Free SHL Practice Tests for 2026: the interactive SHL test you build by hand, and every classic format
The SHL test most employers send today has no A to E: you drag bars into a chart, place people in rooms, fill a calendar or color the next figure, the difficulty adapts to you and every part of a task can score.1 The classic Verify tests were retired in 2024; multiple choice survives in the 30-question G+, Verbal Ability, the entry-level tests and the questionnaires.2,5,6 Take a free 5-question SHL practice test, try one real drag-and-drop task right below, and use the course’s test finder to open the path for the test in your invitation.
- Verify Interactive G+24 tasks · 36 min
- Interactive Numerical, Deductive or Inductive18 min each
- Multiple-choice Verify (G+ or single tests)30 q · 36 min
- Verbal Ability18 q · 15 min
- Entry level & contact center10 min or less
- Personality & judgmentquestionnaires
4.3 on Trustpilot · 441 reviews
- 5 hard questions, three formats
- 5:00, tighter than SHL pace
- Plus one real interactive task below
- Score by area with a lesson to start
Free · no account, no email · SHL-style items written for our course, not SHL questions
Can you place every person in the right room?
A real interactive task from the course engine, in the format SHL uses for its reasoning tests since 2024: no answer options. Read the rules, drag each person into a room, and every correct placement scores. No clock here; in the real test you would have about 90 seconds.
The interactive sample task needs JavaScript.
Sample task from SHL Assessment Prep 2026 (our item, SHL-style, not an SHL question). Check shows the score with partial credit and the worked solution; New task loads another floor plan.
Which SHL test is which? The course in 60 seconds
Interactive tasks you build by hand, multiple choice, a questionnaire or work scenarios: a quick tour of every format and how the course sorts them into six paths.
Trailer · SHL Assessment Prep 2026
What is an SHL assessment?
An SHL assessment is the set of online tests an employer sends through SHL, the test publisher: usually one or two reasoning tests, often a personality questionnaire, and for hourly roles short entry-level tests or a call simulation.5 Most cognitive tests are now interactive: you build the answer on screen, the difficulty adapts, and each part of a task can score.1 The classic Verify tests (the old verbal, numerical and inductive tests) were retired in 2024.6 Which tests you get, and how they are scored, is the employer’s choice.7
| SHL test | What you do | Items and time |
|---|---|---|
| Verify Interactive G+ | Numerical, deductive and inductive tasks in one adaptive test | Up to 24 tasks, 36 minutes1 |
| SHL numerical reasoning test | Build charts and tables from business data; Calculation for entry level | Up to 10 / 18 min; Calculation up to 12 / 10 min3,4 |
| SHL inductive reasoning test and deductive | Find rules in figures and code chains; fill calendars and rooms by the rules | Up to 15 / 18 min; deductive up to 12 / 18 min5 |
| SHL verbal reasoning test | Verbal Ability: read work texts, find the main point, tone and inference | Up to 18 / 15 min5 |
| Entry-level tests | Working with Information, Following Instructions, Checking, a contact-center call | 10 min or less each5,8 |
| SHL personality test (OPQ32r) | Blocks of three statements: most and least like you | 104 blocks, untimed5 |
| SHL situational judgment test | Rate how effective each response to a work situation is | 70 items about 25 min, or 100 about 40 min5 |
How long does an SHL test take?
Each test has its own clock: 36 minutes for the G+, 18 minutes for a single interactive reasoning test, 10 minutes or less for most entry-level tests, while the personality questionnaire is untimed and takes about 15 to 25 minutes.1,3,5 An invitation with two tests and a questionnaire can therefore take about an hour; the start page of your link lists each part.
SHL testing facts at a glance (2026)
Checked October 23, 2026 against SHL’s fact sheets, catalog and support notes- Who sends it
- The employer, through SHL’s platform. You cannot book an SHL test on your own.5
- Main reasoning test
- Verify Interactive G+: up to 24 tasks in 36 minutes, adaptive, partial credit.1 A 30-question multiple-choice G+ is still sold.2
- Answer format
- Mostly interactive for reasoning: drag bars, set pies, place people, color figures. Verbal Ability stays multiple choice; there is no interactive verbal test.1,5
- Retired
- The classic Verify tests, including True / False / Cannot Say verbal items, were retired in 2024.6
- Results
- Compared with a norm group the employer chooses; SHL’s report uses bands A to E. Usually only the employer sees them.7
- Proctoring
- Consent screen, lock on window switching, webcam snapshots every 120 seconds, a Proctoring Index and conduct data for the employer.6
- Official practice
- SHL Direct offers free practice tests for candidates.9
- Validity and retakes
- Results reported valid for 12 to 18 months; retakes are the employer’s decision, often after 6 to 12 months (reported).8
Where do I find practice for my SHL test?
Each SHL format has its own page with a free practice set in that format (linked in the table above). Pick the name from your invitation.
| Your invitation says | Page | Free practice there |
|---|---|---|
| “Verify Interactive G+”, “general ability” | Verify G+ test | 9 G+ questions and an interactive task |
| “Numerical”, “Numerical Calculation” | SHL numerical test | 10 chart, table and calculation questions |
| “Verbal Ability”, “verbal reasoning” | SHL verbal reasoning practice | Verbal Ability passages |
| “Inductive”, “Deductive” | Verify inductive and deductive practice | Figure and logic questions |
| “OPQ32r”, “personality” | OPQ32 questionnaire | An untimed forced-choice preview |
| “Scenarios”, “situational judgement” | SHL SJT | Work scenarios to rate |
Looking for SHL answer keys? Read why SHL test answers PDFs do not work and what to do instead.
Which SHL formats feel strangest the first time?
The interactive ones. Test takers often complain that the drag-and-drop controls are not explained and feel fiddly under time pressure, so the interface itself is worth practicing. The questionnaires and the call simulation are new to most people too. The course gives every family its own lessons and drills.
How does SHL Assessment Prep 2026 work?
One course, six paths. The start page asks which SHL test you got, then every path runs guide, drills, simulation.
4:43Lesson HOW · the four groups of SHL tests
- 1Start page
Pick your test
Six tiles, one per test family, each opening an ordered path. Not sure? The guide shows how to read the invitation, and the G+ diagnostic covers the three reasoning areas.
- 217 lessons
One format each
Every lesson explains a format with worked examples and a live task; 16 of them have a lesson video, 69.7 minutes in total.
- 342 drills and trainers
Three levels
Drills from easy to real-test hard, a clock per task and a worked solution after every answer.
- 413 simulations
Like test day
One clock, forward only, adaptive where the real test is. The report gives a percent, an estimated band A to E (not an SHL score) and a review of every task.
The test finder on the start page
Your invitation names the tests or shows what you will see: drag-and-drop tasks, multiple choice, a questionnaire or a call simulation. Pick that tile and the course lays out your path.
How long should you prepare for an SHL assessment?
Invitations often come with a deadline of a few days. Start from where you are.
Find the test, then its path.
Read the invitation, open the matching path and do the diagnostic simulation first; it shows where the points go.
- Day 1Lesson HOW, read the invitation, open your path30 min
- Day 2The path’s first simulation, cold15–36 min
- Days 3–5Lessons and level 1–2 drills, weakest format first~40 min/day
- Last dayTest-day lesson, second simulation~45 min
Build the formats calmly.
Most graduate and professional roles use the reasoning tests: work through the interactive lessons now and keep the simulations for later.
- Week 1Lesson HOW, G+ diagnostic, interactive numerical~30 min/day
- Week 2Interactive deductive and inductive lessons and drills~30 min/day
- Week 3Personality and judgment lessons, Verbal Ability~20 min/day
- Link arrivesYour test’s simulation
Speed and accuracy.
Entry-level batteries are short and fast: calculation, information lookup, rule following, checking and often a call simulation.
- Day 1Lesson HOW, Numerical calculation~30 min
- Day 2Working with information, Following instructions~30 min
- Day 3Checking and the contact-center call~30 min
- Day 4Contact-center battery simulation23 min
What is in the course?
Seventeen lessons in seven groups, as the course menu lists them.
3 hard SHL questions, with answers
From the free test above. No clock here: try each one, then open the answer.
Deductive · hard
Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final statement true, false, or uncertain?
- Some people who speak Spanish are employees with a parking permit.
- All employees with a parking permit are coffee drinkers.
- Some coffee drinkers are people who speak Spanish.
- True
- False
- Uncertain
Show the answer
Answer: A. The conclusion follows in every case that fits the two statements. Draw the groups as circles: with the two statements the conclusion is forced. Trap: True only if no counter-example exists. Try to build one before you answer.
Deductive · hard
Which of the following could be true?
- 5 presentations are given one after another, in slots 1 to 5.
- Exactly one person is between Nina and Sofia.
- Aisha is immediately before Nina.
- Sofia is somewhere before Aisha.
- Ben is somewhere before Aisha.
- Hannah is in slot 3.
- Aisha is in slot 1.
- Sofia is in slot 5.
- Ben is in slot 4.
- Aisha is in slot 4.
Show the answer
Answer: E. The orders that fit: Hannah, Ben, Sofia, Aisha, Nina | Ben, Hannah, Sofia, Aisha, Nina | Ben, Sofia, Aisha, Nina, Hannah. Only "Aisha is in slot 4." occurs in at least one order; the others never do. Trap: Draw five boxes and fill in the certain facts first. Statements like "somewhere to the left of" allow several gaps; do not assume they mean "immediately".
Inductive · hard
Which figure does not belong with the others?
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
Show the answer
Answer: B. Four figures are squares of different size, shading and angle. Figure B is a hexagon: it has 6 sides, not 4. Trap: Size, shading and rotation change nothing about the number of sides. Count corners.
What SHL test-takers say
“I did the SHL Assessment prep and managed to get comfortable with the test in less than 24hrs. Highly recommend this test.”
“The SHL Assessment Prep Course & Practice Questions was not only helpful but gave me the knowledge I needed to know to pass my assessments and move on to the next stage in the application process.”
Unedited excerpts from public Trustpilot reviews, shortened where marked “…”. Individual results vary. Read all 441 reviews on Trustpilot
Are free SHL practice tests enough?
Do SHL Direct’s official practice tests once: they show the real look of each format.9 What free material rarely gives you is volume, timing and the interactive controls.
| Free practice | SHL Assessment Prep 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Formats | Mostly older multiple-choice sets | Interactive and multiple choice, entry level, questionnaires, scenarios |
| Your test | One generic set for everyone | A path per test family from the start-page finder |
| Timing | Often untimed | A clock per drill task; simulations on one test-length clock |
| Feedback | A score | Worked solution and trap after every task, estimated band A to E |
| Amount | A few dozen questions | 42 drills and trainers, 13 simulations |
| Cost | $0 | $68 once, 90 days of access |
SHL test FAQ: formats, length, results
Is this SHL practice test really free?
Yes: 5 hard timed questions in three formats, no account and no email. You see a score by area, the lesson to start with and an explanation for every answer.
Are these real SHL questions?
No. They are SHL-style practice items written for our course. SHL publishes its own free samples on SHL Direct; Prepterminal is independent and not affiliated with SHL.9
Which SHL test should I practice first?
The one named in your invitation. If it only says “online assessment”, open the link early: the start page usually lists each test. When in doubt, start with the Interactive G+ diagnostic, which covers numerical, deductive and inductive reasoning.
What does an SHL assessment include?
Whatever the employer picks: often one or two reasoning tests plus a personality questionnaire for graduate and professional roles, or short entry-level tests, a behavior questionnaire and a call simulation for hourly and contact-center roles.5
How many questions are on an SHL test?
It depends on the test: up to 24 tasks for the Interactive G+, up to 10 for Interactive Numerical, up to 18 for Verbal Ability, 104 blocks for the OPQ32r.1,3,5 The start screen of each test shows the number.
Can you fail an SHL test?
There is no universal pass mark. Employers compare your result with a norm group they choose and set their own cut-off; most candidates only hear whether they move on.7
Do I get my SHL results?
Usually not in detail. The employer receives the report, often with bands A to E, and decides what to share. Results are reported valid for 12 to 18 months.7,8
Can I retake an SHL test?
Only if the employer allows it. Waiting periods of 6 to 12 months are reported, but there is no single SHL rule.8
Are SHL tests proctored?
Increasingly. SHL’s 2024–2025 updates added a consent screen, a lock when you switch windows, webcam snapshots every 120 seconds and a Proctoring Index for the employer.6
Can I take an SHL test on my phone?
The interactive tests were built mobile-first, so a phone usually works. A laptop is the safer choice: bigger charts, easier dragging and no incoming calls. Practice on the device you will use.1
What is SHL Direct?
SHL’s candidate site with official free practice tests. It is worth doing once for the real look; it does not offer volume or worked solutions.9
What is in SHL Assessment Prep 2026?
One payment of $68 opens SHL Assessment Prep 2026: 17 lessons, 16 lesson videos, 42 drills and trainers and 13 simulations, sorted into six paths by SHL test. Access starts right after checkout and lasts 90 days, with a 7-day money-back guarantee.
Every SHL format in one course
- Every interactive format: build charts, place people, fill calendars, color figures, scored with partial credit
- Adaptive simulations of the interactive G+ and the single interactive tests, 9 in total
- A test finder that opens the path for the SHL test in your invitation
- Verbal Ability and the multiple-choice formats, including the older True / False / Cannot Say
- Entry-level tests and a contact-center call simulation
- OPQ-style trainer, Motivation Questionnaire and situational judgment
- 16 lesson videos and a worked solution after every drill task
Find your test. Then train it.
Open the course start page, pick the SHL test from your invitation and follow its path.
Get SHL Assessment Prep 2026: $68P.S. Not ready to buy? Take the free SHL practice test first, then decide.