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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.
First, try to reset the password. Second, call the Office of Admissions at 800-843-9053 and request a password reset email. Please do not register with another email address, as doing so will create a duplicate account.
You may submit a General Request to ask questions that are not related to your moral character application, request FD-258 fingerprint cards, or request assistance with the application prior to submission. General Requests are answered in the order received, and there may be a delay before the General Request is addressed as the volume of requests varies.
Generally, the State Bar will process your LOS application within two to three weeks of receipt if you submit a complete and accurate application.
Incomplete applications will take longer to process. If your application is deemed incomplete, you will have 60 days from the date of the incomplete notice to provide the missing information or documentation. If your application is not deemed complete within this period, your application will be abandoned without a refund of any fees paid.
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.
Contracted therapists agree to provide two additional sessions at $100 per session after the two free sessions that LAP pays for. For the fifth session, individuals can make their own arrangements with the therapist/counselor if they wish to continue.
No, the ADP is the State Bar Court's Alternative Discipline Program for attorneys with substance use or mental health problems.
The LAP is a separate program for law students, State Bar applicants, current and former attorneys with substance use or mental health issues, regardless of whether they have past or pending disciplinary matters.
The ADP has a close and mutually beneficial relationship with LAP. The ADP neither duplicates the LAP processes nor usurps the treatment function. The ADP seeks to identify and refer respondents with substance use or mental health problems to LAP in order that respondents so afflicted may be treated and rehabilitated. A respondent must be accepted into LAP to be eligible for the ADP.
The State Bar Court has more information about ADP.
Only unsuccessful applicants are provided with more detailed information concerning how they did on the various parts of the exam. This information will be on the result letters that are mailed to unsuccessful applicants and is not otherwise available online or through the admission status screen. Successful applicants are only advised that they passed.
No. You may not claim in any way to be a licensed attorney of the State Bar of California. You must use the applicable title in connection with your activities performed under the MJP Program:
• Registered In-House Counsel
• Registered Legal Aid Attorney
• Specially Registered Attorney (in lieu of Registered Military Spouse Attorney)
Processing may take up to 60 days from the date your Testing Accommodations Application is deemed complete by the State Bar. If you submit an application on or close to the final filing deadline, there may not be enough time after receiving a decision to submit a request for review. However, you can submit a request for review for a subsequent administration of the exam, if needed. Early filing is strongly encouraged.
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, which will be provided to applicants with approved testing accommodations once logistics are confirmed for the exam.
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