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 and physical scratch paper for the written sessions (essays and performance test); responses will be entered into ExamSoft's Examplify software. Multiple-choice questions will be loaded into the exam software so that test takers read and answer the questions directly on their laptops; physical scratch paper will also be provided (approved by the Committee of Bar Examiners on April 8). Please consider whether receiving multiple-choice questions and responding to them in the software, while receiving physical scratch paper for the sessions, impacts your need for testing accommodations.
Applicants must bring their own laptop but will not be required to connect to the internet during the exam. In advance of the exam, applicants will be given information about downloading the Examplify software and conducting a mock exam.
Handwriting is an option for those who prefer it. Handwriters do not need to bring a laptop; they will receive hardcopy exam materials for both the written and multiple-choice sections, responding in a booklet and on a Scantron sheet.
The bar exam includes two full days of testing sessions. Applicants must be seated by 8:20 a.m. each morning. The start time will be the same for all testing sites and the exam will begin immediately after instructions are read. After the lunch break, applicants must be seated by 1:30 p.m. Day 1 is anticipated to end at approximately 5:30 p.m., and Day 2 will end at approximately 5:00 p.m. End times may vary due to circumstances at each test site.
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. Test takers can move freely between the 50 questions included in each 90-minutes session.
Questions 1–50 (90 minutes)
Break
Questions 51–100 (90 minutes)
Attorney applicants approved 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 regions below are approved by the State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners. The State Bar is finalizing contracts with venues, as such, all locations 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 Street Pasadena, CA 91101
Ontario Convention Center 2000 E Convention Center Way Ontario, CA 91764
Anaheim Convention Center 800 W Katella Avenue Anaheim, CA 92802 (Location added April 10)
Hotel Fera Anaheim, Orange 100 The City Drive South Orange, CA 92868
Ontario Convention Center 2000 E Convention Center Way Ontario, CA 91764 (Location added April 10)
State Bar of CA Los Angeles845 S Figueroa StreetLos Angeles, CA(Location added April 25)
Oakland Convention Center 550 10th Street Oakland, CA 94607
Golden Gate University 536 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94105
The final list of testing sites will be published as soon as possible. If you would like to change your selected testing site, you must submit a Test Center Change Request through the Applicant Portal by the posted deadline.
Please note that seats are reserved at testing sites for applicants awaiting February 2025 bar exam results, as they cannot apply for the July 2025 exam until results are released.
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 is still pending. Below are other areas under review.
Exam delivery vendor: The State Bar’s Board of Trustees and the Committee of Bar Examiners approved contracting with ExamSoft to be the exam delivery vendor for the July 2025 bar exam. Once a contract is finalized, additional details about the ExamSoft software 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 both the written and multiple-choice sessions of the July 2025 bar exam.
Permitted and prohibited items list: An updated list of permitted and prohibited items is anticipated no later than April 30, 2025. 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. Once a contract with ExamSoft is finalized, other dates and deadlines related to the use of ExamSoft software will be published.
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*
Enrollment will close for the Peak Performance Study
*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.
Information on any score adjustments for participants of the November 2024 special session will be available with the release of February and July 2025 exam results through the Applicant Portal.
The July 2025 special session has been postponed indefinitely to prioritize a smooth July 2025 bar exam administration.