The next California bar exam is scheduled for February 25–26, 2025. The bar exam application is now available in the Applicant Portal. The State Bar will administer this exam remotely and in person. Applicants will be asked to select their preferred method for taking this exam, between remote and in person.
For the Office of Admissions to confirm your eligibility to take the California Bar Exam, you must mail an official sealed transcript(s) to the Office of Admissions at 845 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017 once you have completed your LLM studies. Please note that electronic transcripts will not be accepted.
In California, qualified applicants can take the bar exam without going to law school. Most law schools require a college degree, but some may only ask for equivalent course work, and some law schools focus on your legal interest and life experiences and not on your grades or LSAT scores.
The State Bar will administer this exam remotely and in person. Applicants will be asked to select their preferred method for taking this exam, between remote and in person. How to apply: Log into the Applicant Portal.
Beginning in February 2025, the multiple-choice questions on the California Bar Exam will be developed by Kaplan Exam Services, LLC, and the exam will be delivered remotely and in person at test centers.
In some instances, attorneys who are properly licensed and in good standing in another state are allowed to practice in California. For example, attorneys who practice only federal law, such as immigration, may practice in California but be licensed in another state.
There is no reciprocity between Florida and any other jurisdiction. Submission to the Florida Bar Examination and completion of a character and fitness investigation is required of all applicants.
What states have reciprocity with California? Arizona. Colorado. Delaware. Hawaii. Louisiana. Maine. Maryland. Massachusetts.
California Reciprocity California doesn't offer reciprocity but offers a shorter bar exam for attorneys who are admitted in other states and who have been in good standing as an attorney in those states for at least four years prior to their application.
The directory maintained by the state bar or its disciplinary board is sometimes called the "Roster of Attorneys" or the "Roll of Attorneys." Six (6) states do not publish a searchable database online. In those jurisdictions, you must call or email the state bar to confirm a lawyer's bar license status or bar number.