"Good moral character" includes but is not limited to qualities of honesty, fairness, candor, trustworthiness, observance of fiduciary responsibility, respect for and obedience to the law, and respect for the rights of others and the judicial process.
For the State Bar of California, the moral character review process takes several months and examines past conduct to ascertain whether the applicant is honest, fair, trustworthy, observes fiduciary responsibilities, is financially responsible and respects the rights of others and the judicial process.
Some states, including California, Massachusetts and New Jersey, complete this process as part of the application to take the bar examination; other states, such as New York, wait until after the bar examination.
Results are posted on the Applicant Portal. At p.m. on the day results are posted, applicants can also access the pass list on the State Bar website. Applicants who have failed the exam receive the grades assigned to their written answers as well as their MBE scaled score.
Applicants are encouraged to submit a moral character application at the beginning of the last year of law study or at least eight to 10 months prior to the date they wish to be admitted to practice law in California.
Results from the July 2024 bar exam will be released to applicants through the Applicant Portal on November 8, 2024, at p.m. The pass list will be posted on the Examination Pass List webpage on Sunday, November 10, 2024.
For California ABA-accredited law schools, the pass rate for first time test-takers was 81%, up 5 percentage points from 2023. The State Bar of California reported today that 53.8 percent of applicants passed the July 2024 General Bar Examination (GBX).
In California, the process of determining someone's moral character normally takes six to nine months. But there are a number of variables that could affect the timing. The application procedure might go more rapidly if the applicant has a clear background.
What happens after I take the exam? Results from the July 2024 bar exam will be released November 8, 2024. Results from the February 2025 bar exam will be released .