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California Bar Exam 2026: Free Complete Prep Guide

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Key Facts

  • The California Bar Exam is a 2-day in-person exam administered twice yearly in February and July by the State Bar of California (calbar.ca.gov).
  • California has not adopted the Uniform Bar Examination; essays and the Performance Test are California-drafted (State Bar of California).
  • Day 1 has five one-hour essays plus one 90-minute Performance Test across a 3-hour morning and 3.5-hour afternoon session (State Bar of California).
  • Day 2 is the NCBE Multistate Bar Examination with 200 multiple-choice questions in two 3-hour sessions of 100 (State Bar of California).
  • The California Bar Exam passing score is 1390 on a 2000-point scaled score, weighted 50 percent MBE and 50 percent written (State Bar of California).
  • The California Bar Exam fee is $878 for general applicants and $1,650 for attorney applicants, plus a $153 laptop fee (State Bar of California).
  • February 2026 California Bar Exam overall pass rate was 30.8 percent with a 43.9 percent first-time taker pass rate (State Bar of California).
  • July 2025 California Bar Exam overall pass rate was 54.8 percent with a 69.7 percent first-time taker pass rate (State Bar of California).
  • California requires a minimum MPRE score of 86 on the 60-question 2-hour NCBE professional responsibility exam (State Bar of California).
  • The California Bar Exam essays may test 13 subjects including Community Property, Professional Responsibility, Remedies, Trusts, and Wills and Succession (State Bar of California).

California Bar Exam Overview

The California Bar Exam is a 2-day, in-person licensing exam administered twice a year (February and July) by the State Bar of California . It is widely regarded as one of the most difficult bar exams in the United States, and the pass numbers bear that out: the February 2026 administration had a 30.8% overall pass rate , while the July 2025 administration came in at 54.8% overall (69.7% for first-time takers). California has not adopted the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) — it writes its own essays and Performance Test and uses the NCBE Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) for the multiple-choice section.

The July 2026 California Bar Exam is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28 and Wednesday, July 29, 2026 , with results released November 6, 2026 .

Exam Format At A Glance

  • Component Details
  • Duration 2 days, in person
  • Day 1 - Written 5 one-hour essays + 1 90-minute Performance Test
  • Day 1 sessions Morning: 3 essays (3 hours); Afternoon: 2 essays + PT (3.5 hours)
  • Day 2 - MBE 200 multiple-choice questions (NCBE MBE)
  • Day 2 sessions Morning: 100 questions (3 hours); Afternoon: 100 questions (3 hours)
  • Passing score 1390 / 2000 scaled
  • Weighting 50% MBE, 50% written
  • Exam fee $878 (general applicant); $1,650 (attorney applicant) + $153 laptop fee
  • Offered February and July
  • UBE status Not a UBE state