Frequently Asked Questions: Testing Accommodations

Yes. The process for requesting testing accommodations is separate from the application to take an exam. You are not required to wait for a determination regarding your testing accommodations to register for an exam, nor is this recommended.

For the February 2026 CBX, all applicants will receive hard copy examination materials for the written and MBE sessions. When registering for the exam, applicants will choose to either use their personal laptop to type their answers or handwrite their answers. The multiple-choice session is comprised of 200 questions where applicants must record their answers by darkening circles using a Number 2 pencil on an answer sheet.

Items listed in the Admittance Ticket Bulletin are allowed without prior approval. The Admittance Ticket Bulletin can be found on the California Bar Exam webpage once logistics for the exam are confirmed. Items not listed in the bulletin will require approval through the testing accommodation process. If the bulletin is not yet available for the exam you intend to take, refer to the bulletin for the prior administration of the exam; however, please note that the bulletin is subject to change.

Make sure you complete all demographic information located in your Admissions Applicant Portal. To locate this section, go to My Profile at the top right corner and click on the Update the contact information link. Select the Edit button and scroll down to Demographic section. 

If you have a pending request for testing accommodations, your Admittance Ticket will not be released until your testing accommodation case is concluded. If you launch or draft a testing accommodation case after a decision is sent to you, you will no longer have access to your Admittance Ticket. If you launched the testing accommodation in error or would no longer like to proceed with the submission, please contact testing.accommodations@calbar.ca.gov to have your application updated and your Admittance Ticket released.

For all applicants, the Admittance Ticket will reflect whether they are approved to take the 1-Day Attorneys’ Examination or the 2-day General Bar Examination. Your Admittance Ticket will not reflect extended testing days. Applicants should refer to their Testing Accommodations Notice, provided to applicants with approved testing accommodations once logistics are confirmed for the exam.

Sample schedules for extended time are posted online. Detailed testing schedules for the February 2026 CBX will be sent to applicants via Testing Accommodations Notice once logistics are finalized. Please note that schedules for subsequent exam administrations are subject to change.

The February 2026 California Bar Examination will be administered in person. When registering to take the exam, all applicants will be required to choose a standard testing site but will also have the opportunity to indicate their preferred testing accommodations location. In the event that you are granted accommodations that require you to be at a testing accommodations site, staff will reassign you, and your Admittance Ticket will reflect the updated testing accommodations site.

You can view your testing location by accessing the corresponding examination case in your Applicant Portal. Your exam location will be listed in the Details tab, underneath the Examination Event Information. Once your Admittance Ticket is available, you can view your assigned testing accommodations site on the ticket. The ticket will list the general location of the exam. Upon arrival at the test site, you may need to check in at the staff table to receive your room assignment.

If you are requesting to change your testing accommodation test center to a different testing accommodation location, you may submit the request through the Applicant Portal or by emailing testing.accommodations@calbar.ca.gov by the test center change request deadline. Space is subject to availability, and it is not guaranteed that your request will be available.

Applicants have approximately one hour for a lunch break. You are allowed to bring a lunch but may not eat lunch in the exam room. Please review the sample schedules online, as lunch schedules vary. Each day may have one of three lunch options: 

• No lunch break: Typically, you will not have a lunch break if you only take one session of the exam that day for no more than four and a half hours. 

• Lunch break between sessions: Typically, you will have a lunch break scheduled between sessions if you take two sessions of the exam that day, and they are each scheduled for no more than four and a half hours. You must leave the testing room and report at the designated time for the start of your next exam session. You are not allowed to eat lunch in the testing room unless you have received prior approval as an accommodation. 

• Lunch break during a session in the secure lunchroom: Typically, you will have a lunch break during the session if you only take one session of the exam for more than four and a half hours day. The timing of your lunch break will be determined on the day of the exam with your proctor, and you must eat lunch in the secure lunchroom. There may be other applicants eating in the secure lunchroom. Applicants are not allowed cellphones or reading materials in the secure lunchroom. You must bring your lunch as you will not be allowed to leave the secure testing area. You will not be permitted to retrieve your lunch from your car or buy lunch at the exam site. You are not allowed to eat lunch in the testing room unless you have received prior approval as an accommodation.

You are not permitted to have any extraneous or personal items (e.g., backpacks, purses, cell phones, etc.) in the exam room. Such items will not be allowed into the testing rooms and must be left outside of the secure testing area. Ensure all audible devices left outside or in the designated courtesy area are turned off.

The California Supreme has directed the State Bar to plan on administering the California Bar Examination in the traditional in-person format at this time.