The following information relates to the upcoming July 2025 California bar exam. For the most up-to-date information on the February 2025 California bar exam, please refer to this notice page.
The July 2025 bar exam will take place over two days, Tuesday, July 29, and Wednesday, July 30. Applicants with certain testing accommodations may have extended days. The July 2025 bar exam will be administered entirely in person at designated testing sites in California.
Applicants will receive hardcopy exam materials with scratch paper for the written sessions (essays and performance test) and they will respond to those questions on their personal laptop. Handwriting is an option for those who prefer it. The delivery method for multiple-choice questions is not yet finalized. The Committee of Bar Examiners will determine no later than April 18 whether multiple-choice questions will be loaded into the exam software so that test takers read and answer the questions directly on their laptops, or if the multiple-choice questions will be provided in hardcopy format, requiring applicants to mark their answers on a Scantron sheet. This page will be updated once that decision is made.
Applicants will not be required to connect to the internet during the exam.
The bar exam includes two full days of testing sessions. Applicants must be seated by 8:20 a.m. each morning. The exam will begin immediately after instructions are read. After the lunch break, applicants must be seated by 1:30 p.m. Day 1 will end at approximately 5:30 p.m., and Day 2 will end at approximately 5:00 p.m. End times may vary.
Below is a summary of the standard exam schedule:
Day 1 (written sessions): Five one-hour essay questions and one 90-minute Performance Test (PT). The essays and PT will be administered in two sessions: the morning session will consist of a three-hour session for essays 1, 2, and 3. The afternoon session will consist of a three-and-a-half-hour session for essays 4 and 5 and the PT. Applicants can answer the questions in each session in any order they prefer. Although each essay is designed to be completed in one hour, and the performance test is designed to be completed in 90 minutes, applicants may allocate their time within each session as they see fit.
Day 2 (multiple-choice sessions): 200 multiple-choice questions administered in four 90-minute sessions covering 50 questions each.
Questions 1–50 (90 minutes)
Break
Questions 51–100 (90 minutes)
Attorney applicants choosing to take the Attorney’s Exam are only required to sit for the written sessions of the exam and applicants approved for extended time accommodations will receive a modified testing schedule.
The testing sites listed below are subject to final approval by the State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners and the Board of Trustees. The State Bar has reserved several locations pending approval and is in discussion with the remaining venues. As such, all locations below are currently anticipated but are subject to change. Please note that only applicants with a San Diego address on file with the Office of Admissions will be able to view and select the Chula Vista test site in the bar exam application.
Pasadena Convention Center 300 E Green StreetPasadena, CA 91101
Ontario Convention Center 2000 E Convention Center WayOntario, CA 91764
Anaheim Convention Center800 W Katella AvenueAnaheim, CA 92802(Location expected to be available on the exam application by April 11)
Pasadena Convention Center300 E Green StreetPasadena, CA 91101
Hotel Fera Anaheim, Orange 100 The City Drive SouthOrange, CA 92868
Oakland Convention Center550 10th StreetOakland, CA 94607
Golden Gate University 536 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94105
The State Bar is working to secure additional locations for testing accommodations in Los Angeles. The final list of testing sites will be published as soon as possible.
While the exam will return to in-person testing with similarities to past administrations, some details are pending final approval or are under review for possible changes to improve the testing experience. As stated above, the final list of test sites and the delivery method for the multiple-choice questions are still pending. Below are other areas under review.
Exam delivery vendor: The State Bar’s Board of Trustees will meet on April 2, 2025, and the Committee of Bar Examiners will meet on April 8, 2025, to approve vendor contracts for the July 2025 bar exam. Once approved, details about the exam delivery vendor and additional instructions will be published online.
Exam day policies: Updated exam policies are not yet published. Once finalized, they will be published online. However, all applicants will be permitted to use the restroom, stand, and stretch during the July 2025 bar exam.
Permitted and prohibited items list: An updated list of permitted and prohibited items is not yet published but is anticipated no later than April 30, 2025. Once finalized, it will be published online. The following is a partial list of permitted items that will be allowed for all test takers during both the written and the multiple-choice sessions of the July 2025 bar exam:
Below are important dates and deadlines related to State Bar requirements. Other dates and deadlines related to the exam delivery vendor’s requirements may also arise pending approval of a vendor by the Board of Trustees and Committee of Bar Examiners. Those additional dates and deadlines will be added as soon as possible.
For those who did not sit for the February 2025 bar exam.
For immediate repeaters who sat for the February 2025 bar exam.
Testing accommodations final filing deadline*
*Applicants must submit their requests through the Applicant Portal. Requests must be complete, with all questions answered, and any supporting documentation included. Requests in ‘verified’ or ‘drafted’ status are not considered complete.
Results from the July 2025 bar exam are scheduled to be released through the Applicant Portal to applicants at 6:00 p.m. on November 7, 2025. Applicants can also access the pass list on the Exam Results webpage.