LNAT past papers, every official one
The LNAT Consortium has published two full past papers, both from 2010. Here they are, with the official mark scheme and commentary, free and with no account. Below them: every other official resource, what has changed since 2010, and how to spend a supply this small.
- Both official 2010 papers, the mark scheme and the commentary. Free, hosted here, no email.
- Both papers rebuilt on-screen: sit them timed and marked, free, with a worked solution for all 84 questions on full access.
- Every other official resource linked, with a note on what each one is good for.
The official papers
Every official LNAT past paper
Two papers, each a full Section A of 42 questions on 12 passages with 95 minutes on the clock, and a Section B of essay questions. One mark scheme and one commentary cover both.
Both papers are rebuilt in our exam simulator: sit them timed on-screen and have them marked the moment you finish, free. Full access adds a worked solution for all 84 questions, with the line each answer rests on highlighted in the passage.
Create a free account →- LNAT 2010 official paper 1Worked solutionsPrinted as Sample Test 1 (2010)
42 questions on 12 passages: Physicians and Patients, Top Civil Servants, A New Strange Mask for Science, University of Google, Pilgrims and Pioneers, Helicopter Parents, Car Ownership, Right and Wrong Language, Thomas Aquinas, Faith and the Theologian, Theories of Colour, A Global Dilemma.
- LNAT 2010 official paper 2Worked solutionsPrinted as Sample Test 2 (2010)
42 questions on 12 passages: The Teaching of Literature, Renewable Energy, On Memory, Maths, Mechanics' Institutions, The Future of Work, Thomas Aquinas, Evolutionary Borderlines, The Myth of Mars and Venus, Classic Books, Traditional vs Progressive Education, Business Intelligence.
- For both papers
Papers, mark scheme and commentary © LNAT Consortium Ltd, published free at lnat.ac.uk and reproduced here unaltered so you can download them in one place.
Read this before you sit them
What has changed since 2010
The reading skills the papers test are the ones the LNAT still tests, which is why they remain worth sitting. Four details differ from the test you will take:
Five options, now four
Every 2010 question offers (a) to (e). The live test offers four, so each 2010 question has one more wrong option to rule out, and a blind guess was worth less.
Five essay questions, now three
Each 2010 Section B lists five prompts. Today you choose one from three, still in 40 minutes.
Answer letters, mostly without reasons
The mark scheme gives the letter for each question. The commentary talks through 10 of the 84 questions in detail, so for the other 74 you know whether you were right but not why. On GhostPrep, all 84 have a worked solution.
One passage is printed twice
Thomas Aquinas and its four questions appear in both papers, so the pair holds 80 different questions. Skip it the second time or you are marking your own memory.
Everything else that is official
The other free LNAT resources
The Consortium publishes five more things, all free. Together with the two papers, that is the complete official supply.
- The online sample test
lnat.ac.uk, runs in the Pearson VUE player
A full-length sitting on the real test screen: 42 questions in 95 minutes, a review in which you can open an explanation for each question, then Section B with three essay questions. You can sit it as often as you like, and it asks you to accept a non-disclosure agreement before it starts.
- The online tutorial
Pearson VUE
A walk-through of the test screen's controls: the timer, flagging, highlight and strikethrough, find, the review screen and the essay editor. Ten minutes well spent before your first timed sitting.
- Your Guide to Preparing for the LNAT
lnat.ac.uk, PDF
The Consortium's own guide: the format, the skills each section looks for, sample questions with reasons for each answer, and practice essay prompts.
- Sample essays
lnat.ac.uk
Nine essay questions, three of them with a model answer of roughly 600 to 700 words. The best guide there is to what a strong Section B answer looks like.
- Hints and tips
lnat.ac.uk
Short advice on both sections from the Consortium, including what the essay is for: defending a position rather than displaying opinions.
These open on lnat.ac.uk and pearsonvue.com, because the Consortium revises them in place.
How to use them
How to spend a supply this small
Three full sittings exist, counting the sample test, and each one only works cold once. A plan that gets the most out of them:
- 1Do the tutorial first, then sit the online sample test as an unseen baseline. About half its passages are reworked from the 2010 papers, so it only works cold if you take it before them.
- 2Learn the passage types on untimed practice, then sit 2010 paper 1 timed, 95 minutes in one go, on screen if you can. The real test is on a screen at a Pearson VUE centre, and reading on paper is a different skill.
- 3Mark it, then reread every passage you lost a mark on before reading the commentary. Find the sentence the right answer rests on. That habit is most of the test.
- 4Sit 2010 paper 2 a few weeks later, skipping Thomas Aquinas. Compare the two scores to see whether the work in between moved you.
- 5Keep full-length mocks in the current four-option format for your final weeks, so your last sittings look like the day itself.
- 6Write at least one timed essay from each paper's Section B, choosing from any three prompts, in 40 minutes. Then compare it with the model answers on the sample essays page.
When the papers run out
Two papers, and then nothing new
Between them the official papers hold 80 different questions and ten worked explanations, about four and a half hours of sitting in all. Once they are done, nothing else official is left to practice on.
That is the gap GhostPrep is built for: passage sets written to the current four-option format, each with a worked solution that shows you the line in the passage every answer rests on.
The official papers
Free, no account
What you get from the buttons above.
- Two 2010 papers, exactly as printed
- Answer letters for every question
- A worked explanation for 10 of the 84
- Yours to print and keep. You time yourself and you mark yourself
On GhostPrep
Free to start
What the account is for.
- Both 2010 papers to sit on-screen, timed and marked the moment you finish
- Two full passage sets a day, free, in the current four-option format
- A worked solution for every practice question, with the evidence for each option highlighted in the passage
- Worked solutions for all 84 questions in the 2010 papers, plus Ghost Mocks, Sprints and essay marking, with full access
Guides to every part of the LNAT
Free, in-depth guides on how the test works, how universities use your score and essay, and how to prepare.
LNAT practice test: free questions in the real four-option format
A full-length LNAT-style passage with four questions, four options each and an explanation for every option. Plus LNAT's free official practice material, and how to sit a realistic LNAT mock at home.
Read the guideStart hereWhat is the LNAT? The complete guide
The Law National Aptitude Test, in full: what it tests, which universities need it, the format you will actually sit, how it is scored, the dates and fees, and how to prepare.
Read the guideEssayHow universities mark the LNAT essay (Section B guide)
LNAT never marks your essay. Here is what each university does with it instead, the criteria Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Durham use, and how to write an essay that meets them in 40 minutes.
Read the guideScoringLNAT results and scores: when you get them and what is a good score
When your LNAT result arrives, what your mark out of 42 means, and what counts as a good LNAT score at each university, with the chance of an offer at every score from the universities' own data.
Read the guideUniversitiesWhich universities require the LNAT? The 2027 entry list
All 12 LNAT universities for 2027 entry, with course codes, deadlines and how each uses your score and essay, plus the law schools that do not ask for it.
Read the guideDates and registrationLNAT dates, booking, fees and bursary for 2027 entry
Every LNAT deadline for the 2026-27 cycle by university, how to book, what the test costs, who can sit it free, and what happens if you need to change your date.
Read the guideUniversitiesOxford LNAT: scores, shortlisting and your chance of an offer
What LNAT score Oxford Law offer-holders actually get, how Oxford uses the test to choose who to interview, how it marks the essay, and your chance of an offer at every score.
Read the guideLNAT past papers: common questions
Are there any LNAT past papers after 2010?
No. The two 2010 papers are the only full LNAT papers the Consortium has published. The live test is assembled from a large bank of questions, so candidates do not all sit the same paper and there is no single recent paper to release. The online sample test is the other official full-length sitting, and it runs on the Consortium's site rather than as a download.
Are the 2010 papers still worth doing?
Yes. The passages, the question types and the time allowed are the ones the LNAT still uses, and they were written by the people who write the real test. Sit them knowing the four differences: five options rather than four, five essay questions rather than three, answer letters without reasons for most questions, and one passage printed in both papers.
Where are the answers to the LNAT 2010 papers?
In the mark scheme, which covers both papers and is free to download above. The commentary walks through 10 of the 84 questions in detail. If you sit them on GhostPrep, your paper is marked against the same answer letters the moment you finish, and full access adds a worked solution for every question that shows the line in the passage the answer rests on.
Should I do the online sample test or the 2010 papers first?
The sample test first. It is the same paper every time, and about half its passages are reworked from the 2010 papers, so if you sit the 2010 papers first you will recognise them and the sample test stops being a fair measure. Do the online tutorial before either.
Is there an official mark scheme for the LNAT essay?
No. The Consortium does not mark Section B or publish marking criteria. Your essay goes to each university you apply to, and they read it in their own way. The sample essays page shows three model answers, which are the best official guide to what a strong essay looks like.
Can I sit the 2010 papers online?
Yes, on GhostPrep. Both are rebuilt as timed on-screen sittings, free with an account, in either GhostPrep's own view or a view laid out like the Pearson VUE test screen. They keep their five options as printed. Full access adds a worked solution for all 84 questions.
Practice that keeps going
Keep the PDFs. Then practice on passage sets written to today's four-option format, two a day free, each with a worked solution that shows you the line in the passage every answer rests on.