February bar exam pass rate over 62%

Just over 62% of candidates who sat for the February Virginia Bar Exam passed, according to data released April 24 by the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners.

Of the 265 candidates who sat for the exam on Feb. 24 and 25, 140 passed and are licensed Virginia attorneys as of April 24. An additional 26 candidates passed the exam but were placed on the “blue list” due to outstanding requirements for bar admission.

The overall pass rate of the exam was 62.64%, up from 61.11% for the February 2025 exam. Among first-time test takers, 77.44% passed the exam.

The collective pass rate marks the fifth consecutive year that the February bar exam saw a pass rate greater than 60%. Historically, the February bar exam has an overall passage rate between 53% to 59% and is typically about 10 percentage points behind the July bar exam. The summer exam normally sees more candidates and more first-time test takers.

The University of Virginia led all Virginia law schools in overall pass rate, with 81.82% of U.Va. graduates who sat for the exam passing. William & Mary and George Mason University also had pass rates of 70% or greater.

Among first-time candidates, the Appalachian School of Law, George Mason University and Liberty University had perfect passage rates. The VBBE does not share data on the number of candidates that went to each law school.

An admission and orientation ceremony for new attorneys will be held on June 9 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The ceremony will be hosted by the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Section.

The July bar exam will be held on July 28 and 29 at the Berglund Center in Roanoke. Due to the May 10 statutory filing deadline falling on a Sunday, candidates interested in taking the exam can file until May 11.