Exam Environment and Allowable Items

This webpage provides general information about the standard exam environment for State Bar–administered tests. Please refer to the bulletin for the specific exam you intend to take for the most up-to-date information.

California Bar Examination format and environment

The California Bar Exam (CBX) is a timed exam administered in a proctored setting. The written session is comprised of five one-hour essay questions and one 90-minute performance test question. Applicants use their personal laptop to type their answers for the written sessions or they may handwrite their answers.

The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) is a six-hour, 200-question multiple-choice exam divided into two three-hour sessions. For the MBE, applicants will receive the questions in a paper booklet and will record their answers to a Scantron answer sheet. Laptops are not used during the MBE portion of the exam. All answers must be recorded on the Scantron answer sheet, unless otherwise designated as a granted accommodation.

Applicants at standard test sites are assigned seating with two people per six-foot table in conference rooms. Hard copy materials are provided to applicants for each session. Applicants are not allowed to bring food into the exam room; however, a lunch break is given during the written session and the MBE session. Applicants may bring water in a clear, plastic container, without labels or writing, and with a lid. Applicants are allowed to use the restroom and to stand and stretch during the exam. The exam is administered in a quiet environment, and applicants are allowed to bring foam earplugs.

For applicants with testing accommodations that are designed to limit auditory and visual interruptions during the exam, the State Bar will offer three modified testing environments outside the standard testing environment:

1. A “reduced-distraction room,” which may have up to 25 applicants per room, with desk partitions available upon request on-site.
2. A “semi-private room,” which may have up to 10 applicants per room, with desk partitions available upon request on-site.
3. A “private” room, which will have one applicant and at least one proctor per room. 

Applicants who have been granted certain testing accommodations that are incompatible with a standard testing environment will be reassigned to a testing accommodations exam site. Applicants will not be able to select a testing accommodation test center when registering for an examination. Instead, they may indicate a preferred testing accommodation test center in the Testing Accommodation section of the CBX application. If the applicant is granted accommodations which require administration at a testing accommodations exam site, our office will move the applicant once logistics for the exam are finalized. Placement at testing accommodation test centers depends on capacity as well as compatibility with granted accommodations.

First-Year Law Students’ Examination format and environment

The First-Year Law Students’ Exam is a timed exam administered in a proctored setting. The exam is comprised of 100 multiple-choice questions completed over a three-hour period, with applicants reading the questions and selecting their answers using a computer. A 20-minute break is given between sessions. See the Testing Accommodations Schedules for the First-Year Law Students’ Exam.

Most applicants will test at a Prometric test center; however, out-of-state applicants, applicants with inadequate testing space at home, or applicants without Prometric test sites available near their residence may request to test remotely when submitting their exam application. Applicants are not allowed to have food or beverages in the exam room other than one bottle of water in a clear, plastic container, without labels or writing, and with a lid. The exam is administered in a quiet environment, and applicants are allowed to bring foam earplugs.

Sample bar exam schedules

Sample schedules for the bar exam are provided below for your reference. See the Testing Accommodations Schedules for the July 2026 California Bar Examination. Please note: Testing accommodations schedules for subsequent exam administrations are subject to change. Exam question order may differ from the sample schedules below.

30 extra minutes or time and one-quarter

Time and one-half

Time and three-quarters or double time

Related links

• Testing Accommodations
• Requesting Testing Accommodations
• Types of Testing Accommodations Requests and Approvals
• Appealing a Testing Accommodations Decision
• Applicant Portal
• Qualified Professional Certification Form
• Testing Accommodations Submission Checklist
• Admissions Rules
• Testing Accommodations FAQs