Can you sit the California Bar Exam?

Answer three questions in order.

The State Bar says: "If you have been fully admitted to the practice of law in any U.S. or foreign jurisdiction, you are qualified to take the California Bar Examination without additional legal education" (Foreign Education). The knowledge base adds that the admission must be "without any restrictions" (Foreign Admitted Attorneys).

What this means in practice:

• No LL.M., no credential evaluation, no transcripts. "Foreign applicants need not submit additional credentials or complete U.S. law study" (Foreign Admitted Attorneys; When are transcripts required).
• You register as an attorney applicant in the Applicant Portal and pay $310 (Registration; Appendix A).
• You mail an original Certificate of Good Standing (CGS). It must come from the highest bar-admissions authority in your jurisdiction and be issued within six months of your application. It must show your license number, admission date, good-standing status and disciplinary history, with an ink signature or seal. If it is not in English, add a certified English translation and the original-language document. Mail it to State Bar of California, Office of Admissions, 845 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Processing takes 7 to 10 business days after receipt (Proof of Admission and Good Standing).
• You sit the two-day General Bar Exam, not the Attorneys' Exam. The one-day exam requires four years of active licensure in a U.S. jurisdiction (Rule 4.3(C)). The State Bar's statistics reports count foreign attorneys among General Bar Exam takers (February 2026 statistics; Attorney Applicants).
• You pay attorney-applicant fees: $310 registration, $1,054 moral character, $1,650 exam (Appendix A).
• No First-Year Law Students' Examination (the "Baby Bar") is required.
• No reciprocity and no score transfer. California accepts no MBE or UBE scores from other jurisdictions and has no admission on motion (Attorney Applicants; NCBE California summary).

Rule 4.30(A) and the Committee of Bar Examiners' Guidelines, approved June 21, 2024 with an effective date of March 1, 2024, set two steps (Guidelines PDF; Foreign Education).

Step 1: prove the first degree in law. Get a certificate from a State Bar-approved credential evaluation service. It must say one of two things. Either your degree is substantially equivalent to a JD from an ABA-approved or California-accredited school, or it meets the educational requirements for admission to practice in your country. LSAC's Credential Assembly Service International Credential Evaluation for LL.M. applicants is also accepted. The evaluator completes the Foreign Law Study Evaluation Summary form and provides a course-by-course report. Evaluations are advisory; the State Bar decides (Approved credential evaluation services).

The approved agencies (list revised August 2025) are all members of NACES, the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (official list):

The State Bar publishes no prices. Third-party reports put a course-by-course evaluation at roughly $110 to $244, with 5 to 7 business days of processing after documents are accepted. Collecting certified transcripts and translations from your home university usually takes longer.

Step 2: one year of U.S. legal education. Two options:

• Option A, an LL.M. based on at least 20 semester units, including one professional responsibility course that covers the ABA Model Rules. Twelve units in three separate bar-tested subjects are "suggested, but not required."
• Option B, 20 units without an LL.M. in a degree or non-degree program at an ABA-approved or California-accredited school. Here the 12 units in three bar-tested subjects plus the professional responsibility course are mandatory.

In both options the coursework must be completed within 36 consecutive months, graded on the school's JD standard, with a passing grade in every course (Guidelines PDF). The old requirement that the professional responsibility course cover California-specific rules was removed in June 2021.

Other Route B rules:

• Register as a law student in the Applicant Portal ($155) within 90 days of starting U.S. study (Registration).
• After the LL.M., your school mails sealed official transcripts and certifies Guideline compliance. Electronic transcripts are not accepted (When are transcripts required).
• An optional State Bar Legal Education Evaluation ($106, three to four weeks) tells you what coursework you still need before you enrol (Legal Education Evaluation).
• The First-Year Law Students' Examination is not required. Rule 4.30(A) has no such condition, and Rule 4.55(A)(2) exempts foreign law study (Title 4 rules PDF).
• You are a general applicant: $155 registration, $900 moral character, $878 exam (Appendix A).

Under Rule 4.30(B) you must show the equivalent of two years of undergraduate study, using an evaluation and the summary form. You must then pass the First-Year Law Students' Examination or earn an exemption after a year in a JD program. The exam has 100 multiple-choice questions on Contracts, Criminal Law and Torts; the next sitting is October 27, 2026 and the fee is $925. After that you complete a JD at an ABA-approved or California-accredited school, or four years at a registered school. Up to one year of credit may be given for the foreign study (Foreign Education; FYLSX; Dates and Deadlines).

The full sequence, with the official link for each step, is on How to apply.

Sources: July 2025 statistics; February 2026 statistics. In normal administrations, foreign-trained pass rates have ranged from 13 to 26 percent. Foreign-trained candidates were 19.8 percent of General Bar Exam takers in July 2025 and 33.0 percent in February 2026.

In our view, the gap is mostly exam technique, English reading and writing speed, and California-only subjects. That is what AntCABar is built to close; see the subject list.

The current format runs through February 2028. From July 2028 California uses the NextGen UBE, and a California component is proposed for July 2029 at the earliest (State Bar notice, July 15, 2026). Nothing published changes Rule 4.30 eligibility, but the State Bar has not yet published NextGen-era details for foreign applicants. Two facts matter now. The essay-only California subjects drop out of the national NextGen exam. And anyone who fails February 2028 next faces a different exam and score scale. Our reading of the notice: a foreign candidate who can sit by February 2028 should aim to pass in the current format. Details are on The 2028 NextGen change.

• Foreign Legal Consultant. Under California Rules of Court rule 9.44, a lawyer licensed and in good standing abroad for at least four of the last six years may register. Registration needs a moral character determination and security for claims. An FLC may advise only on home-jurisdiction law and cannot practice California law (Foreign Legal Consultants; Rule 9.44).
• Registered In-House Counsel (rule 9.46) is only for lawyers licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction (Rule 9.46).
• After admission, a California license supports federal immigration practice anywhere in the United States (8 CFR 1001.1(f)).