The General Bar Exam consists of three parts: five essay questions, the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), and one performance test (PT). The parts of the exam may not be taken separately, and California does not accept the transfer of MBE scores from other jurisdictions.
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.
California Bar Examination All other attorney applicants must take the general bar exam. Please note that the State Bar does not offer reciprocity or accept bar exam scores from another jurisdiction.
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.
If you have any questions or require further assistance with registering in the Applicant Portal, please email admissions@calbar.ca.
Electronic transcripts must be sent to brn.etranscripts@dca.ca.
Transition Away from the MBE: Starting in 2025, California will no longer use the National Conference of Bar Examiners' (NCBE) Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) for its multiple-choice component. Instead, Kaplan will develop new multiple-choice questions specific to California.
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.
Is The California Bar Exam Hard? 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%.