California CodesBusiness and Professions Code - BPCDivision 3 — Professions and Vocations GenerallyChapter 4 — AttorneysArticle 3 — Investigations, Examining Committee, Subpoenas, and Other ProceedingsSection 6046.6

(a)(1)(A) The Committee of Bar Examiners shall not alter the bar examination in a manner that requires the substantial modification of the training or preparation required for passage of the examination, except after giving two years’ notice of that change.

(B) This requirement does not apply to a change in the bar examination that is applicable only at the option of the applicant.

(2) The Committee of Bar Examiners shall not change the vendor or creator of the multiple choice questions except after giving 18 months’ notice of that change. This paragraph shall not apply to the vendor of multiple choice questions used for the July 2025 bar examination.

(3) The Committee of Bar Examiners shall not authorize a remote administration of the bar examination except after giving two years’ notice of that change.

(b) The Committee of Bar Examiners shall communicate and cooperate with the Law School Council and deans, or their designees, of law schools approved by the American Bar Association or the Committee of Bar Examiners.

(c) Scaling may be used on the bar examination for the purpose of maintaining an examination of uniform difficulty from year to year.

(d)(1) Any alteration to the bar examination that constitutes either of the following shall require at least 120 days notice:

(A) Changes that affect the user experience with testing software.

(B) Changes to the medium in which testing materials are provided.

(2) The notice requirement shall not apply to updates to the software necessary for any of the following:

(A) To satisfy bar examination security requirements.

(B) To ensure compatibility with new or updates to operating systems, chipsets, or hardware.

(C) To comply with web content accessibility guidelines or otherwise make the software more accessible.

(D) To improve efficiency of the system architecture.

(3) The notice requirement shall not apply to a change in the bar examination that is applicable only at the option of the applicant.

(e) The Committee of Bar Examiners shall provide notice if artificial intelligence is used in creating questions for the bar examination or grading of the bar examination.

(f) The changes made to subdivision (a) by the act that added this subdivision are to apply to any changes made from the July 2025 bar examination.

Notes

Limits major bar-exam changes by requiring two years’ notice for substantial preparation changes or remote administration, 18 months for a multiple-choice vendor change, and at least 120 days for specified software-user or testing-medium changes. Applicant-optional changes and listed software updates are exempt, the July 2025 multiple-choice vendor is excluded, and artificial-intelligence use in question creation or grading must be disclosed.

Use as reference

Lexinter.net | California Code, Business and Professions Code - BPC § 6046.6 | https://laws.lexinter.net/codes/california/business-and-professions-code/division-3/chapter-4/article-3/section-6046-6

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