No, you can apply for the program before your moral character determination is completed. If your PLP application is based on having submitted a complete Application for Determination of Moral Character, please note that your PLP application will not be considered until the moral character application is deemed complete by the State Bar and placed in “filed” status. Filed status means that our office has all the preliminary documentation required to begin the background investigation. Moral Character Applications are processed in the order received and can take up to two to three months for the initial review. If you submit your PLP application before the Moral Character Application is in filed status, your PLP application will say “Pending Internal Review.”

• The State Bar plans to make applications available in the Applicant Portal beginning January 4, 2023.
• Attorney applicants need to provide an original Certificate of Good Standing from each jurisdiction in which they are licensed.
• Law school graduates (JD or LLM) need to provide official, sealed transcripts.
• The application will be considered complete when, in addition to the CGS and transcript referenced above, the following are received:
  • Applicant declaration;
  • Supervising Attorney Declaration: The declaration must be submitted within the Applicant Portal; declarations sent via email and USPS are not automatically associated with the online application and may delay processing. Please ensure that you are submitting as instructed in the Applicant Portal; and
  • Payment.

At the time the application becomes available, applicants can check their eligibility to apply for the Pathway PLP through the Applicant Portal under the status tab. Only applicants who meet the qualification, specifically those who achieved a score between 1390 and 1439 at first read or as a total scaled score for any California Bar Exam between July 2015 and February 2020, will be granted access to the PLP application.

Under rule 9.49.1, individuals who scored between 1390 and 1439 on a California Bar Exam administered between July 2015 and February 2020, as determined by the first read score or the final score, may apply so long as they:

• Have an active (unexpired) positive moral character determination or have submitted a complete Application for Determination of Moral Character. Whether the application is complete is determined by the State Bar.
• Have not received an adverse moral character determination, unless more than two years have elapsed from the date of the final determination. If, when the adverse moral character determination was issued, the Committee of Bar Examiners or the State Bar provided a time frame other than two years for when the participant was eligible to reapply, that other time frame shall control here.

Unfortunately, you cannot. The most recent amendments to rule 9.49 provide that the recently granted program extension applies to those 2020 law graduates who were admitted to the Original PLP prior to December 31, 2022.

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.

The program will terminate on May 31, 2023, for any participant who: 

• Has not completed the State Bar’s 10-hour New Attorney Training; or
• Has not received an 86 or higher on the MPRE; or
• Does not have an active positive moral character determination*; or
• Does not submit all documentation required by the State Bar; or
• Does not have an eligible supervisor committed to supervise the participant through the end of 2023.

*If you have received a negative determination, you will be immediately suspended from the PLP and cannot practice as a PLL. However, you will not be terminated from the program until time has passed to request a review or final appeal, or the review or appeal has concluded. If following the review or appeal you are issued a positive moral character determination, you can continue in the program through December 31, 2025, while you seek to pass the bar exam. If you had other outstanding requirements as of May 31, 2023 (for example, you hadn’t yet received an 86 or higher on the MPRE), you will be terminated from the program as of May 31, 2023, regardless of the status of your moral character determination.

If you have received a negative determination, you will be immediately suspended from the PLP and cannot practice as a PLL. However, you will not be terminated from the program until time has passed to request a review or final appeal, or the review or appeal has concluded. If following the review or appeal you are issued a positive moral character determination, you can continue in the program through December 31, 2025, while you seek to pass the bar exam. If you had other outstanding requirements as of May 31, 2023 (for example, you hadn’t yet received an 86 or higher on the MPRE), you will be terminated from the program as of May 31, 2023, regardless of the status of your moral character determination.

For those admitted to the program prior to December 31, 2022, the Supreme Court extended the Original PLP to May 31, 2023, or, in some cases, to December 31, 2025. The program will terminate on May 31, 2023, for any participant who has not yet satisfied all of the program requirements other than passing the California Bar Exam. If bar passage is the only remaining requirement to be satisfied, the PLL can continue in the program through December 31, 2025.

You will automatically receive a receipt via email after you remit payment. Please ensure that you complete the final step and submit the application. 

Please do not click "Print Receipt" since it will eject you from the application and prevent you from submitting it. If you accidentally click the link before submitting your application, please contact the Office of Admissions at prohac@calbar.ca.gov or 800- 843-9053.