Summary: You can’t change how long you’ll have to wait for the bar exam results, but at least you can know how many days you’re waiting.
Last month, the July bar exam results for the entire country were released. The exam, which is administered in February and July, is given on a state-by-state basis; and each state releases its results at different times. The theory being that states with more test-takers need more weeks to score and analyze the exams. That meant that some applicants in Arkansas were blessed with knowing their future after about five weeks, while candidates in Michigan, California, New Jersey, and New York were on the edge of their seats until November.
Luckily, the National Conference of Bar Examiners provides information to test takers about the ins-and-outs of the exam. This includes how long of a wait you’ll have until you receive your test results. The following is a state-by-state guide.
State: Amount of average wait time for your February/July results
Alabama: 9 weeks
Alaska: 10-12 weeks
Arizona: 9 weeks
Arkansas: 5 weeks:
California: in May/in November
Colorado: 9 weeks
Connecticut: 1o weeks/nine weeks
Delaware: 11 weeks
Florida: 6-8 weeks
Georgia: 13 weeks
Hawaii: 10-12 weeks
Idaho: 6 weeks
Illinois: 7 weeks
Indiana: 8-9 weeks
Iowa: 7 weeks
Kansas: 6 weeks
Kentucky: 9 weeks
Louisiana: 5-6 weeks/8-9 weeks
Maine: 8-10 weeks
Maryland: 8-9 weeks/13-14 weeks
Massachusetts: 8 weeks/12 weeks
Michigan: May 15/November 15
Minnesota: 6 weeks/10 weeks
Mississippi: 7-8 weeks
Missouri: 7 weeks
Montana: 7-8 weeks
Nebraska: 6-7 weeks
Nevada: 8 weeks
New Hampshire: 10 weeks
New Jersey: May/November
New Mexico: 6-8 weeks
New York: May/November
North Carolina: 4 weeks
North Dakota: 7 weeks
Ohio: 9 weeks/12 weeks
Oklahoma: 7 weeks
Oregon: 7 weeks
Pennsylvania: 5 weeks/9 weeks
Rhode Island: 10 weeks
South Carolina: 8 weeks/12 weeks
South Dakota: 12 weeks
Tennessee: 6 weeks/9 weeks
Texas: 10 weeks/14 weeks
Utah: 8 weeks
Vermont: 8-10 weeks
Virginia: 8 weeks/10 weeks
Washington: 6 weeks
West Virginia: 7 weeks
Wisconsin: 6 weeks
Wyoming: 6-8 weeks
The majority of the states take the same amount of time to process their February and July exams, but there is a trend with some states taking longer to release the July results. These states include Connecticut, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. Since most law school students must wait until receiving their degree to take the bar, they end up taking the test in July. The February exam is typically full of repeat test takers and foreigners.
Test-takers in North Carolina are the first to get their exam results, followed by Arkansas. The majority of states release their results in 6-8 weeks. Big states such as California and New York make their examinees wait the longest, by almost 17 weeks.
While the time delay for all of these schools is emotionally draining for candidates, it also is financially harmful. Without a license, they are unable to practice law, which results in a loss of income during this period of time. To combat this problem, Arizona has allowed 3L students to take the February test while they are still in school. This allows those who pass to begin working upon graduation in May, ending the months-long gap of them accumulating loan interest but not being able to pay them back. So far, Arizona’s change appears successful but other states have not been following their lead.
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What do you think of the bar exam wait times? Let us know in the comments below.