When you apply to sit the Examination, you have to provide documentary evidence to verify that you were properly authorised by the relevant authority in jurisdiction B to practise the law of jurisdiction A as a qualified legal practitioner based on your legal qualification acquired in jurisdiction A. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis (paragraph (ii)(cc) on pages 23-24 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination).
The Law Society will regard the following post-admission experience as comprising "experience in the practice of law":
post-admission experience which was:
| (aa) | gained in the 10 year period immediately preceding the application; |
| (bb) | in the practice of law in the capacity of a practitioner of the law of the jurisdiction in which the applicant was admitted and on which the applicant relies in the application; and |
| (cc) |
properly authorised to do so according to the rules and regulations of the place in which an applicant carried on his practice of law. For instance,
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The Law Society’s OLQE Eligibility and Exemption Committee will have to consider and determine whether your in-house experience is comparable to that of a private practitioner in the practice of the law. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis (the remarks on page 24 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination).
The Law Society is aware that preparatory courses may be provided by the following course providers:
Candidates are advised to contact the preparatory course providers directly to check if they are providing any courses for the forthcoming 2025 Examination. The Law Society does not endorse nor accredit any of the courses (paragraph 11(b) on page 8 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination).
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To re-sit the Examination, you are required to submit: |
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| (a) | a fresh duly completed Form A; |
| (b) | original Certificate(s) of Good Standing from your jurisdiction(s) of admission, which must have been issued within 4 months of the Law Society having received such Certificate(s) of Good Standing or the fresh Form A (whichever date of receipt is later); |
| (c) | (if you have changed your passport or your Hong Kong identity card after you last submitted a certified copy of it to the Law Society) a certified copy of your new passport or your new Hong Kong identity card; |
| (d) | (if your name appears in different versions in the supporting document(s) submitted by you in support of your application to resit), a statutory declaration confirming that the supporting documents refer to and relate to you; and |
| (e) | the application fee of HK$6,600. |
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Documents which will be relied on in the fresh application and were submitted before need not be re-submitted. |
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| Candidates should submit the fresh application and related documents for resit as soon as possible. It is unnecessary to wait for the result of the application for review before a candidate submits the application for resit. If the application for review is successful, the application fee for resit will be refunded to the candidate (paragraph 26 on pages 14-15 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination). | |
An Appendix of a non-exhaustive list of practices in Head III for reference is on page 25 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination.
Applicants are required to provide all the details prescribed by paragraph K on pages 31-32 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination in tabular format and such details must be verified by the employers and submitted to the Law Society for its consideration. The description of the clients can be a generic description without breaching clients’ privacy and confidentiality. Failure to do so may result in the application being rejected.
An example of how the information can be set out in tabular format is given below:
| Types of transactions (including Applicant’s role, responsibilities and involvement) | |
| Types of Clients | |
| Work undertaken by the Applicant / Experience gained by the Applicant | |
| Period of employment |
(Pages 21-22 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination).
Some tips for presenting prescribed details in tabular format in support of an application for exemption from sitting Head III are set out on page 22 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination.
In the case of a law firm, the verification letter should be issued by a partner of the firm on the firm’s letterhead. It is not necessary to provide several verification letters from various partners in the same firm. In the case of a company, the verification letter should be issued by an officer at managerial level in the company (such as the applicant’s supervisor) on the company’s letterhead (paragraph K on pages 31-32 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination).
Exemption from Head VI may be granted if, at the time of applying to sit the Examination, an applicant has already completed a course on Hong Kong Constitutional Law provided by the University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong or The Chinese University of Hong Kong. If the course on Hong Kong Constitutional Law was provided by other institutions, applicants are required to provide the syllabus and academic transcript for consideration by the OLQE Eligibility and Exemption Committee and any such application will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The completion of a course on the Constitutional Law of an overseas jurisdiction is not sufficient for exemption purpose (page 26 of the 2025 Information Package of the Examination).
Yes. The Law Society provides options for both online application form and paper-based application form. Having said that, if you use a paper-based application form, you must pay by cheque, bank draft or cashier order payable to “The Law Society of Hong Kong”, as online payment options are only available for the online application form.
Please ensure you have all necessary supporting documents ready before starting your online application.
The following documents (non-exhaustive) must be uploaded electronically in colour for the online application:
Prospective applications are not accepted — all information and supporting documents must be completed by the time of submission.
Yes. As the application form (Form A) contains a statutory declaration pursuant to the Oaths and Declarations Ordinance (Cap.11, Laws of Hong Kong), you must return the original Form A, duly executed and declared, and all your supporting documents to the Department of Standards and Development of the Law Society at the following address on or before Friday, 20 March 2026:
The Law Society of Hong Kong
3rd Floor, Wing On House
71 Des Voeux Road Central
Hong Kong
First, you can access to the online application form. You will need to create a User Account using a valid email address which will be used for all future correspondence with the Law Society regarding the OLQE application. This user account allows you to save your progress, upload documents, and track your application status prior to the closing date (i.e. Friday, 20 March 2026).
Yes. The online application system includes a "Save Section" function. You can save your progress and return to continue completing your saved application form later.
After completing the information in the online application form and uploading all supporting documents, you will reach the payment section of the online application form, you can choose to pay the application fee of HK$6,600 via the following payment options:
Specific instructions for each payment option will appear on your screen as you go.
No. The application fee of HK$6,600 is non-refundable. You are advised to ensure you are prima facie eligible for admission before you submit the application.
You must return the original physical copy of your duly executed and declared application form and all necessary supporting documents to the Department of Standards and Development of the Law Society on or before Friday, 20 March 2026. You are strongly advised to submit your application early to avoid leaving the submission until the closing date.
After submitting your online application form and making payment of the application fee, you will receive an Acknowledgment Email attaching a copy of your completed application form. You can also log in to the online application portal to check your application status prior to the closing date (i.e. Friday, 20 March 2026).
Please check the file size and format of your supporting documents. The maximum file upload size for each supporting document is 5MB. Only JPG, JPEG, PNG, PDF files are allowed. Ensure the filename does not contain special characters (e.g., @, #, $).
You can call the Law Society at (852) 2805 9103 or send an email to OLQEAppln@hklawsoc.org.hk.
