The State Bar of California

Information about The First-Year Law Students' Exam (Test Center)

The First-Year Law Students' Exam includes both essay and multiple-choice questions and is administered in one day. Four hours are allocated for completing the four-essay question portion of the exam, and three hours for one hundred multiple-choice questions.

As soon as the exam starts, the exam will be administered with the following schedule:

• Essay 1 – sixty (60) minutes
• 20-minute break
• Essay 2 – sixty (60) minutes
• 20-minute break
• Essay 3 – sixty (60) minutes
• 20-minute break
• Essay 4 – sixty (60) minutes
• 45-minute lunch break
• Multiple-Choice 1-50 – ninety (90) minutes
• 20-minute break
• Multiple-Choice 51-100 – ninety (90) minutes

Applicants granted extended time may have different schedules, which are communicated to them individually in advance of the examination.

Exam Day Instructions

Essay Question Instructions

Your answer should demonstrate your ability to analyze the facts in the question, to tell the difference between material facts and immaterial facts, and to discern the points of law and fact upon which the situation turns. Your answer should show that you know and understand the pertinent principles and theories of law, their qualifications and limitations, and their relationships to each other.

Your answer should evidence your ability to apply the law to the given facts and to reason in a logical manner from the premises you adopt to a sound conclusion. Do not merely show that you remember legal principles. Instead, try to demonstrate your proficiency in using and applying them to the facts.

If your answer contains only a statement of your conclusions, you will receive little or no credit. State fully the reasons that support your conclusions and discuss all points thoroughly.

Your answer should be complete, but you should not volunteer information or discuss legal doctrines that are not pertinent to the resolution of the issues raised by the call of the question.

You should answer according to legal theories and principles of general application.

Multiple Choice Question Instructions

The Multiple-Choice portion of the First-Year Law Students’ Examination consists of 100 multiple-choice questions, split into two separate 50-question sessions.    

Each of the questions or incomplete statements is followed by four suggested answers or completions.  You are to choose the best one of the four stated alternatives.  The facts of some of the questions on this examination may appear to you to be similar or identical to the facts of other questions on the examination.  Do not make any assumption about any apparent factual similarities between separate questions.  Read all the facts of EACH question carefully as if you had never seen them before.

The following instructions apply to the respective subject areas:

1. Answer all questions according to legal theories and principles of general application, unless the instructions that follow or the instructions on a specific question ask for a different rule.

2. For contract questions, assume that the following provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code are in effect.

        a. All of Article 1

        b. All of Article 2

3. For criminal law questions, unless the question specifically asks for a different rule, answer according to principles of general application in the United States.

4. For tort questions, unless the question specifically states otherwise, assume the jurisdiction has not adopted comparative negligence, no-fault, or any guest statute.

Your score will be based on the number of questions you answer correctly. It is therefore to your advantage to try to answer as many questions as you can.  Use your time effectively.  Do not hurry but work steadily and as quickly as you can without sacrificing your accuracy. If a question seems too difficult, go on to the next one, and then come back to it if time allows.  

Prometric Test Center Delivery

For those candidates approved by the State Bar of California to test at a Prometric Test Center, Prometric offers network of standardized computer-based test centers.  Testing at these locations is administered on Prometric provided computers using Prometric’s easy-to-use test taker interface.

Candidates must schedule an appointment for a specific location using the links on the left side of this page.  Availability is first come-first served.  Start time for the exam will be based on the scheduled appointment time.

On test day upon arrival at the test center, you will be greeted by a Prometric Test Center Administrator (TCA). During the check-in process candidates will be required to present valid, government issued identification, and store all personal items in provided lockers.  Applicants testing in person will also go through a security check prior to every entry into the test room. If you are wearing eyeglasses, you will be required to remove them for visual inspection to ensure they don’t contain a recording device. You might also be asked to remove any contents in your pockets. In addition, large jewelry items must be stored in your locker due to concerns over concealed recording devices. You must sign out each time you leave the test room. Onsite Prometric personnel will inform you what is permitted during scheduled or unscheduled breaks. Only Prometric provided note-taking materials will be permitted into the testing room, and these will be collected at the conclusion of testing   

Our trained staff provide real-time test taker support and protect the integrity of the testing event with the support of automated tools built into the software. 

For more information on what to expect on test day, click here.

For more information on test center regulations, click here.

Exam Deadline Dates:  https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Admissions/Examinations/First-Year-Law-Students-Examination/October-2023-First-Year-Exam