026 — this is the earliest hard deadline in the cycle.
No. The LNAT must be sat by your earliest university's LNAT deadline; the UCAS application is submitted separately and is usually a few days later. Most law schools (other than Oxford and Cambridge) accept UCAS submissions until 29 January.
No. Cambridge has its own admissions assessment for law applicants and does not use the LNAT. Their UCAS deadline is 15 October because they are an Oxbridge programme.
No — your LNAT must be sat by the earliest LNAT-using university you've applied to. If you've applied to UCL with a 25 January LNAT deadline, you must sit by then even if your other choices have later deadlines.
Slots at popular UK test centres book up by mid-September for autumn sittings. We recommend booking the moment registration opens (1 August) to get your preferred date and centre.
No. You may only sit the LNAT once per application cycle. Your score is locked in for every LNAT-using university you apply to that year.