Exam Format, Scoring, and the 1390 Passing Score

California Bar Exam Exam

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1 Exam Format and Core Skills

California Bar Exam Blueprint: Subjects, Components, and Recent Changes Exam Format, Scoring, and the 1390 Passing Score Essay Strategy: Issue Spotting and IRAC Core Written Skills and Timing Strategy

2 Civil Procedure

Subject Matter Jurisdiction: Federal Question, Diversity, Supplemental, Removal Personal Jurisdiction, Long-Arm, Minimum Contacts, and Service of Process Venue, Transfer, and Forum Non Conveniens The Erie Doctrine and Choice of Law Pleadings, Rule 11, Amendments, and California Demurrers / Anti-SLAPP Joinder of Claims and Parties, Impleader, Intervention, Interpleader Class Actions (Rule 23 and California) Discovery: Scope, Devices, Privilege, and Sanctions Pretrial Adjudication: Dismissals, Default, and Summary Judgment Trial, Jury, Judgment as a Matter of Law, and Post-Trial Motions Appeals, the Final Judgment Rule, and Claim/Issue Preclusion

3 Constitutional Law

Judicial Review, Justiciability, Standing, Ripeness, Mootness, and Political Questions Federal Legislative Power: Commerce, Taxing & Spending, and the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments Separation of Powers: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Authority Federalism, Supremacy, Preemption, the Dormant Commerce Clause, and Privileges & Immunities State Action and Congressional Enforcement of the Reconstruction Amendments Procedural Due Process Substantive Due Process and Fundamental Rights Equal Protection and Levels of Scrutiny First Amendment: Speech, Press, Forums, and Association First Amendment Religion Clauses and the Takings Clause

4 Contracts

Applicable Law: Common Law vs. UCC Article 2 and Mixed Contracts Mutual Assent: Offer, Acceptance, Mailbox Rule, and UCC 2-207 Consideration, Bargained-for Exchange, and Promissory Estoppel Defenses to Formation: Capacity, Mistake, Misrepresentation, Duress, Unconscionability The Statute of Frauds Parol Evidence Rule and Contract Interpretation Conditions and Performance: Express, Constructive, and Substantial Performance Breach, Anticipatory Repudiation, and the Perfect Tender Rule Excuse of Performance: Impossibility, Impracticability, and Frustration UCC Warranties and Risk of Loss Third-Party Beneficiaries, Assignment, and Delegation Contract Remedies and UCC Buyer/Seller Remedies

5 Criminal Law and Procedure

Actus Reus, Mens Rea, Concurrence, and Causation Accomplice Liability and Parties to Crime Inchoate Crimes: Attempt, Conspiracy, and Solicitation Homicide: Murder, Manslaughter, Felony Murder, and California Degrees Other Crimes Against the Person: Assault, Battery, Kidnapping, and Sex Offenses Property and Theft Crimes: Larceny, Embezzlement, Robbery, Burglary, Arson Criminal Defenses: Insanity, Intoxication, Self-Defense, Duress, Necessity, Mistake Fourth Amendment: Searches, Seizures, Warrants, and Exceptions The Exclusionary Rule, Standing, and Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Fifth Amendment: Miranda, Self-Incrimination, and Double Jeopardy Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel, Confrontation, Speedy Trial, and Jury Pretrial Identifications, the Eighth Amendment, and Trial Rights

6 Evidence

Relevance: Logical and Legal, Rule 403, and California Proposition 8 Policy-Based Exclusions: Subsequent Remedial Measures, Settlements, Insurance, Pleas Authentication and the Best Evidence Rule Witness Competency, Personal Knowledge, and Examination Impeachment of Witnesses Lay and Expert Opinion Testimony (Daubert and California Kelly/Sargon) Character Evidence and Other Acts (MIMIC) Habit and Methods of Proving Character Hearsay: Definition, Non-Hearsay, and Exemptions Hearsay Exceptions: Availability Immaterial (FRE 803) Hearsay Exceptions Requiring Unavailability (FRE 804) and the Confrontation Clause Privileges, Judicial Notice, and Presumptions (Federal and California)

7 Real Property

1.1 Estates in Land 1.2 Future Interests 1.3 Rule Against Perpetuities 1.4 Concurrent Ownership 1.5 Landlord-Tenant Law 1.6 Easements and Servitudes 1.7 Covenants Running with Land 1.8 Recording Acts and Title 1.9 Mortgages 1.10 Land Use Regulation Adverse Possession and Rights Incident to Ownership Land Sale Contracts, Marketable Title, and Risk of Loss Deeds, Delivery, Warranties of Title, and Fixtures

8 Torts

Intentional Torts Against the Person: Battery, Assault, False Imprisonment, IIED Intentional Torts to Property and Defenses/Privileges Negligence: Duty and the Standard of Care Negligence: Breach, Res Ipsa Loquitur, and Negligence Per Se Causation: Actual and Proximate Cause Negligence Damages and Defenses: Comparative Fault and Assumption of Risk Strict Liability: Animals and Abnormally Dangerous Activities Products Liability Private and Public Nuisance Defamation Invasion of Privacy, Misrepresentation, and Economic Torts Vicarious Liability, Joint Tortfeasors, and Immunities

9 Business Associations

Agency: Formation, Actual and Apparent Authority, and Ratification Agency: Principal/Agent Duties, Respondeat Superior, and Tort Liability General Partnerships: Formation, Rights, and Partnership Property Partnership Liability, Fiduciary Duties, Dissociation, and Dissolution Limited Partnerships, LLPs, and LLCs Corporations: Formation, Promoters, and Piercing the Corporate Veil Corporate Finance: Stock, Securities, Dividends, and Distributions Directors and Officers: Fiduciary Duties, the Business Judgment Rule, and Indemnification Shareholders, Derivative Suits, Fundamental Changes, and Federal Securities (10b-5, 16(b))

10 Community Property

General Principles, the Community Estate, and Marital Economic Community Characterization: Separate vs. Community Property and Presumptions Tracing and Commingling (Exhaustion and Direct Tracing) Transmutation and Premarital/Marital Agreements Special Assets: Businesses (Pereira/Van Camp), Goodwill, Education, Pensions, Disability Management, Control, and Spousal Fiduciary Duties Debts and Creditors' Rights Distribution at Dissolution and Death; Quasi-Community Property

11 Professional Responsibility

Regulation of the Profession, Admission, and Discipline (California Rules vs. ABA Model Rules) Competence, Diligence, Communication, and Scope of Representation Confidentiality and Its Exceptions (California vs. ABA) Conflicts of Interest: Current Clients Conflicts: Former Clients, Imputation, and Business Transactions Fees, Client Trust Accounts (IOLTA), and Safekeeping Property Duties to the Court and Third Parties: Candor, Advocacy, and Fairness Forming, Declining, and Terminating the Attorney-Client Relationship Advertising, Solicitation, and the Unauthorized Practice of Law Judicial Ethics, Reporting Misconduct, and Special Prosecutor Duties

12 Remedies

Compensatory Damages: Causation, Foreseeability, Certainty, and Mitigation Punitive, Nominal, and Liquidated Damages Restitution and Unjust Enrichment Constructive Trust and Equitable Lien Injunctions: Temporary Restraining Orders, Preliminary, and Permanent Specific Performance Reformation, Rescission, and Cancellation Equitable Defenses, Declaratory Relief, and Remedy Selection

13 Trusts

Trust Creation, Required Elements, and Types of Trusts Charitable Trusts, Cy Pres, and the Rule Against Perpetuities in Trusts Trustee Powers and Trust Administration Trustee Duties: Loyalty, Prudent Investor, and Impartiality Beneficiary Rights and Principal/Income Allocation Spendthrift, Discretionary, and Support Trusts; Creditors' Rights Modification and Termination of Trusts Breach of Trust, Remedies, and Will Substitutes (Totten, POD, Revocable Trusts)

14 Wills and Succession

Intestate Succession and California Distribution Will Execution and Formalities (Attested and Holographic; California) Testamentary Capacity, Undue Influence, Fraud, Duress, and Mistake Will Components: Integration, Incorporation, Acts of Independent Significance, and Pour-Over Revocation, Revival, and Dependent Relative Revocation Lapse, Anti-Lapse, Class Gifts, Ademption, Abatement, and Exoneration Protection of the Family: Omitted Spouse and Child, Pretermitted Heirs Will Contests, Standing, and No-Contest Clauses Probate Administration, Powers of Appointment, and Will Substitutes

15 Performance Test

The Performance Test: Task Memo, File, and Library Objective PT Products: Memos, Briefs, and Client Letters Persuasive PT Products and 90-Minute Execution

Exam Format, Scoring, and the 1390 Passing Score

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

The exam is scored on a 2,000-point scale, and the current passing score is 1390 (lowered from 1440 by the California Supreme Court on July 16, 2020).

Day 1 (written) and Day 2 (MBE) are weighted 50/50, and scoring is compensatory — a strong MBE can offset weaker essays and vice versa.

Answers scoring roughly 1350-1390 after one reading get a second read, which can move borderline candidates over the 1390 line.

Allocate study time roughly 50/50 between MBE and essays, weighting essays toward high-frequency subjects like Community Property, Professional Responsibility, and Evidence.

2026 exams are in person: essays are typed in Examplify (handwriting optional); MBE answers are marked on a paper Scantron, not in software.

Last updated: June 2026

California scores the bar exam on a 2,000-point scale. Your raw essay and Performance Test scores and your raw MBE score are each converted to scaled scores, the two days are weighted equally (50 percent written, 50 percent MBE), and the result is reported on the 2,000-point scale. The headline number every candidate should know is the passing score. For most of the exam's modern history the cut score was 1440, the highest in the nation and a frequent target of reform criticism.

On July 16, 2020, the California Supreme Court permanently lowered the passing score from 1440 to 1390 out of 2,000, a 50-point reduction, citing pandemic-era disruption and arguments that 1440 excluded competent candidates who would pass comfortably in other states. The court declined to apply 1390 retroactively to earlier examinees. So the operative number for 2026 is 1390, not 1440 — but you will still see 1440 referenced in older materials, which is why both numbers matter when you read study guides.

The drop from 1440 to 1390 was consequential: 1440 was, for years, the second-highest cut score in the United States, behind only Delaware, and critics argued it kept out candidates who would pass comfortably in states with cut scores closer to the national norm (many states set their line around 1330 to 1350). Lowering the line by 50 points measurably raised pass rates, especially for repeat takers and candidates near the margin.

For you, the practical takeaway is to calibrate your target to 1390 and aim comfortably above it — treat roughly 1440 as a safety buffer in practice scoring, not as a requirement, so that a bad essay or a rough MBE block on the real day still leaves you above the line.

How the Two Days Combine

Because Day 1 and Day 2 are weighted 50/50, the written and multiple-choice portions are equally important. The written component is itself a blend: the five one-hour essays and the single 90-minute Performance Test are scored on the written scale together. A practical consequence is that strong MBE performance can offset weaker essays and vice versa — the so-called 'compensatory' scoring model. There is no separate minimum you must hit on each component; you need a combined 1390.

This is strategically important: if your MBE practice scores are consistently strong, a disastrous single essay will not automatically sink you, and if you write excellent essays, a middling MBE day can still pass.

Scoring element Value (2026)
Total scale 2,000 points
Passing scaled score 1390 (lowered from 1440 on July 16, 2020)
Day 1 written weight 50%
Day 2 MBE weight 50%
Read/re-read band Answers scoring roughly 1350-1390 after one reading get a second read
Provisional/old cut score 1440 (in effect before July 2020)

The State Bar uses a two-phase grading process. In the first phase, an applicant with a total scale score of at least 1390 after one reading passes. Candidates who land in a band just below 1390 (roughly 1350-1390) have their written answers re-read in a second phase, which can move borderline candidates over the line.

Allocating Study Hours to the Blueprint

Because the two days are weighted equally, a balanced plan allocates roughly half of total study time to MBE practice and half to essays and the Performance Test. Within essays, weight your hours toward the highest-frequency California subjects. Historically, Community Property, Professional Responsibility, Evidence, Contracts, Torts, Real Property, Civil Procedure, and Business Associations appear most often, while Trusts, Wills, Remedies, Constitutional Law, and Criminal Law/Procedure round out the rotation.

Because Professional Responsibility can be tested in any essay (it is frequently 'crossed' into another subject's fact pattern), it deserves disproportionate attention.

For the MBE, the seven subjects are not equally weighted by the NCBE; Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts each contribute a defined share of the 175 scored questions, so spread MBE drilling across all seven rather than over-investing in a favorite. A simple rule: do timed mixed MBE sets daily, and rotate essay subjects so that no high-frequency subject goes more than a few days untouched.

In-Person Administration and Tools (2026)

For 2026, both administrations are fully in person at designated California test sites. On Day 1, applicants type their essay and Performance Test answers into the Examplify exam software on a laptop (handwriting remains an option), and receive hardcopy materials and scratch paper. On Day 2, the MBE is delivered on paper: applicants receive a hardcopy question booklet and mark answers on a Scantron sheet with a No. 2 pencil — MBE answers are not entered into Examplify. Sessions are long: Day 1 runs a 3-hour morning block (Essays 1-3) and a 3.5-hour afternoon block (Essays 4-5 plus the PT); Day 2 runs two 3-hour blocks of 100 questions each.

You generally must be seated by about 8:20 a.m. each day, with instructions beginning around 8:30 a.m.; Day 1 typically concludes near 5:30 p.m. and Day 2 near 5:00 p.m. Knowing the tooling matters: practicing essays in software that mimics Examplify and practicing MBE sets on paper Scantrons builds the muscle memory that prevents Day-of surprises. The shift back to in-person, paper-Scantron MBE administration is a direct response to the February 2025 remote-testing failures, and it changes how you should rehearse.

If your prep course offers a digital MBE interface, supplement it with at least several timed paper sets so that bubbling answers with a No. 2 pencil, tracking your place in a printed booklet, and transferring answers without mis-bubbling all feel routine. For the essays and PT, install or replicate the Examplify environment and practice typing full answers in it, including using its limited formatting, so you are not fighting the software for points on exam day.

Small mechanical frictions — a Scantron transcription error, an Examplify formatting fumble — cost real points under time pressure, and the only cure is to rehearse in the actual tools and on the actual cadence the State Bar uses in 2026.

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Essay Strategy: Issue Spotting and IRAC
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