Find a Certified Lawyer Referral Service Check Attorney Profile
No. The State Bar is unable to extend the period to request administrative review. The CBE will decide whether to accept an untimely request for administrative review.
The CBE will review your request and your application. The CBE may take any action it deems appropriate, including but not limited to granting you a positive determination, requesting more information, extending an offer of abeyance, or rendering an adverse determination.
If the CBE declines to grant you a positive determination, it will decide how long you must wait before you may submit a new Application for Determination of Moral Character, which could be the same or different from the time that was set by State Bar staff when it made the initial determination.
The notice of the adverse determination will provide you with the date on which you may submit a new Application for Determination of Moral Character. You are encouraged to engage in affirmative rehabilitative activities during the period you must wait to reapply.
Alternatively, you may choose to request administrative review by the Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE). If you request review by the CBE, the date on which you will be eligible to reapply may change, as it will be determined by the CBE in the event it issues an adverse determination.
Please call 415-538-2450 and ask to speak with the Moral Character Person of the Day. Please be prepared to email a screenshot if the issue cannot be resolved over the phone. Some issues may take more time to resolve if technical assistance is necessary.
Some applicants have traveled extensively in the past three years and have numerous addresses to report on the moral character application. You are encouraged to provide as much information pertaining to each residence as can be reasonably recalled. You are responsible for the complete and accurate reporting of information on the application to the best of your ability, and the failure to provide complete responses could result in a delay in the processing of the application.
You must disclose all residences for the past three years, regardless of how long you resided at the location.
No. You are only required to disclose the addresses of the places you have lived within the past three years, including college and law school residences.
No. Some references may not be contacted. You may wish to remind your references to check their email spam folders periodically and to use the Google Chrome internet browser, if possible, when submitting the questionnaires to avoid potential technical issues.
Report military enlistment in the “Current/Previous Employment section” and the “Military Services” section of the moral character application. List your last duty station, supervisor, date of enlistment, and date of discharge (or the date you left active duty if you are currently on inactive status). An applicant who is discharged from active duty must also provide a DD-214 military discharge document that clearly indicates the type of discharge.
Contact the employer and attempt to obtain the information. If you do not remember your supervisor’s name or your supervisor is no longer with the business, please enter "Human Resources" into the Full Name of Supervisor field and enter the appropriate information into the Email Address of Supervisor and Phone Number of Supervisor fields.
If the company is no longer in business (defunct), contact information will not be required once you indicate that the company is no longer in business.
Do NOT use your own email address or phone number.
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.
Need additional help? Visit our Contact Us page for additional resources.