Exam FAQs

The Exam Calendar is available here. 

Specialty Certification Exams are offered through ExamSoft Remote Proctoring as well as through in-person exam administration. Please review the Exam Calendar to see which practice areas are scheduled for in-person exams. Accommodations may be granted if conditions allow.

Please notify the state bar as soon as possible. There may be an alternate test date available. If not, in most cases, you can reapply the following year, pay $50 and not have to resubmit peer references.

Be prepared early. Please be ready before 8:00 am for check in and locating the exam passwords. The exam modules will begin promptly at 8:15 am.

Dates can be found here.

Most exams are offered only by computer. You will need to provide your own laptop and you will need to download the exam software two weeks prior to exam day. Additional information about the computerized exams software is available here. *Bankruptcy exams are offered by handwriting or through typing essay answers on a laptop.

Specialty certification exams will not have a handwriting option, except for bankruptcy law.

No, all exam registrants will be assigned an exam number. This examination number will be used on all exams in the exam software. The examinee should not type any identifying information in the software. The exams are graded and referred to by their examination number to maintain anonymity.

Books and Papers: Only appellate practice, bankruptcy, criminal, juvenile delinquency, and utilities examinees are allowed to bring open book materials. See the Exam Guides for further information. Before the exams begin, examinees will need to put away all books, papers, and personal effects.

Calculators: Some practice areas allow specialty examinees to bring a calculator, but any such calculator must be silent. You may not use the calculator on your cell phone. To prevent disruption in the examination area (for in-person exams), please do not use watches that emit a periodic beep. All cell phones must be turned off. The software will inform you of the time remaining in each examination session.

Other materials: Only materials approved by the State Bar staff may be used during the examination.

Personal effects: Disposable ear plugs are permitted, ear buds or headphones are NOT permitted. Items like chapstick and cough drops are permitted as well as personal water bottles and/or coffee mugs. For any items not mentioned, please contact Sheila Saucier to inquire.

Only bankruptcy, estate planning, social security, and workers’ compensation law specialty examinees may bring a calculator. Any such calculator must be silent. The calculator will be activated on the software for those specialty areas as well. You may not use the calculator on your cell phone.

Most exams are a total of 6 hours. The morning of exam day will include two 90-minute exam modules followed by an hour break for lunch. The afternoon of exam day will also include two 90-minute exam modules ending at approximately 4:45 pm. You may not need the entire 90 minutes to complete any of the exam modules. The exceptions to these times are appellate practice, bankruptcy, privacy, and real property law exams. Please see the following questions for more information.

Yes, you may submit your exam modules when you have finished.

Examinees taking the appellate practice exam:

Exam Day 1: Traditional exam modules in the morning includes multiple choice and short essay questions. Examinees will receive a packet containing the take-home exam portion. The take-home exam is due approximately 10 days later. Instructions regarding the exam will be included in the take home exam packet.

Examinees taking the bankruptcy law exam*:

Exam Day 1: General exam in the morning and subspecialty (business or consumer) in the afternoon.

Exam Day 2: Three-hour exam for examinees taking second subspecialty (business or consumer).

* The order in which the exam is administered may vary depending on exam location and date. Please contact Sheila Saucier if you have questions.

Examinees taking the privacy and information security exam:

Exam Day 1: Three-hour exam for examinees which may be scheduled in the morning (8:15 start time) or in the afternoon (1:00 start time). Please contact Sheila Saucier if you have questions.

Examinees taking the real property law exam*:

Exam Day 1: General and title portion of exam in the morning and subspecialty (commercial or residential) in the afternoon.

Exam Day 2: Three-hour exam for examinees taking second subspecialty (commercial or residential)

* The order in which the exam is administered may vary depending on exam location and date. Please contact Sheila Saucier if you have questions.

No, you must complete the exam module before you leave the room or take a break. The 90-minute exam modules allow for short breaks between sessions. Please use the restroom during the breaks and do not leave the room until you have submitted your exam module.

Yes. The lunch break will begin at approximately 12 pm. Examinees need to return to their exam location to begin checking in for the afternoon session at 1 pm. For on-site exams, applicants may prefer to bring lunch or have it delivered.

You can review the exam guide or subject matter outline for your specialty.

You may find it helpful to talk with a mentor in your specialty area. We provide an exam mentor list of specialists that have recently taken the exam and have volunteered to be a point of contact for any questions you may have. 

If you have a question regarding format or typos, please let the staff know following the exam session by emailing Sheila Saucier.

Answers to the examination questions should be given in terms of substantive law as it exists on the day of the examination. All recent developments are fair game. Assume that the exam contains a logical question and answer under that assumption. 

Only appellate practice, bankruptcy, criminal, juvenile delinquency, social security disability, utilities, and workers’ compensation law exams require or provide open book materials. If you have any questions about what open materials are allowed or provided refer to the exam guides on the legal specialization website. If you are still unsure, please contact Sheila Saucier.

The exams are graded by the corresponding specialty committees with the exception of the bankruptcy and elder law exams, which are graded by the individual organizations that sponsor the exams. 

Examinees seeking certification in both bankruptcy and real property subspecialties will be graded separately on each examination of the two subspecialties. An examinee will be certified as a specialist in only one of the two subspecialties if the examinee passes only one of the examinations. 

For the specialty areas of appellate practice, child welfare law, criminal law, estate planning, family law, juvenile delinquency, immigration law, social security disability law, privacy and information security law, real property law, trademark law, utilities law, and workers’ compensation law, you may check your exam results in mid-December on the State Bar specialization website. For the elder law and bankruptcy specialties, exam, results are available three-four months after this date. For more information visit nelf.org or  www.abcworld.org.

Examinees seeking certification in both bankruptcy and real property law subspecialties will be graded separately on each examination of the two subspecialties. An examinee will be certified as a specialist in only one of the two subspecialties if the examinee passes only one of the examinations. Once you take and pass one subspecialty, you can re-take the other subspecialty at any time without having to take the general portion of the exam again.