Public Notice
The FEDERAL BAR EXAMINATION will be offered on Saturday, November 4, 2023.
Due to the recent relocation of the Intake and Cashier Sections of the Clerk’s Office to the José V. Toledo U.S. Courthouse and limited space of the facilities, completed applications to the Federal Bar Exam shall only be accepted by mail. Walk-ins will not be accepted.
| Subject Area | Percentage | Questions |
| Federal Civil Procedure (Sample Questions) | 16% | 8 |
| Federal Evidence (Sample Questions) | 16% | 8 |
| Federal Jurisdiction and Venue (Sample Questions) | 16% | 8 |
|
Federal Criminal Procedure (Sample Questions)
(Includes the subject of Sentencing Guidelines. Applicants must be familiar with the ruling in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621(2005) and progeny from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals). |
12% | 6 |
| Local Rules (Sample Questions) | 12% | 6 |
| Federal Appellate Procedure (Sample Questions) | 10% | 5 |
|
Bankruptcy (Sample Questions)
(Including the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 and the Bankruptcy Rules) |
10% | 5 |
| Ethics (Sample Questions) | 8% | 4 |
| TOTAL | 50 |
The essay question is mandatory as it is designed to assess the candidates' proficiency in English --ability to read, write and understand the English language-- to satisfy the requirement of effective assistance of counsel to their clients under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Regardless of the result in the multiple choice part of the examination, applicants who do not answer the essay question will receive a grade of "fail".
For Sample Essay Questions, please click here.
Due to the recent relocation of the Intake and Cashier Sections of the Clerk’s Office to the José V. Toledo U.S. Courthouse and limited space of the facilities, applications to the Federal Bar Exam shall only be accepted by mail. Walk-ins will not be accepted.
To properly register to sit for the November 4, 2023 Federal Bar Exam, applicants must strictly comply with the following procedure:
- Step 1: Application Form. Complete and submit the online Application Form (please click here) OR print out and complete a hard-copy Application Form (available by clicking here).
-
Step 2: Mailing of Documents. Applicants must mail a copy of the online Application Form confirmation email or a completed Hard-Copy Version of the Application Form, along with the following:
- An original certificate of good standing (not more than six months) issued by the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, the highest court of any state of the Union, the District of Columbia, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands; and,
- A non-refundable $100.00 fee payable to the “Clerk, U.S. District Court” in the form of a check or money order. The fee will be credited towards the admission fee.
Mailing Address. The mailing address is: United States District Court, Jose V. Toledo U.S. Courthouse, 300 Recinto Sur St., Suite 325 (Intake Cashier), San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901.
| Application | Deadline to Submit Application, Documents and Fee. |
| By Mail |
Thursday, October 5, 2023
|
- Applicants who require reasonable accommodation shall submit: a letter addressed to the Clerk of Court detailing the accommodation. The request letter must be included together with the Application Form.
Petitions for review must be filed within thirty (30) days from the date of notification of the results of the examination. See
Misc. No. 23-07: Petitions for Review of Results of Bar Examination for more details.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL (787) 772-3016, or send an e-mail to: prd-bar-exam@prd.uscourts.gov.
Ada I. García-Rivera, Esq.
Clerk of Court