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What the NQJ actually is
The National Qualification in Journalism (NQJ) is the NCTJ's Level 6 professional qualification for working journalists — the “senior exams.” Where the Diploma in Journalism is the entry qualification you take before or at the start of your career, the NQJ is taken on the job, normally after around 18 months as a paid journalist. Passing it is how you demonstrate to employers that you have reached a senior level of professional competence.
The qualification was developed in consultation with media employers and is recognised across the industry as the standard for a senior journalist. In much of the regional press, “passing your seniors” is still the recognised milestone in a reporter's progression — the NCTJ's registration process even has dedicated arrangements for trainees at the biggest regional groups, Newsquest and Reach.
The NQJ at a glance
| Factor | Detail |
|---|---|
| Level | Level 6 — the NCTJ’s professional senior qualification |
| Who it is for | Trainee or junior journalists with at least 18 months’ paid experience (minimum 12 in exceptional circumstances) |
| Assessments | Three: media law and ethics in practice exam, e-logbook of evidence, practical skills exam |
| Pass requirement | Minimum 60% in each of the three assessments |
| Overall grades | Pass (60–64%), Merit (65–69%), Distinction (70%+) |
| Exam length | Media law and ethics: 2 hours; practical skills: 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Sittings | Three per year — March, July and November — split over two days |
| Format | Online — sat in your office or remotely at home |
| Who registers you | Your employer (registration listed at £83.50) |
| Resits | Failed section only — passed sections stand |
| Study load | Around 594 hours total qualification time, mostly on the job |
Source: NCTJ NQJ pages and the Level 6 qualification specification. Details change — always confirm against the current NCTJ pages before enrolling.
The three assessments
1. Media law and ethics in practice
A two-hour online exam. Unlike the Diploma law papers, this is not about reciting statute — it tests whether you can apply media law, regulation and ethical practice to realistic editorial situations, respond to whatever a scenario throws at you inside or outside the office, and brief senior and junior colleagues clearly and concisely. It assumes the day-to-day working knowledge of an experienced reporter: contempt risk on a breaking story, reporting restrictions at court, privacy and regulatory codes under deadline pressure. Our media law paper strategy guide covers the Diploma-level foundations this builds on.
2. The e-logbook of evidence
A structured portfolio of real work completed on the job, built through your first 18 months (minimum 12) of employment. Its purpose is to make sure you have gained sufficient breadth of experience and on-the-job training to sit the exams with confidence. When your employer registers you, you get access to an e-logbook tailored to your chosen media pathway — the NCTJ lists pathways including news, production journalism, community news, local democracy reporting and brand publishing. The e-logbook is marked as one of the three assessments, so treat it as an exam that runs for 18 months, not an admin chore.
3. The practical skills exam
A two-and-a-half-hour online exam built around a major unfolding news story with unpredictable twists. Material arrives during the exam — via social media posts, press releases and video statements — and you must carry out publishing tasks as the story develops, exactly as you would on a live running story in the newsroom. The assessment is tailored to different media sectors, so a production journalist and a news reporter do not sit an identical paper.
Who can sit it: eligibility and registration
The NQJ is a workplace qualification — you cannot take it straight out of a course. The NCTJ's requirements are:
- At least 18 months’ experience working as a paid journalist before taking the exams (a minimum of 12 months in exceptional circumstances).
- The recommended foundation is the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism. The qualification specification also admits candidates with a degree in any subject or a completed junior journalist apprenticeship — but they must still gain the essential diploma-level journalism skills first.
- Employers set their own additional standards. Regional press trainees are typically expected to hold the Diploma at gold standard: grades A–C in all subjects, including court reporting and public affairs, plus 100wpm shorthand.
- Your employer registers you with the NCTJ (listed at £83.50 at the time of writing). Registration unlocks your e-logbook and sets your earliest provisional exam date — the NCTJ recommends registering soon after probation so you have maximum time to build the logbook.
- Registration does not enter you for the exams — enrolment for a specific sitting is a separate step, once you and your editor agree you are ready.
If you are still weighing up how to get the Diploma in the first place, start with our degree vs NCTJ comparison and the NCTJ syllabus map.
Exam sittings, format and results
NQJ exams run three times a year — in March, July and November — and are split over two consecutive days: media law and ethics in practice on day one (two hours), the practical skills exam on day two (two and a half hours). Both are sat online: the NCTJ offers the choice of sitting in your office, if your company has suitable facilities, or remotely at home.
Enrolment for each sitting opens roughly three months ahead and closes several weeks before exam day, and there is a final shorthand deadline shortly before each sitting for candidates whose pathway requires 100wpm. You must be registered, with e-logbook access, before you can enrol. Results are normally issued within about five weeks of the final assessment — for the November 2026 sitting, for example, the NCTJ publishes a results date in early December.
If you miss the 60 per cent threshold in one assessment, you re-sit only that section. Check the exact dates and deadlines for the next sitting on the NCTJ's exam dates page before planning anything around them.
What it costs — and who pays
At the time of writing, the NCTJ's published prices are £83.50 for NQJ registration and £162 + VAT for a first sitting of each of the three assessments, with an e-logbook resubmission listed at £81 + VAT and exam resits at £162 + VAT. Fees are revised each September, so treat these as indicative and check the current fees list on nctj.com.
In practice, most candidates never see an invoice: the NCTJ bills registration to the employer, and publishers running formal training schemes normally pay for exams and preparation. If you are at a smaller outlet without a scheme, agree in writing who pays for the exams — and for any resits — before you register.
What passing actually gets you
Passing the NQJ is how the industry marks the transition from trainee to senior journalist. The NCTJ describes it as the way journalists demonstrate to employers that they have reached a senior level of professional competence, and the qualification is recognised by employers as the industry standard for that level. In regional newsrooms especially, job titles, responsibilities and pay bands are often structured around senior status — though the specifics are set by each employer, not by the NCTJ, so ask your editor exactly what passing changes at your company before you assume anything about pay.
Beyond the formal status, the NQJ is portable proof of competence: an externally assessed, graded qualification (Pass, Merit or Distinction) that follows you between employers. For what senior status looks like day to day, see our local reporter career path guide.
How to prepare
- Book an NQJ refresher. The NCTJ runs two-day refresher courses in February, June and October — timed ahead of each sitting — with pre-course work, mock exams marked with feedback, a full mock exam day and a review of your logbook.
- Use the NCTJ’s exam preparation workshops. They are offered to all NQJ candidates and cover exam-day technique plus practice, with feedback, on all sections of the qualification.
- Read the annual examiners’ reports on nctj.com. They are published after each year’s sittings with explicit advice for current and future candidates — the closest thing to seeing the marking in action.
- Keep the e-logbook current from week one. It is a marked assessment, and backfilling 18 months of evidence in the month before enrolment is the classic NQJ failure mode.
- Refresh your Diploma law notes early. The media law and ethics paper assumes fluent, applied knowledge — contempt, court reporting restrictions, privacy, regulatory codes — under time pressure.
- Practise running stories against the clock. The practical skills exam feeds you material as the story unfolds, so rehearse filing and updating copy from a live feed of press releases and social posts in a fixed time window.
Test your media law knowledge now
The media law and ethics paper assumes Diploma-level law is second nature. Find your weak spots months before exam day, not during it.
Common mistakes
- Assuming registration enters you for the exams — it does not. Enrolment for a specific sitting is a separate step with its own deadline weeks before exam day.
- Leaving the e-logbook until the last minute — it is one of the three marked assessments, and it cannot be faked retrospectively.
- Registering late. Register soon after probation so the e-logbook window covers your full 18 months, not a scramble at the end.
- Treating the media law paper like the Diploma exam — the NQJ tests applied judgement on realistic editorial scenarios, not definitions.
- Missing the shorthand deadline — candidates whose pathway requires 100wpm must have it logged by the published cut-off before each sitting.
- Not asking what passing changes at your employer — senior status, duties and pay arrangements vary by company, so get it in writing.