The Philippine Bar Examinations is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee.
History
The first Philippine Bar Exams were conducted in 1901 with only 13 examinees. The third Philippine Bar Exam took place in 1903 but the results were released in 1905. José L. Quintos of Escuela de Derecho de Manila (now Manila Law College) obtained the highest rating of 96.33%, future President Sergio Osmeña was second with 95.66%, future CFI Judge Fernando Salas was third with 94.5% and future President Manuel L. Quezon fourth with 87.83%. The bar exam in 1903 had only 13 examinees. The first Roll of Attorneys were listed in 1945 after the 1944 bar exam. After the 1903 exam, rankings were again avoided until the 1913 exam, with its first English exam and first top-ten list of topnotchers led by future president Manuel Roxas from UP Manila with 92%. This meant that every other year from the inaugural 1901 examination to 1912, and the 2020-21 examination, there were no scores given other than pass or fail. The 2016 bar exam had the highest number of successful candidates since 1954 with 3,747 out of 6,344 (59.06 percent) examinees, but that ratio was later topped in 2020-21 (72.28 percent, the third highest at that point). Past Bar examinations were conducted every September at De La Salle University until 2010 when they moved the date to November and changed the venue to University of Santo Tomas in 2011. By February 2022, the Bar examinations had been regionalized and different schools were chosen as venues for the examination, switching to three or four day schedules in one week. The examination was also converted from the traditional pen and booklet to an online method.
Meanwhile, the lowest year was the 1999 bar examinations which recorded the lowest passing rate of 16.59% or with a total number of 660 successful examinees. Also, the 2003 bar exam was marred by controversy when the Court ordered a retake of the Mercantile law exams due to questionnaire leakage. However, five months after the September 21 Mercantile law examination, the Supreme Court of the Philippines decided to cancel the retaking of the examinations, with the reason being to save the trouble for the examinees. It instead assigned different percentages per subject of the examinations.
In 2005, the Supreme Court implemented the "five-strike" rule, which disqualifies five-time flunkers from taking future bar exams. The five-strike rule imposes conditions on the third and fourth failed exams. After failing three times, certain conditions will have to be complied with before an examinee can take the examinations for the fourth time. Failing four times will also result in the same outcome — one will have to comply with certain conditions once more in order to be able to take the bar exam for the fifth time. Beyond that, flunkers are no longer allowed to take the bar exam. Eight years after the rule was imposed, however, in 2013, The Supreme Court lifted the five-strike rule in taking the bar examinations. Court spokesman Theodore Te said the rule was lifted after the SC en banc adopted a recommendation by a study group to lift the five-strike policy starting on the bar exams in 2014. The lifting, however, could not be applied to the 2013 examination as the list of probable bar candidates had already been published by that point.
In 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that individuals' scores were sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act and cannot be disclosed without prior consent of the examinees. However, it allowed law schools to requests for individual scores in such a manner that does not identify any single examinee.
In 2025, the Supreme Court adopted the rule that bar examinations shall be administered by electronic means and shall take place annually in local testing centers across the Philippines in the venue to be designated by the Supreme Court
Admission requirements
A bar candidate must meet the following academic qualifications Holder of a Law degree from a recognized law school in the PhilippinesSection 5, Rule 138, Revised Rules of Court. and satisfactorily completed the courses on the bar subjects and the mandatory Clinical Legal Education Program (CLEP) Holder of a bachelor's degree with academic credits in certain required subjects from a recognized college or university in the Philippines or abroad.Section 6, Rule 138, Revised Rules of Court.
Candidates should also meet certain non-academic requisites:Section 2, Rule 138, Revised Rules of Court. A Filipino citizen. At least twenty-one years of age. A resident of the Philippines. Satisfactory evidence of good moral character (usually a certificate from the dean of law school or an immediate superior at work). No charges involving moral turpitude have been filed against the candidate or are pending in any court in the Philippines.
In March 2010 the Philippine Supreme Court Issued Bar Matter 1153, amending provisions in Sections 5 and 6 of Rule 138 of the Rules of Court, now allowing Filipino foreign law school graduates to take the Bar Exam provided that they comply with the following:
Completion of all courses leading to a degree of Bachelor of laws or its equivalent; Recognition or accreditation of the law school by proper authority; Completion of all fourth year subjects in a program of a law school duly accredited by the Philippine Government; and Proof of completing a separate bachelor's degree.
Committee of Bar Examiners The Supreme Court appoints memberships in the Committee of Bar Examiners, the official task force for formulating bar exam questions, instituting policy directives, executing procedures, grading bar examination papers, and releasing the results of the annual bar examination.Section 12, Rule 138, Revised Rules of Court.
The committee is chaired by an incumbent Justice of the Supreme Court, who is designated by the Supreme Court to serve for a term of one year. The members of the committee includes eight members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, who also hold office for a term of one year. While the Justice who shall act as chairman is immediately known, committee members must exert every effort to conceal their identities until the oath-taking of the successful bar examinees, approximately six months after the bar exam.
Year Bar Exam Chairperson 2001 Associate Justice Sabino De Leon Jr. 2002 Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza 2003 Associate Justice Jose Vitug 2004 Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing 2005 Associate Justice Romeo Callejo Sr. 2006 Associate Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez 2007 Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna 2008 Associate Justice Dante Tiñga 2009 Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura 2010 Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales 2011 Associate Justice Roberto A. Abad 2012 Associate Justice Martin Villarama 2013 Associate Justice Arturo Brion 2014 Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta 2015 Associate Justice Teresita de Castro 2016 Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. 2017 Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin 2018 Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo 2019 Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe 2020 Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 Associate Justice Marvic Leonen 2022 Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa 2023 Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando 2024 Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez 2025 Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier 2026 Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan 2027 Associate Justice Ricardo Rosario
Bar review programs Candidates who meet all the admission requirements usually enroll in special review classes after graduating from law school. These programs are held from April to September in law schools, colleges, universities, and review centers.
Program schedule, content, and delivery differs from one review program to another. Lecturers in these programs are called bar reviewers. They are usually full-time professors and part-time professorial lecturers in law schools and universities. Most review programs invite incumbent and retired justices and high ranking public officials both as a marketing tool and as a program innovation.Rufus Rodriguez. Slaying the Bar Exams Dragon. Rex Bookstore, 2002.
Coverage Previously, the bar examinations was conducted in all four Sundays of the month of November. Two bar subjects were taken every week, one is scheduled in the morning while another is in the afternoon. However, beginning in the 2023 Bar Examinations, the examinations were now conducted in three separate days in the month of September, and reduced the bar subjects from eight to six:
First Day Political and Public International Law Constitutional Law Administrative Law Law on Public Officers Election Law Local Government Code Public International Law
Commercial and Taxation Laws Corporation Law Partnership Insurance Law Transportation Law Banking Laws Intellectual Property Law Securities Regulation Code Data Privacy Act Electronic Commerce Act Access Devices Registration Act Philippine Competition Act Public Services Act Taxation Law
Second Day Civil Law Effect and Application of Laws Human Relations Persons and Family Relations Property and Ownership Different Modes of Acquiring Ownership Land Title and Deeds Wills and Succession Obligations and Contracts Sales Lease Agency Credit Transactions Compromise Agreement Quasi-Contracts Torts and Damages
Labor Law and Social Legislation Fundamental Principles and Concepts Recruitment and Placement of Workers Employer-Employee Relationship Labor Standards Social Welfare Benefits Management Prerogative Post-Employment Labor Relations Jurisdiction and Remedies
Third Day Criminal Law Fundamental Concepts Revised Penal Code Special Penal Laws Practical Exercises
Remedial Law, and Legal and Juridical Ethics, with Practical Exercises General Principles Jurisdiction Rules on Civil Procedure Rules on Special Civil Actions Rules on Special Proceedings and Special Writs Rules on Criminal Procedure Rules on Evidence Legal and Juridical Ethics with Practical Exercises
Grading system The six bar subjects are separately graded. Each subject contributes to the general average in the following proportion:
Subject Weight Political and Public International Law 15% Commercial and Taxation Laws 20% Civil Law 20% Labor Law and Social Legislation 10% Criminal Law 10% Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics with Practical Exercises 25%
The passing average fixed by law is 75%, with no grade falling below 50% in any bar subject.Section 14, Rule 138, Revised Rules of Court.
Passing average vs. Passing rate The passing average is the minimum grade in the exam required to be admitted to the practice of law. The passing rate is the proportion of total number of bar passers in relation to the total number of bar examinees. It is usually computed on two levels—the national level (national bar passing rate), and the law school level (law school passing rate).
In the past, passing averages were considerably lower to admit more new lawyers (i.e. 69% in 1947, 69.45% in 1946, 70% in 1948). Since 1982, the passing average has been fixed at 75%. This has led to a dramatic decrease in the national passing rate of bar examinees, from an all-time high of 75.17% in 1954 to an all-time low of 16.59% in 1999 (all-time low should have been the single digit 5% national passing rate for the 2007 bar examination if the Supreme Court did not lower the passing average to 70% and lowered the disqualification rate in 3 subjects). In recent years, the annual national bar passing rate ranges from 20% to 30%.Bar Passing Percentage from 1946 to 2003. The Practice: Business & Leisure Magazine for Lawyers. August–September 2004 Issue.
Law school passing rates