California Bar Approves Fewer July Exam Locations to Save Funds

The State Bar of California has approved a plan that would reduce the number of contracted bar exam locations in July to eight from the 13 it had last summer, as the bar attempts to cut costs during a budget shortfall.

Three sites in Chula Vista, Oakland, and Sacramento that were awaiting confirmation earlier this month were secured within the last few days, said Cody Hounanian, Program Director of the Office of Admissions.

The new additions address concerns raised during public comment that a proposal submitted earlier would have left students in Northern California with fewer testing centers compared with students in the southern part of the state, board of trustees member Patricia Barahona said. The board unanimously approved the plan.

In addition to the eight contracted sites, the state bar has secured a few additional facilities at no charge, including at the Judicial Council’s office in San Francisco and the State Bar’s office in Los Angeles.

For students enrolled to take the February exam, when fewer sites are available, the bar is aiming to issue credits so registrants can switch to July if needed.

The bar looked into remote testing as another option to cut costs but determined it wouldn’t be feasible by July, Hounanian said. State Bar Admissions staff said in an August memo that they “do not relish” the proposed change and recognize that it would offload costs from the State Bar to applicants. The plan met resistance from potential test-takers in 2023.

The decision to cut locations for both tests in 2024 follows an announcement last August from the Board Executive Committee that a $1 million deficit in its admission fund remained despite fee hikes. The Bar said that offering between 10 and 16 testing locations for the bar exam, as in years past, wasn’t possible.