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State Bar Announces Results for July 2024 Bar Exam

The State Bar of California reported today that 53.8 percent of applicants passed the July 2024 General Bar Examination (GBX). As a result, the 4,458 people who passed the July exam will be eligible for admission to the State Bar as soon as all admissions requirements are satisfied.  

"The State Bar celebrates the dedication and perseverance of everyone who passed the California Bar Exam,” said Leah Wilson, State Bar Executive Director. “We are pleased to see you reach this important milestone, and we look forward to welcoming you soon into our community of dedicated legal professionals."

California’s General Bar Exam pass rate of 53.8 percent is up from last year’s July pass rate of 51.5 percent, and 2022’s July pass rate of 52.4 percent. Preliminary statistical analyses show that of the 8,291 applicants who completed the GBX, 67.7 percent were first-time takers. The pass rate for these 5,614 first-time applicants was 68.2 percent. The pass rate for the 2,677 applicants repeating the exam was 23.5 percent.  

Here are preliminary pass rate statistics* in greater detail:  

School Type	First-Timers	Repeaters
ABA Accredited - California	81.0%	34.2%
ABA Accredited - Out-of-State	74.5%	28.3%
CBE Accredited	36.5%	15.8%
Unaccredited - Correspondence	30.0%	13.3%
Unaccredited - Distance Learning	20.0%	11.1%
Unaccredited - Fixed-Facility	25.0%	4.8%
Others	31.2%	20.9%
All Applicants	68.2%	23.5%

Attorneys’ Examination results 

The statistics above do not include attorneys who took the one-day Attorneys’ Examination. The Attorneys’ Exam, which consists of the essay and performance test sections of the GBX, is open to lawyers who have been admitted to the practice of law in another U.S. jurisdiction and have been an active licensee in good standing for at least the four years immediately preceding the exam. Of the 319 lawyers who completed the Attorneys’ Exam, 156 (48.9 percent) passed. 

Background information about the California Bar Exam

The two-day General Bar Examination is given twice a year, in February and July. The exam consists of three sections: five essay questions, a performance test designed to assess an applicant’s ability to apply general legal knowledge to practical tasks, and a 200-item multiple-choice section, also known as the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). California’s mean scaled MBE score was 1401, on par with the national average. The July 2024 exam was the last time that California will use the MBE for multiple choice questions.

Successful applicants who have satisfied other requirements for admission―those who have received a positive moral character determination, passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, and are not on the California Department of Child Support Services’ list of those in arrears for family or child support―may take the Attorney's Oath. 

A pass list from the exam will be published on the State Bar website on November 10, 2024, at 6:00 a.m. More detailed statistics about exam results will be available in four to six weeks on the State Bar website. 

*Please note that these are preliminary statistics. Law schools will be required to confirm the students allocated to their law school and, as a result, these statistics may change.

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The State Bar of California's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.