The Provisional Licensure Program (PLP) was established in 2020 to allow eligible applicants to practice law in California under supervision and in compliance with the California Rules of Court, rules 9.49 and 9.49.1. Since that time, the program has been expanded to include additional participants and increase the length of the program.
The PLP pathway to licensure will sunset on December 31, 2025.
The PLP for 2020 graduates will sunset on December 31, 2027.
Provisionally licensed lawyers (PLL) are permitted to engage in nearly all the same activities that a fully licensed lawyer is permitted to engage in, but they must be under the supervision of a supervising lawyer and are subject to certain restrictions. Both the PLL and their supervising lawyer are required to abide by all applicable State Bar rules and guidelines and are subject to the disciplinary authority of the California Supreme Court and the State Bar.
First-time registrants of the February 2025 California Bar Exam
On June 11, 2025, the California Supreme Court adopted amendments to rule 9.49 of the California Rules of Court to allow first-time takers who withdrew from or were unsuccessful on the February 2025 bar exam to participate in the PLP, effective September 1, 2025.
The PLP application will available in the Applicant Portal on September 1, 2025, for first-time takers of the February 2025 bar exam. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2025.
Applying for the PLP
To become a PLL, you must submit the PLP application in the Applicant Portal and have a valid positive moral character determination or a pending moral character application that has been deemed complete.
You are required to submit a Supervising Lawyer Declaration with your PLP application. It must be completed by an active licensee who is in good standing of the State Bar of California and meets the requirements of Rules of Court, rule 9.49.
At the joint meeting on August 14, 2025, the Board of Trustees and the Committee of Bar Examiners set the new fees for the PLP:
Applicant Status
Application Fee
Volunteering
$0
Employed by an IOLTA-funded organization that is paying the application fee
$600
All other applicants
$1,200
Application processing and timelines
All items must be submitted before an application will be considered complete.
Applications are expected to be processed within 30 to 60 days of the date the State Bar receives a complete and accurate application. Once your PLP application has been approved, the Office of Admissions will email you an approval letter, and you may start practicing as a PLL. You may not work as a PLL until your application has been approved by the Office of Admissions.
By December 31, 2025, first-time takers of the February 2025 bar exam participating in the PLP must have:
A passing Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) score on file with the Office of Admissions; and
Either an active positive moral character determination or an adverse moral character determination that is pending on administrative review by the Committee of Bar Examiners or on appeal in the State Bar Court.
Applicants who do not meet these requirements will be either terminated from the program or their PLP application will be denied. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that their passing MPRE score is received by the Office of Admissions and reflected on their status screen in the Applicant Portal.
PLLs must complete the New Attorney Training Program within five months from the approval of their PLP application or by May 31, 2026, whichever comes first. Those who fail to complete the New Attorney Training Program in a timely manner will be terminated from the PLP.
Reminders
Applicants may not begin employment as a provisionally licensed lawyer until their PLP application has been approved by the Office of Admissions.
PLLs must expressly refer to themselves orally and in writing as a provisionally licensed lawyer. They may not describe themselves as or imply that they are a fully licensed lawyer.
PLLs are required to immediately report to the State Bar the termination of supervision by their supervising lawyer.
