Bar Admission in California

Pursuant to the Rules Regulation Admission to Practice Law in California each applicant to the California State Bar must complete the following steps prior to being admitted to practice law in the state:

• Register with the Committee of Bar Examiners as a law student.
• Submit the Application for Determination of Moral Character and receive a positive moral character determination from the Committee of Bar Examiners.
• Take the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination and and receive a passing score as determined by the Committee of Bar Examiners, and
• File an application to take the California State Bar Examination, take the examination and receive a passing score.

Each of these four requirements will be discussed in greater detail below:

Registration with the Committee of Bar Examiners

The application for registration must be filed with the Committee of Bar Examiners prior to submitting the Application for Determination of Moral Character and the Application to take the California State Bar Exam. Please be advised that you must have an approved registration on file with the Committee of Bar Examiners within 10 days of submitting your application to take the California State Bar Examination. The registration form is online at the California State Bar's website at the following link:

http://calbar.xap.com/Applications/CalBar/California_Bar_Registration/default.asp

While completing the online application form please note the following:

• You may be asked if you are exempt from the First Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX). This exam does not refer to your law school exams. The FYLSX is an exam that is administered by the California Board of Law Examiners to certain students. All USC Law students enrolled in the JD program are exempt from the FYLSX.
• You will be required to pay the registration fee at the time you submit your Application for Registration. Payment must be made by either a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card. The current registration fee is $92.00.

If you are unsure whether or not you plan to seek admission to the State Bar of California you may delay submitting your registration. If you submit the registration but later decide not to seek admission to the California Bar, you will not receive a refund of your registration fees.

If you have questions about the the registration process please contact the law school Registrar at registrar@law.usc.edu or the State Bar's Office of Admissions at 213-765-1500.

Application for Determination of Moral Character

Third-Year students who plan to seek admission to the State Bar of California are required to submit the Application for Determination of Moral Character. Applications must be completed online at the State Bar's website. The link to the application and more information about the Moral Character Determination process is available here:

http://calbar.xap.com/Applications/CalBar/California_Bar_Moral_Character/default.asp

If your Application for Determination of Moral Character has not been processed and approved by the time you have successfully completed the Bar Examination, your admission to the Bar will be delayed. Therefore, it is important that you complete this application process in a timely manner.

The California State Bar urges applicants to file their applications at least eight to ten months prior to the date they wish to be admitted to practice law. (The State Bar indicates that Applications for Determination of Moral Character can usually be processed in 180 days.) Once processed and approved, your Moral Character Determination is valid for a maximum of 36 months. There is a fee for extension of the Moral Character Determination beyond 36 months.

Given these guidelines, most USC law students complete and submit their Applications for Moral Character Determination during the Fall semester or very early Spring semester of their third-year in law school. It is not in your interest to delay this process.

This particular application requires you to provide a significant amount of detailed information, some of which you will need time to gather and produce carefully. Therefore, we strongly urge you to begin completing the application early to allow yourself ample time to gather and confirm the accuracy of the information needed to complete the application. Submitting incomplete or inaccurate information will delay and otherwise complicate the process of your admission to the Bar.

Completion of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination

Every applicant must take and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Applicants may take the examination anytime after completing their first year of study. The MPRE is offered three times each year. Registration information may be found online at www.ncbex.org or www.act.org/mpre.

Application to take the California Bar Examination

You may complete the application to sit for the California Bar examination at http://calbar.xap.com/Applications/CalBar/California_Bar_Exam/default.asp. Applications for the July bar exam will be available on March 1 and should be submitted by April 1. It is in your interest to file this application as soon as possible; doing so will help ensure that you are assigned to the location of your choice. If you have any questions, you should contact the Committee of Bar Examiners directly at 213-765-1500.