Many of our Berkeley Law LL.M. students choose to take a bar exam to become licensed to practice law in the United States. This page provides a high-level overview of frequently asked questions and logistical information regarding U.S. state bar exams; current students should speak to their LL.M. advisors for detailed guidance.
General Bar Exam Information
Bar exams are administered nationwide in February and July. Most law school graduates take the July exam following graduation. Given the intensive nature of the LL.M. program and of bar exam preparation, students undertaking an LL.M. should not plan to take a bar exam while enrolled. Bar admission requirements differ for each state, and as a result students are advised to visit the website of their state bar office for the most accurate information. Each state has established academic eligibility requirements, as well as character standards and other qualifications for admission to the bar. We encourage you to review requirements in the state(s) where you intend to practice. For information on various exams and links to most state bar offices, visit the website for the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Most states require the MPRE, the MBE, and a moral character application.
Only the relevant state bar can determine whether you are eligible to take their bar exam. Please contact the relevant state bar if you have questions about eligibility.
Do I need to take a bar exam?
Consider this question carefully, and reach out to your LL.M. advisors for guidance. United States bar examinations are difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. The important thing to remember is that you do not need to take one just because you are earning an LL.M. degree! You should carefully consider whether obtaining a qualification to practice law in a state of the United States fits into your personal and professional goals. An advisor would be happy to chat with you about that.
California Bar
Both the traditional track and executive track of Berkeley Law’s LL.M. program offer the coursework necessary for their graduates to become eligible to take the California bar exam.
There are five steps that you must take to be admitted to practice law in the State of California:
(1) Register for the Bar Exam
(2) Apply for the Bar Exam
(3) Pass the Bar Exam
(4) Complete the Moral Character Application
(5) Register for, and pass, the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE).
Before undertaking these steps, you must establish that you are eligible to sit for the exam. This requires undertaking certain steps at the registration stage and, for certain applicants, fulfilling coursework requirements during your LL.M. degree.
Establishing Eligibility
LL.M. students register to take the California Bar Exam as either an Attorney Applicant or a General Applicant. The California State Bar Admission Rules provide that an attorney applicant is an applicant who is or has been admitted as an attorney to the practice of law in any jurisdiction, including foreign jurisdictions. If you are licensed to practice law, even in a jurisdiction outside of the United States, you are considered an Attorney Applicant and you do not need to take special coursework during your LL.M. program.
If you have a first degree in law but have not been admitted as an attorney to the practice of law in any jurisdiction, you are considered a General Applicant and must complete certain coursework during your LL.M. program. You must also have your credentials evaluated by a service approved by the State Bar of California and submit to the Bar a Foreign Law Study Evaluation Summary.
Registering for the California Bar Exam
Before you can apply to take the exam, you first need to register! It is important to note that you are not committing to a Bar Exam date when you register — this is just to join the system.
Your registration process differs based on whether or not you are licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction, as described above.
Attorney Applicant Registration
Pursuant to Rule 4.3 of the Admissions Rules an attorney applicant is an applicant who is or has been admitted as an attorney to the practice of law in any jurisdiction, including foreign jurisdictions. To register, an Attorney Applicant must create an online account to access the State Bar of California Office of Admissions Applicant Community.
Attorney applicants must provide Proof of Admission and Good Standing in Another Jurisdiction, usually in the form of an original or certified copy of a Certificate of Good Standing. For more information, see the State Bar of California page on Proof of Admission and Good Standing in Another Jurisdiction.
General Applicant Registration
To qualify to take the California Bar Exam as a Foreign Educated Applicant not currently licensed to practice law, you need to meet specific requirements. These are:
- You must have a first degree in law that is substantially equivalent to a U.S. J.D. (more on that below), and is certified as such by a Credential Evaluation Service approved by the California Committee of Bar Examiners. A list of services approved by the California Committee of Bar Examiners is available here. We recommend completing this step in advance of starting your LL.M. degree when possible.
- You must complete a year of legal study at an accredited law school, meeting certain coursework requirements. LL.M. students receive course planning worksheets from their advisors.
To register, a General Applicant must create an online account to access the State Bar of California Office of Admissions Applicant Community and complete the registration process online. Please note that registration forms not brought to a complete and filed status within 60 days of receipt will be deemed abandoned. No fees will be refunded if a registration is abandoned.
A note on timing:
While there is no hard deadline on when to begin the registration process, it is in your best interest to begin the process as early as possible. All bar applicants who plan to take the California Bar Exam in July after graduating from their LL.M. program should begin the process no later than the end of January. If you are a General Applicant and you are from a country where obtaining paperwork takes time, we encourage you to begin this process in the Fall. Students in the past have indicated that it can take 3-4 months to complete the process.
Application to take the California Bar Exam, and Moral Character determination
Separate and distinct application forms are required for the bar examination and moral character determination. The “Application to Take the California Bar Examination” and/or “Application for Determination of Moral Character” will not be processed prior to completion of registration with the Committee of Bar Examiners.
New York Bar
Only the traditional track of Berkeley Law’s LL.M. program offers the coursework necessary for graduates to become eligible to take the New York bar exam.
Licensure in New York requires that you take the Universal Bar Exam, the New York Law Course (NYLC), and the New York Law Exam (NYLE).
The NYLE is an online, on-demand course specific to New York law. It consists of approximately 17 hours of recorded lectures with embedded questions. After you create your BOLE account and complete your Account Profile page, you will be able to access the NYLC in the Applicant Services Portal. An applicant may complete the NYLC up to one year before or any time after the date on which the applicant first sits for the UBE, subject to the application filing deadline of Section 520.12(d) of the Rules of the Court of Appeals.
IMPORTANT: They are not joking that your time spent viewing the lectures will be audited. You must view each lecture in its entirety and at its normal speed, not sped up, or you may be charged with misconduct pursuant to Board Rule 6000.13.
After you have completed the NYLC, you may register for the NYLE. The NYLE is a 50 item, two hour, open book, multiple choice test administered online. It is offered four times per year, and registration closes 30 days prior to the test date.
More information about the NYLC and NYLE here, including course material information and sample questions.
NEW YORK BAR EXAM REGISTRATION STEPS
1) Determine the degree and coursework requirements applicable to your situation
- BOLE has different requirements for lawyers who were trained in the common law system, in a traditional three-year university program leading to the LL.B., and those who were not. Students from a common law country will likely qualify to take the exam without any particular LL.M. coursework required, but must still receive this determination directly from the BOLE. See Rule 520.6(b)(1). Students educated in the civil law tradition (or a non-traditional or mixed legal system) may qualify for the New York Bar Exam after receiving a U.S. LL.M. degree with certain requirements. See Rule 520.6(b)(1)(ii) and 520.6(b)(2). If this applies to you, we will guide you through the New York Bar Exam coursework requirements after the semester begins.
2) Review the NY BOLE requirements for applicants with a foreign legal education
- Begin by thoroughly reviewing the NY BOLE’s requirements for applicants who have a foreign legal education
3) Submit the NY BOLE’s foreign evaluation online form and all required documentation
- The New York Board of Law Examiners requires all lawyers educated outside the United States to complete an online foreign evaluation form and submit other required documentation in order to be deemed eligible to take the New York Bar Exam. Candidates for the July exam must ensure that their application and all supporting documents are received by the BOLE no later than the preceding October 1. The required transcripts and certifications (see VII. Required Documentation) must be submitted to the BOLE directly from your university or legal authority. It is your responsibility to ensure that your university or legal authority submits documents to the BOLE by the deadline. Once all required documents have been received by the BOLE, they will consider your file complete and will place it in the queue for review. It can take up to six months for the BOLE to review your materials. The BOLE will make no exceptions to the deadline – even for reasons beyond your control.
4) Review the Skills Competency and Professional Values Requirements
- You should carefully review the Skills and Values Requirements. The New York BOLE requires all foreign-educated LL.M. students who apply to take the New York Bar to establish that they have acquired the skills and professional values necessary to competently practice law. Berkeley Law LL.M. graduates follow Pathway 4 or Pathway 5 for eligibility.
We recommend that you pay close attention to the New York BOLE’s dates of exams and deadlines.
Bar Information for Other States
The majority of Berkeley Law LL.M. students who do take a bar exam are interested in taking either the California or the New York Bar Exam, so we provide easy guides to those exams, but we are happy to work with you if you are planning to take an exam in a different state.