How to study for the California Bar Exam as a non-native English speaker: a 20-week plan for the 2027 sittings

Short answer. If you are a non-native English speaker, such as a lawyer or LL.M. graduate from China, Korea or Japan, study in three layers. First, learn the exam's clock and practice at that speed from week 1, because the MBE gives you 1.8 minutes per question and each essay gets 60 minutes. Second, write every essay in a fixed IRAC structure with short sentences, so a grader finds the issue, the rule and the facts without effort. Third, follow a week-by-week plan that puts Professional Responsibility and the seven MBE subjects first and the California-only subjects second. The plan below runs 20 weeks, from October 5, 2026 to the February 23 to 24, 2027 exam. The same plan shifts to the July 2027 sitting, expected on July 27 to 28, 2027.

The numbers behind that answer are official. The February 2027 exam is on February 23 to 24, 2027 (Dates and Deadlines). Day 1 is five one-hour essays and one 90-minute Performance Test; Day 2 is the 200-question Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) in two three-hour sessions (July 2026 exam page). Two sessions of 100 questions in three hours each is 1.8 minutes per question; that figure is our arithmetic. July 2027 is expected on July 27 to 28, 2027. That date follows the last-Tuesday rule in the Supreme Court's order of July 15, 2026; the State Bar has not posted it yet (Order S296951).

Applies to: the February 2027, July 2027 and February 2028 sittings, which all use the current two-day format. Every date, fee and rule below was checked on September 24, 2026 against the official page linked beside it (State Bar, Supreme Court or NCBE). The study hours, the weekly order and the time splits are AntCABar's recommendations, not State Bar rules.

The exam you are studying for (February 2027 to February 2028)

The format is fixed for three more sittings. The State Bar's notice of July 15, 2026 says the NextGen UBE starts in July 2028. There is no California component in July 2028 or February 2029 (State Bar notice). So February 2027, July 2027 and February 2028 are the last three sittings of the exam described below. The full format is on The exam.

Sources for the schedule: July 2026 exam page and Scope of the exam. In July 2026, applicants were seated at 8:20 a.m. on Day 1 and the afternoon session ran about 3.5 hours, ending around 5:30 p.m. (July 2026 exam page).

Two details are not yet confirmed for every sitting. First, no State Bar page yet names the multiple-choice test for February 2027. The MBE is expected, because NCBE keeps it available through February 2028 and the Committee of Bar Examiners says it will be phased out only after the February 2028 administration (NCBE; Committee of Bar Examiners, April 17, 2026). Second, the State Bar was choosing a new exam-administration vendor for 2027 and has announced none (Board and Committee, January 23, 2026). Confirm the written-day software for July 2027 when that exam page posts. Every ExamSoft detail in this post describes the July 2026 sitting.

The share-of-score column is our arithmetic from the State Bar's grading rules. The total score is on a 2000-point scale: the written scaled score counts 50 percent and the MBE scaled score counts 50 percent. Each essay and the PT are graded from 40 to 100 in 5-point steps. The PT raw score is doubled, so the written part has 700 raw points: five essays at 100 each and the PT at 200. The passing score is 1390. A total below 1350 fails. A total from 1350 to 1389 gets a full second read, and the average of the two reads must reach 1390 (Grading; July 2025 bulletin).

Two consequences matter for a non-native reader.

1. The Performance Test is worth two essays. It is 200 of the 700 written points. It is mostly a reading task, because the law is given to you in the packet. Good readers gain more from the PT than from any single essay.
2. The MBE is half the exam and it is speed-limited. Every question you do not reach is a question you cannot score. Reading speed is a scoring skill, not a language skill.

Three practical facts about the room. The exam is in person at State Bar test sites in California; there is no remote option (July 2026 exam page). You choose laptop ($153) or handwriting in the exam application; switching from handwriting to laptop later costs $60 (Appendix A). In July 2026, laptop users typed the written day in ExamSoft Examplify on their own laptops and had to upload a mandatory mock exam by the posted deadline. That deadline was July 24, and applicants who did not upload the mock had to handwrite (Laptops for the Bar Exam; Admittance Ticket Bulletin). In July 2026 the MBE on Day 2 was answered on a Scantron sheet with a No. 2 pencil, not in Examplify (July 2026 exam page). Practice in the same way: type essays, bubble MBE answers on paper.

Why foreign-trained candidates fail more often

The State Bar publishes pass rates by applicant type. The two most recent normal administrations show the gap.

More administrations and applicant groups are in Pass rates for foreign-educated applicants. The State Bar publishes no data on English ability, so the reasons below come from the exam format, not from a State Bar study.

• Time. The exam rewards fast, accurate reading of dense English. A reader who needs 2.5 minutes per MBE question answers 72 of each 100 and leaves 28 blank. That is our arithmetic, and no amount of legal knowledge recovers those points.
• Structure. Lawyers trained in civil-law systems often write continuous prose that states the conclusion at the end. California essays are graded issue by issue. An answer with clear headings and a rule stated before the facts is easier to grade and scores better.
• California-only subjects. Community Property and Wills are tested on California statutes that most foreign lawyers have never studied. They are essay-only subjects, so they are never practiced through MBE questions.
• No shortcut exam. A lawyer admitted in a foreign jurisdiction takes the full two-day General Bar Exam. The one-day Attorneys' Exam is only for applicants admitted to active practice in a U.S. jurisdiction for at least four years (Attorney Applicants; Rule 4.3(C), Title 4). The eligibility rules for each route are on Eligibility for foreign-trained lawyers.

One more pattern in the table. Foreign-attorney repeaters did much worse than first-timers in July 2025 (10.6 against 24.5 percent), though the gap was small in February 2026 (21.0 against 23.8 percent). Aim to pass on the first attempt. The plan below is built for that, inside the three remaining sittings of the current format.

Skill 1: reading speed for the MBE and the Performance Test

The time budget

Sources: July 2026 exam page for the session lengths; NCBE, preparing for the MBE for the 175 scored questions and 25 per subject. The splits inside each hour are our recommendation.

How to read faster without reading carelessly

1. Read the call first. The last sentence of an MBE question tells you what is being asked: the best defense, the most likely result, the strongest argument. Read it, then read the facts knowing what to look for. Do the same with essays: read each call, then the facts.
2. Learn the shapes, not the words. Most questions in a subject follow a small number of fact patterns. In Contracts, the first question is usually whether the deal is for goods or for services. In an Evidence hearsay question, it is whether the statement is offered to prove that what it says is true. When you recognize the shape, you stop reading word by word and start reading for the one fact that decides the answer.
3. Build an exam-English list. Keep a list of words that appear in questions but rarely in textbooks, with a plain meaning next to each. The table after this list shows eight starter entries. Review the list daily in weeks 1 to 8. Aim for about 300 words by week 8.
4. Never translate. Do not read questions in Chinese, Korean or Japanese and do not use bilingual explanations during timed sets. Translation adds reading time, and it will not be available in the exam room. Use your first language only to check that you understood a rule, never to read a question.
5. Practice in 33-question blocks of 60 minutes. That block is the exam pace exactly. Take one timed 33-question diagnostic in week 1. Use untimed learning sets of 17 in weeks 1 and 2. Time every block from week 3, and move to full 100-question sessions by week 9.
6. Use a skip rule. If you have no answer at 2 minutes, choose your best guess, mark the question and move on. Come back only if time remains. A blank cannot earn a point; a guess can.

Reading the Performance Test

The PT gives you a task memo, a File of facts and a Library of law. It asks for a document such as a memo, a letter or a brief. In July 2025 the task was an advice letter to a client on a Real Property problem (July 2025 questions and selected answers). In July 2026 it was a client advice letter on defamation (July 2026 questions).

Read in this order: the task memo, then the Library, then the File. The task memo tells you the document type and the audience. The Library tells you the rules, so when you reach the File you know which facts matter. Outline the answer under the headings the task memo asks for. Then write. Because the law is provided, your grade depends on reading accurately and organizing clearly, not on memory. That is why the PT is the best-value 90 minutes on the exam for a careful non-native reader.

Skill 2: writing IRAC essays in plain English

Which law to apply

The instructions printed on every essay question book set the default. "Unless a question expressly asks you to use California law, you should answer according to legal theories and principles of general application" (July 2026 questions). Five subjects are exceptions in practice. Community Property is tested on the California Family Code and Probate Code (Community Property content map). Wills and Succession is tested on the California Probate Code (Wills content map). The Evidence and Civil Procedure content maps ask you to compare the federal rules with the California rules (Evidence content map; Civil Procedure content map). Professional Responsibility is answered under both California and ABA authorities (Professional Responsibility content map).

The practical rule: if the call says "California law", apply California law. If the call is silent, apply the general rule, and add one sentence on the California rule only if it changes the result.

The template

Use the same structure for every issue. Graders read for the issue heading, the rule and the facts, in that order.

[Numbered heading = the call, e.g. "1. Does the UCC or the common law govern?"]

Issue        One sentence: "The issue is whether ..."
Rule         Two to four sentences. State the rule, then its exception.
             "Under ..., ... However, ... " or "Exception: ..."
Application  Four to eight sentences. "Here, ..." plus the facts that satisfy
             each element, in the order of the elements.
             Then the other side: "[Party] will argue that ... However, ..."
Conclusion   One sentence: "Therefore, ..."

Six writing rules for non-native writers.

1. One heading per issue, numbered like the call. If the call has three questions, your answer has three numbered headings.
2. Sentences of 20 words or fewer, one idea each. Subject, verb, object. No "former" and "latter". No double negatives.
3. Fixed signposts. Use six phrases: "The issue is whether", "Under", "Here", "However", "Even if" and "Therefore". They carry the whole structure, so you can write it under time pressure without thinking about grammar.
4. State the rule before the facts, as a full sentence with its elements. Then apply the facts element by element.
5. Always write the other side, then answer it. "The buyer will argue that ... However, ..." This is where points are earned.
6. Conclude every issue with "Therefore". No introduction, no summary, no "in my opinion".

A worked example

The paragraph below follows the template and the sentence rules. It states a general rule without a citation, which is the safe choice when you are not certain of a case name or section number.

1. Does the UCC or the common law govern?

The issue is whether the agreement between the bakery and the supplier is a contract for the sale of goods. Under Article 2 of the UCC, a contract for the sale of goods is governed by the UCC. Goods are movable things. A contract for services is governed by the common law. When a contract mixes goods and services, the predominant purpose of the contract decides. Here, the supplier agreed to deliver 500 kilograms of flour each month at a price per kilogram. Flour is a movable thing, so the contract is for goods. The bakery will argue that the delivery service was the main purpose. However, the price was set per kilogram and the delivery was incidental to the sale. Therefore, the UCC governs.

That paragraph has 10 sentences and about 125 words. A full essay answer built from four or five such paragraphs fits in 45 minutes of typing.

What score you need

Essays and the PT are graded from 40 to 100 in 5-point steps (Grading). The State Bar published the July 2025 conversion: written scaled score = raw score x 3.9900 minus 328.79 (July 2025 bulletin). Our arithmetic from that formula: a raw written score of about 431 of 700 scaled to 1390 on the written side. That is an average of about 61.5 on each of the seven graded units (five essays plus the doubled PT). The constants change each administration, so treat this as a guide, not a target. The lesson does not change. Steady answers in the 60 to 65 range put the written side near the passing line, and the MBE must carry its half too. An unfinished answer loses the points for every issue it never reaches, so finish all five essays and the PT.

Grade your own practice essays against the selected answers on the State Bar's Past Exams page. Count the issues you found against the issues in the selected answer. Then compare the rule statements. Issues missed cost more than rules stated imperfectly.

Skill 3: timed practice from week 1

Materials

The State Bar publishes the essay and PT questions with selected answers for each past exam (Past Exams). Start with the three most recent sets: February 2026, July 2025 and the July 2026 questions. Each of the 13 subjects has an official content map that lists the tested topics; the links are in the subject table below. For the MBE, use a question bank that follows the NCBE distribution of 25 scored questions per subject. Our bank and the textbook chapters are on Subjects; plans are on Pricing.

Rules of practice

• Time everything from week 3. Every essay at 60 minutes, every PT at 90 minutes, every MBE block at 33 questions per hour. Untimed learning sets are only for weeks 1 and 2; the week 1 diagnostic is timed.
• Reproduce the room. Type essays in a plain text editor with no autocomplete. Answer MBE blocks on a printed answer sheet with a pencil. In July 2026 the MBE was on Scantron (July 2026 exam page).
• Spend as long reviewing as practicing. One hour of questions, one hour of review. Keep an error log with three columns: misread the question, did not know the rule and knew the rule but chose wrong. Non-native readers should watch the first column. It is usually the largest at the start, and it is the one that timed practice shrinks fastest.
• Two full mock exams. In week 14 and week 18, sit Day 1 and Day 2 on consecutive days at the real times. Day 1 is three essays in the morning, then two essays and a PT in the afternoon. Day 2 is 200 MBE questions. Nothing else shows you how tired you will be at question 170.
• Do the ExamSoft mock exam early. In July 2026 it was mandatory for laptop users and had its own deadline (Laptops for the Bar Exam). Do it in the first days of the registration window, not on the last day.

Which subjects first: a priority order for foreign-trained candidates

The exam tests 13 subjects. Seven are also MBE subjects, so they earn points twice: 25 scored MBE questions each, plus any essay. Six are essay-only (Scope of the exam). The essay counts below come from the official questions for the last six exams, February 2024 to July 2026, on the Past Exams page. A crossover essay counts once for each subject. The July 2026 subjects are classified from the released questions, because the official table is not yet posted.

A longer third-party count gives the same picture: Professional Responsibility appeared on 49 of the last 50 exams and Remedies on 38 (SmartBarPrep frequency analysis). We cite it as context; the official questions are the source for the table.

The order we recommend:

1. Professional Responsibility first, in week 1. It has appeared on every recent exam and it is short. Learn it under both the California rules and the ABA Model Rules, because the content map requires both.
2. The seven MBE subjects next. Each is worth 25 scored MBE questions plus a possible essay. Start with Contracts and Torts, because Remedies essays rely on their rules. Then study Evidence, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law and Procedure, Constitutional Law and Real Property.
3. Then the California statute subjects. Community Property, Wills and Trusts are tested on California codes that you have never seen. Study them from the statutes and the content maps, not from memory of your home system.
4. Remedies and Business Associations last but not lightly. Both appeared on 3 of the last 6 exams. Remedies often crosses over with Contracts or Torts, and it relies on their rules even when tested alone, so it is best learned after those two. Frequency data for every subject is in Subjects and scoring.

The 20-week plan for February 23 to 24, 2027

Start on Monday, October 5, 2026. That gives 20 full weeks before the exam on Tuesday, February 23, 2027, with Monday, February 22 as a rest day. Our recommended load is about 20 hours a week in weeks 1 to 8. It rises to about 40 hours a week in weeks 9 to 19 and falls to about 20 hours in week 20. That is roughly 600 hours in total. The State Bar publishes no study-hour guidance. Two prep providers give lower figures for U.S. law graduates. JD Advising sets a goal of about 400 hours, and Purdue Global Law School says 400 to 500 hours (JD Advising; Purdue Global). Our extra time is for reading speed, vocabulary and the California statute subjects.

If you work full time, 600 hours at about 20 hours a week takes 30 weeks. For February 2027 that start date has already passed. Plan for July 2027 instead and start by Monday, December 28, 2026, which is 30 weeks before the expected exam. Keep the same order of subjects and skills.

Weeks 1 to 4: foundations and the application

Do three things in week 1. File the February 2027 application, which opened on October 1, 2026 and is timely until November 2, 2026 (Dates and Deadlines). Take one timed 33-question set to measure your real speed. Start the exam-English list. Then study Professional Responsibility, Contracts and Torts, in that order. Write three essay outlines a day: read the question, list the issues, write one rule sentence per issue, stop. Outlines take 15 minutes each and teach issue spotting faster than full essays do. The steps for filing are on How to apply.

Weeks 5 to 12: the remaining subjects at exam speed

Keep every MBE block timed at 33 questions per hour, as from week 3, and every essay at 60 minutes. Write your first PT in week 6 and one every week after that. Cover Evidence, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law and Procedure and Constitutional Law in weeks 5 to 8. Cover Real Property and the California statute subjects in weeks 9 to 12. From week 9, sit one full 100-question MBE session a week to build stamina. Keep the error log every day.

Weeks 13 to 19: two review cycles and two mock exams

Cycle through all 13 subjects twice. Cycle 1 runs in weeks 13 to 16: two days for each MBE subject and one day for each essay-only subject. Cycle 2 runs in weeks 17 to 19: one day for each subject. Sit the first full mock in week 14 and the second in week 18. After each mock, spend two full days on review before you study anything new. In these weeks, memorize the rule statements you will write in essays. A memorized rule sentence takes seconds to type. A rule sentence built in the exam room takes minutes, and it is often incomplete. File nothing late: the final filing deadline is January 4, 2027 (Dates and Deadlines).

Week 20: taper and logistics

Reduce to one MBE block a day and two essays plus a PT in the week. Re-read Professional Responsibility and Community Property, because both are answered under California rules that you cannot reason out from general principles. Print the Admittance Ticket and check your passport. If you use a laptop, confirm that the ExamSoft mock exam is uploaded. Travel to the test city the day before.

A study day in weeks 9 to 16

Our template for a full-time day of about seven hours, six days a week, which gives about 40 hours:

• 9:00 to 11:30: read the day's chapter and write its rule statements.
• 13:00 to 16:00: 50 timed MBE questions in 90 minutes, then 90 minutes of review of every question, right or wrong.
• 16:30 to 17:30: one timed essay. On one day a week, write the PT instead, from 16:30 to 18:00.
• 20:00 to 21:00: grade the essay or PT against the selected answer, then review the exam-English list.

On the sixth day, sit a full 100-question MBE session in the morning and review it in the afternoon. Take one day a week fully off.

The same plan for July 27 to 28, 2027 and February 2028

The July 2027 sitting is expected on July 27 to 28, 2027 under the last-Tuesday rule in the Supreme Court's order. The State Bar has not posted it (Order S296951). By Rule 4.61 and Appendix A, the projected calendar is as follows. The application opens March 1, 2027. The timely deadline is April 1, 2027. The $50 late window is April 2 to 30. The $250 late window runs from May 1 to the final deadline of June 1, 2027 (Title 4 rules PDF; Appendix A).

Sources: Dates and Deadlines; State Bar MPRE page; February 2026 results; California Bar Examination page. All dates are on Exam dates.

February 2028 falls on February 29 to March 1, 2028 by the same rule and is the last sitting of the current format. It is not yet posted (Order S296951; State Bar notice). A candidate who fails February 2028 sits a different exam, the NextGen UBE, in July 2028. So a February 2027 candidate has two more attempts in the same format, and a July 2027 candidate has one. Results for February 2027 are expected in early May 2027, because February 2026 results were released on May 1, 2026 (February 2026 results). An applicant who fails February 2027 and wants to sit in July 2027 gets separate filing and late-fee deadlines. They are stated in the results notice and are at least ten days after results are released (Rule 4.61(B), Title 4 rules PDF). Repeaters can usually register for the next exam on results day (July 2025 bulletin). Results are released at 4:00 p.m. Pacific on a Friday (Board meeting, July 16, 2026).

Deadlines and fees that sit inside the plan

Which fee tier are you? A lawyer admitted in another country is an attorney applicant under Rule 4.3(B) and pays the attorney-applicant fees. That is true even though they sit the two-day General Bar Exam (Title 4 rules PDF). An LL.M. graduate who is not admitted anywhere is a general applicant. This table keeps only the items that fall inside the plan. Registration, moral character and every other charge are on Fees and in California Bar Exam cost and fees. Every deadline for the three sittings is in California Bar Exam dates and deadlines. The documents for each route are on Eligibility for foreign-trained lawyers.

Why the plan has an end date

The Supreme Court's order of July 15, 2026 replaces the current exam with the NextGen UBE from July 2028. The passing score must be equivalent to 1390 of 2000 (Order S296951). The State Bar's notice adds that there is no California component in July 2028 or February 2029. A California component would start no earlier than July 2029 (State Bar notice). For a foreign-trained candidate this means the California statute subjects you learn for 2027 do not carry over in the same form. One preparation should cover one attempt, and the attempt should be February 2027, July 2027 or February 2028. The full timeline is on Reform and in California Bar Exam changes for 2027, 2028 and 2029.

What to do this week

1. File the February 2027 application. It opened on October 1, 2026 and the timely deadline is November 2, 2026 (Dates and Deadlines). Steps are on How to apply.
2. Confirm your applicant tier and documents on Eligibility for foreign-trained lawyers.
3. Download the 13 content maps from the Scope page and the last three question sets from the Past Exams page.
4. Sit one timed 33-question MBE block. Write down your real minutes per question. That number, not your legal knowledge, sets the first eight weeks.
5. Write one essay in 60 minutes using the template above and grade it against the selected answer.
6. Put four dates in your calendar: November 2, 2026; January 4, 2027; January 21, 2027 (MPRE registration); February 23 to 24, 2027.
7. Read the free chapters on Subjects and compare plans on Pricing. The format and scoring are on The exam.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a non-native English speaker study for the California Bar Exam?

We recommend about 600 hours over 20 weeks for a lawyer trained in China, Korea or Japan. That is about 20 hours a week in weeks 1 to 8 and about 40 hours a week after that. For the February 23 to 24, 2027 exam, week 1 starts on October 5, 2026. JD Advising, a prep provider, sets a goal of about 400 hours for U.S. law graduates (JD Advising). The extra time is for reading speed, legal English vocabulary and the California statute subjects. If you work full time, plan about 30 weeks at 20 hours a week and aim for July 2027. The State Bar publishes no study-hour guidance, so these hours are AntCABar's recommendation.

How much time do I get for each MBE question and each essay?

The MBE has 200 questions in two three-hour sessions of 100 (July 2026 exam page), which is 1.8 minutes, or 108 seconds, per question. Each of the five essays has one hour and the Performance Test has 90 minutes. If you need 2.5 minutes per MBE question you will answer only 72 of each 100 and leave 28 blank. Timed practice at 1.8 minutes per question is therefore the core of the plan.

Do I answer California Bar essays under California law or general law?

The instructions printed on every essay question book set the default (July 2026 questions). Unless a question expressly asks you to use California law, you should answer according to legal theories and principles of general application. Community Property and Wills are always California law. The Evidence and Civil Procedure content maps ask you to compare the federal rules with the California rules. Professional Responsibility is answered under both California and ABA authorities. For every other subject, apply general law unless the call says California.

What essay scores do I need to pass the California Bar Exam?

Essays and the Performance Test are graded from 40 to 100 in 5-point steps. The PT score is doubled, and the 700 raw written points are scaled to the MBE scale. The pass mark is 1390 of 2000, with the written and MBE parts weighted 50 percent each (Grading). In July 2025 the conversion was written scaled score = raw score x 3.9900 minus 328.79 (July 2025 bulletin). Under that formula a raw written score of about 431 of 700, an average of about 61.5 per graded unit, scaled to 1390 on the written side. The constants change each administration. The lesson holds: steady answers in the 60 to 65 range put the written side near the passing line, and the MBE must carry its half too.

Which subject should I study first?

Professional Responsibility. It appeared on all six of the most recent exams, from February 2024 to July 2026 (Past Exams), and it is answered under both California and ABA rules. After that, study the seven MBE subjects, because each is worth 25 scored MBE questions as well as possible essays. Then Community Property, Wills and Trusts, which are tested on California statutes, and finally Remedies and Business Associations.

Can I handwrite the essays instead of typing in Examplify?

Yes. You choose laptop ($153) or handwriting in the exam application; switching from handwriting to laptop later costs $60 (Appendix A). In July 2026, laptop users had to register in ExamSoft and upload a mandatory mock exam by the posted deadline. That deadline was July 24, and applicants who did not upload the mock had to handwrite (Laptops for the Bar Exam). In July 2026 the MBE was answered on a Scantron sheet with a No. 2 pencil, not in Examplify (July 2026 exam page), so practice filling in answer sheets on paper.

Is the exam format the same for July 2027 and February 2028?

Yes, on the official structure. The Supreme Court's order of July 15, 2026 replaces the exam with the NextGen UBE from July 2028 (Order S296951). The State Bar's notice says there will be no California component in July 2028 or February 2029 (State Bar notice). February 2027, July 2027 and February 2028 are the last three sittings of the current two-day format. That format is five essays, one Performance Test and the 200-question MBE, with a passing score of 1390 out of 2000. July 2027 is expected on July 27 to 28, 2027 under the order's last-Tuesday rule but is not yet posted by the State Bar. No State Bar page yet names the February 2027 multiple-choice test; the MBE is expected, because NCBE keeps it available through February 2028 and the Committee of Bar Examiners says it will be phased out only after the February 2028 administration (NCBE; Committee of Bar Examiners). Confirm the written-day software for July 2027 when that exam page posts, because a new exam-administration vendor was being chosen (Board and Committee, January 23, 2026); the ExamSoft details in this post describe the July 2026 sitting.

What are the February 2027 application deadlines and fees?

The application opens October 1, 2026. The timely deadline is November 2, 2026. Filing from November 3 to 30, 2026 adds a $50 late fee. Filing from December 1, 2026 to the final deadline of January 4, 2027 adds $250 (Dates and Deadlines; Appendix A). The exam fee is $878 for general applicants and $1,650 for attorney applicants, plus $153 to use a laptop. A lawyer admitted in another country is an attorney applicant. An LL.M. graduate who is not admitted anywhere is a general applicant.

Do foreign lawyers take the same California Bar Exam as U.S. law graduates?

Yes. A lawyer admitted in a foreign jurisdiction takes the two-day General Bar Exam. The one-day Attorneys' Exam is only for applicants admitted to active practice in a U.S. jurisdiction for at least four years (Attorney Applicants). So a Chinese, Korean or Japanese lawyer cannot skip the MBE, and the study plan must cover all 13 subjects and all three question types.

What official free materials should I use to practice?

The State Bar publishes the essay and Performance Test questions with selected answers for past exams, including February 2026 and July 2025, and the July 2026 questions. Each of the 13 subjects has an official content map PDF that lists the tested topics (Scope of the exam). Use the selected answers as the grading standard for your own timed essays. For the MBE, use a question bank that follows the NCBE distribution of 25 scored questions per subject.

Sources

• State Bar, Dates and Deadlines
• State Bar, July 2026 California Bar Exam
• State Bar, Scope of the California Bar Examination
• State Bar, Grading
• State Bar, July 2025 Unsuccessful Applicant Bulletin (scaling formula)
• State Bar, Past Exams
• February 2026 questions and selected answers
• July 2025 questions and selected answers
• July 2026 questions
• State Bar, Laptops for the Bar Exam
• July 2026 Admittance Ticket Bulletin
• Appendix A, Schedule of Charges and Deadlines
• Rules of the State Bar, Title 4, Division 1 (Rules 4.3 and 4.61)
• State Bar, Attorney Applicants
• July 2025 California Bar Exam Statistics
• February 2026 California Bar Exam Statistics
• February 2026 results release, May 1, 2026
• California Bar Examination main page (July 2026 results date)
• Board meeting, July 16, 2026 (results release time)
• State Bar, Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination
• State Bar, Testing Accommodations
• Content maps: Professional Responsibility, Community Property, Wills and Succession, Evidence, Civil Procedure
• NCBE, update on NextGen exam content and MBE availability
• State Bar, CBE recommends NextGen UBE (April 17, 2026)
• State Bar, Board and CBE approve options for the 2028 bar exam (January 23, 2026)
• Supreme Court Administrative Order 2026-07-15-01 (S296951)
• State Bar notice on the bar exam to be administered beginning July 2028
• NCBE, Preparing for the MBE (175 scored questions, 25 per subject)
• SmartBarPrep California frequency analysis (third-party)
• JD Advising, how long to study for the bar exam (third-party)
• Purdue Global Law School, California bar exam tips (third-party)