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Today the State Bar announced that 3,753 (52.4 percent of applicants) passed the July 2022 California General Bar Exam. If those who passed satisfy all other requirements for admission, they will be eligible to be licensed by the State Bar to practice law in California.
“For thousands of applicants of the General Bar Exam and Attorneys’ Exam, today is a milestone to be celebrated,” said Leah Wilson, State Bar Executive Director. “It is an acknowledgment of the dedication and hard work it took to get here and a major step toward the start of their legal careers in California. We congratulate each of them on this stellar achievement."
The July 2022 pass rate on the General Bar Exam was slightly lower than the July 2021 pass rate of 53 percent.
Performance on the July 2022 bar exam varied nationally, with some states seeing a higher pass rate, and others experiencing a decline. Here are a few highlights:
- Washington, D. C. (72 percent compared to 73 percent in 2021)
- Pennsylvania (68 percent compared to 69 percent in 2021)
- New York (66 percent compared to 63 percent in 2021)
- Florida (51 percent compared to 44 percent in 2021)
The National Conference of Bar Examiners announced that the national average score on the July 2022 Multistate Bar Examination of 140.3 represented a fraction of a point reduction from the July 2021 score (140.4). This suggests that the July 2022 result should track closely to 2021’s pass rates and, in California's case, it does.
Attendance at California’s July 2022 General Bar Exam was lower (7,164) than during the remotely administered July 2021 exam (7,536) and the October 2020 remotely administered exam (8,723) and lower compared to average attendance for in person exams in prior years, when 8,000 typically took the exam.
July 2022 General Bar Exam preliminary statistics*
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Completed the General Bar Exam: 7,164 applicants
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First-time applicants: 5,576 (77.8 percent of total)
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Pass rate for first-time applicants: 62 percent overall
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Repeat applicants: 1,588 (22.2 percent of total)
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Pass rate for repeat applicants: 17 percent overall
Pass rate for the General Bar Exam (rounded to whole numbers) by law school type:
| School Type | First-Timers | Repeaters |
| California ABA | 73% | 26% |
| Out-of-State ABA | 69% | 23% |
| California Accredited (not ABA) | 30% | 12% |
| Unaccredited: Fixed-Facility | 11% | 5% |
| Unaccredited: Correspondence | 25% | 8% |
| Unaccredited Distance-Learning | 12% | 9% |
| All Applicants | 62% | 17% |
General information about the structure and content of the General Bar Exam.
The Attorneys’ Exam may be taken by those who have been admitted to the practice of law in another U.S. jurisdiction and have been an active licensee in good standing for at least the four years immediately preceding the exam, as well as disciplined lawyers who are ordered to take the examination as a condition of reinstatement. Of the 379 attorneys who completed the Attorneys’ Exam, 186 (49.1 percent) passed.
A pass list from the exam will be published on the State Bar website on November 13, 2022, at 6:00 a.m. More detailed statistics about exam results will be available in four to six weeks on the State Bar website.
Successful applicants who satisfy all requirements for admission may take the Attorney’s Oath individually or participate in admissions ceremonies held by their law school or others. Applicants are eligible to practice law in California after taking the Attorney’s Oath and submitting their oath card to the State Bar. The State Bar continues to encourage digital signing and electronic processing of oath cards.
The State Bar became aware on November 9 that a few exam takers reported being able to access certain fields of data in the Applicant Portal indicative of their own results prior to receiving their official notification from the State Bar. The State Bar takes these types of reports seriously and has commenced an investigation that will explore these reports, including among other things, whether any IT security, ethical, or legal violations occurred.
*Please note that these are preliminary statistics. Law schools will be required to confirm the students allocated to their law school and, as a result, these statistics may change.
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The State Bar of California's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.
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