The State Bar of California is a public corporation. Every person admitted and licensed to practice law in this State is and shall be a member of the State Bar except while holding office as a judge of a court of record.
The State Bar of California reported today that 53.8 percent of applicants passed the July 2024 General Bar Examination (GBX).
Yes, the California bar exam is widely considered to be the most difficult of all state bar exams in the US. The California bar exam has a pass rate of 34%.
Applicants who are already licensed to practice law in another state or jurisdiction must register as an attorney applicant, complete a positive moral character determination and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination as well as the California Bar Examination.
Before they are allowed to practice law, lawyers must become members of their state's bar association. This rule applies no matter whether they want to practice personal injury law, intellectual property law, or even entertainment law. In order to become a member of the bar, applicants must pass a comprehensive exam.
California is one of the few states that allows aspiring lawyers to take the bar exam without going to law school. They can do this by instead completing a four-year law office study program to become a legal professional. However, this path is not an easy alternative to skipping law school that many may think it is.
To pass the exam in the first phase of grading, an applicant must have a total scale score (after one reading) of at least 1390 out of 2000 possible points. Those with total scale scores after one reading below 1350 fail the exam.
Applicants who are already licensed to practice law in another state or jurisdiction must register as an attorney applicant, complete a positive moral character determination and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination as well as the California Bar Examination.
Average Time to Process an Application Most investigations take approximately 45 to 50 days. The license can average about 75 days for a Person-to-Person transfer, and 90 days for an Original.
The California Bar Exam has three (3) parts given over two (2) days: five (5) essay questions, the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) and one (1) performance test.