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No. Your certification is only valid for the period stated in your application. You must submit a new Application for the Certified Law Student Program in the Applicant Portal with the required documentation and fee.
You can participate in the program if you are currently enrolled in or have graduated from:
On the end date of your study session, the State Bar will send your supervisor an email asking about your progress over the last six-month study period. Your supervisor is required to attest whether you have demonstrated sufficient academic progress to continue to the next study session for each six-month period. If your supervisor does not provide a positive attestation or fails to provide one, your participation in the program will be terminated, unless the requirements of State Bar rule 4.29(N)(1)–(2) are met.
You will not receive credit for hours of study devoted to repetition of studies previously completed and you will lose credit for the entire six-month study session.
No, you cannot pause your studies during your six-month study period. A pause between sessions can take place; however, your participation in the LOS Program will be terminated if you fail to submit a semi-annual report within a year of your last semi-annual report. You will retain law study credit already received and recognized by the State Bar.
To receive credit for a six-month study period, applicants must study law under the supervision of their approved attorney or judge for at least 72 hours per month for six consecutive months, lasting at least 24 weeks and no longer than 26 weeks, as well as submit a semi-annual report within 30 days of completion for each six-month period that conforms to the State Bar requirements.
The supervisor must supervise the applicant directly for at least 20 hours per month, either in person or remotely. At least 10 of those hours over each six-month period must be in person.
Applicants enrolled in both programs, along with their respective supervisors, are expected to take proactive steps to avoid or address any actual or potential conflicts of interest or ethical issues. This includes exercising good judgment in situations where their dual roles may overlap. For example, an applicant who studies in the Law Office Study Program under the supervision of a judge should avoid appearing before that same judge when representing a client in the Certified Law Student Program.
An applicant becomes eligible to take the FYLSX after completion of their first year of law study. If your second session, which completes the first year, ends prior to the final eligibility deadline for the current FYLSX, you are strongly encouraged to apply for the FYLSX, as it will be considered your first eligible administration in the calculation of your legal study credit.
The final eligibility deadline is two weeks prior to the exam. All deadlines for the FYLSX can be found on our First-Year Law Students’ Examination webpage.
All students in the LOS Program are required to take and pass the FYLSX after completing their first year of study, unless you establish an exemption, as specified in rule 4.55(A) of the Rules of the State Bar.
You must take and pass the FYLSX within the first three consecutive administrations of first becoming eligible to receive credit for your law study completed to date. If you fail to take or pass it after the first three consecutive administrations of first becoming eligible to take the exam, upon passage, you will only receive credit for your first year of legal studies.
If you completed law study at an accredited or registered law school prior to beginning the LOS Program, you are required to provide official, sealed law school transcripts. The Office of Admissions will evaluate your prior completed law study to determine if you are exempt from the FYLSX. In addition, the Office of Admissions will advise how much credit has been recognized for the prior law school study and let you know how much more study you need to complete in the LOS Program to qualify for the California Bar Exam.
To resume study after you have been terminated from the LOS Program, you must submit a new Application for the Law Office Study Program, the required documentation, and the fee in the Applicant Portal 30 days prior to the date you plan on resuming your legal studies.
Contact the LAP office for details about the income eligibility requirements and the application process. Financial assistance can cover up to one year of LAP group fees and one year of lab testing fees.
For more information, see the LAP Growth Grant Criteria.
There is no set time for Support LAP. It is completely voluntary. Participants can enroll, withdraw, and re-enroll whenever they want to.
After submitting your completed membership enrollment card, allow one to two weeks for delivery, then check Attorney Search to confirm your enrollment and find your bar number. If you do not see your name on the State Bar website after two weeks from the date you submitted the card, call 888-800-3400 or email AttorneyRegulation@calbar.ca.gov.
No. Pursuant to rule 9.46 of the California Rules of Court and Title 3 Division 3 Chapter 1 Article 3 of the Rules of the State Bar, you must reside in California. As defined in rule 3.370(D), this means that you must live or be located in California on more than a temporary or transient basis.
A Testing Accommodations Application must be completed and received by the State Bar no later than the following:
• January 1 for the February California Bar Examination;
• June 1 for the July California Bar Examination;
• May 15 for the June First-Year Law Students’ Examination; or
• September 15 for the October First-Year Law Students’ Examination.
The 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.
The exam is comprised of 100 multiple-choice questions administered in two 90-minute sessions, with a 20-minute break between sessions.
First-time takers of the February 2025 CBX in the PLP must complete the New Attorney Training Program five months from the approval of their PLP application or by May 31, 2026, whichever is sooner.
The New Attorney Training Program costs $55. After logging into the LMS portal, you will need to purchase the New Attorney Training Bundle.
Yes, the rules allow for multiple supervisors. The supervisors may work within the same law firm or at a different law firm if you will be employed or volunteer at more than one organization.
To add a Supervising Lawyer, replace your main PLP employer, or update your employer’s address or contact information, you must submit the PLP Employment Update Notice in the Applicant Portal. There is no fee associated with this change. You must submit a declaration from each Supervising Lawyer with your PLP Employment Update Notice. You may not work as a PLL at any organization or under a new supervisor until the State Bar has approved your PLP application.
No. Unlike the Original PLP, the sunset date for the Pathway PLP was extended to December 31, 2025, for all participants. In other words, those who are still awaiting a positive moral character determination or an MPRE score of 86 or above can continue in the program. Additionally, the application for the Pathway PLP was reopened, and new participants who satisfy the eligibility requirements can apply through December 31, 2023. Applications will not be accepted after that date.
No, if you have not received an 86 or higher on the MPRE at the time of your acceptance into the program, you must complete the legal ethics portion of the New Attorney Training within the first 30 days of being licensed as a PLP. If you do not complete this within the required time frame, you will be terminated from the program.
No. California Rule of Court 9.49.1(b)(3) defines “legal practice” as “the provision of permitted legal services to clients in compliance with rule 9.49(f) and (g).” Rule 9.49(g) states that legal services to clients include, but are not limited to, “appearing before a court or administrative tribunal, drafting legal documents, contracts or transactional documents, and pleadings, engaging in negotiations and settlement discussions, and providing other legal advice and counsel, provided that the work is performed under the supervision of a Supervising Lawyer.”
Please note that the rules require that services be provided to a client for those hours to count toward the admission requirements. Assignments such as conducting research can count when that research is being used to draft legal documents or to provide legal advice to a client. Assignments that do not involve providing services to a client, such as training, while helpful, are not considered “legal practice” under the rules.
If the State Bar Court determines that a PLL is culpable of conduct that would result in discipline if fully licensed by the State Bar, or if the PLL is sanctioned for misconduct by any court or professional licensing authority, the provisional license terminates. In addition, the matter is referred to moral character.
Yes, PDF documents are preferred. Word documents are discouraged, as incompatible versions may create technical issues. There is a 25 MB upload limit per post.
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