When Do Bar Exam Results Come Out?

Waiting for bar exam results is a stressful experience. In this post, we give you general information on how results, and when to general expect them by!

When Do Bar Exam Results Come Out?

Generally, bar exam results take between 1-3 months. The smaller the jurisdiction, the more likely the results come out quickly (although this is not a hard and fast rule!). The results timetable is also affected by the administration. Since more people take the exam in July, these results usually take a little bit longer. For example, Ohio quotes about 9 weeks for February results, and 12 weeks for July results. This makes sense: with more essays to grade, graders will take more time to work through the material.

Some states are able to take roughly the same amount of time regardless of administration. Iowa quotes within six weeks for both administrations. Again, those with similar release times for both February and July administrations tend to be smaller jurisdictions. Since the increase in students between administrations is not as great, they can keep to a similar timeline for both.

If I live in a large jurisdiction, does it always take a long time for results to come out?

Not necessarily! While California and Texas results tend to take several months, Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts often release results within 2 months of the exam. Often, these bar exam results come out before smaller jurisdictions like Michigan and South Carolina!

Which state takes the shortest amount of time to release bar exam results?

North Carolina, the speediest state, usually takes about four weeks! This may change in the future once it adopts the Uniform Bar Exam.

Which state takes the longest?

California’s bar exam results are traditionally the last released. Since it is such a large state with thousands of takers, it generally takes 12-14 weeks for official results.

When are results usually released?

For the February administration, most results come out in April or early May. For the February 2018 administration, at least 80% were released by May 5 (41/51 jurisdictions, including Washington, D.C.). Some states don’t publish their results online, so this number could be even higher.

For the July administration, Most results are out by early October For the July 2017 administration, around 70% (35/51) of results were out by October 6. So while it is excruciating to wait, most states do not make takers wait more than 10 weeks.

How will I know?

The best way to know when your bar exam results come out is to check with your state’s Board of Bar Examiners (or equivalent). Some jurisdictions let bar exam takers know on test day when to expect results. Oregon did this for the February 2017 bar exam. Other states publish their projected release dates online. Unfortunately, not all states give takers warning before releasing results, so you may need to check frequently if your jurisdiction does not utilize an online portal to notify takers of results.

If you are wondering when July 2018 results will come out, check out our blog post detailing release information by state!

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When Do Bar Exam Results Come Out?